COVID-19: Iran records 27,000 fresh cases amid Eid; imposes week-long lockdown in Tehran

Iran has imposed a week-long down in Tehran after the country recorded a steep rise in the number of Coronavirus infections on Tuesday, July 20. This comes in the heels of a caseload of over 27,000 infections recorded in the last 24 hours. The Iranian Government has shut down the country's capital for a week and imposed a strict ban on Tehran banks.

The fourth wave and fifth lockdown

The lockdown imposed foisted is the nation's fifth so far. It is said to begin on Tuesday and last until next Monday. According to Iran Ministry, all bazaars, market places and public offices will remain closed, as well as movie theaters, gyms and restaurants in both Tehran province and the neighboring province of Alborz. Moreover, the new restrictions have also banned interstate travel to and from the provinces.

Following the lockdown announcement, citizens rushed to the provincial border to travel to famous holiday destinations to celebrate the Eid al-Adha on Wednesday. Local media broadcasted images and videos of traffic police blocking roads leading north to popular holiday destinations on Monday. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned about the "fifth-wave" of the epidemic to be fuelled by the Delta Variant of the virus. He blamed the June Presidential election campaigns for the surge in infections. Tehran Provincial Governor Anoushiravan Bandpay issued a red alert, stating that all hospitals in the province have filled their capabilities, ANI reported.

Highest records of Covid-19 cases in the Middle East

Iran has recorded the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in the Middle East. As many as 25,441 new cases were recorded on Monday and 213 deaths over the past day, bringing the overall death toll to 87,374 from among more than 3.5 million confirmed cases in the pandemic. Meanwhile, only 84 million citizens have received both doses of vaccine, mostly imported from Russia and China, the Associated Press reported. Health authorities have declared the capital Tehran and 91 other cities and towns as high-risk "red" zones, 30 more than a week ago.

(Input: ANI)