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HEALTH-VIRUS-IRAN
Iran says still in first wave of virus outbreak
TEHRAN, June 30, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Iran’s coronavirus epidemic is still in its
first wave, the health ministry said Tuesday, a day after reporting the highest
single-day death toll since the country’s outbreak began in February.
“The coronavirus is currently peaking in border provinces or cities which did not
experience a peak in the first months of the outbreak,” said ministry spokeswoman
Sima Sadat Lari.
“Therefore, we’re still witnessing the first wave in the country,” she said,
quoted by state news agency IRNA.
According to Lari, Iran would only have a second wave if there was another rise
in cases in provinces that “had a significant peak” when the first cases were
declared.
Iran reported its first two COVID-19 cases on February 19 in the holy city of
Qom.
The central province of the same name quickly became one of the worst-hit, along
with the northern province of Gilan, a popular tourist resort.
Official figures have shown an upward trajectory in new confirmed cases since
early May, when Iran hit a near two-month low in daily recorded infections.
Iran recorded 162 coronavirus deaths on Monday, its highest figure for a single
day, raising the total to 10,670 out of more than 225,200 cases of infection.
Authorities have so far refrained from enforcing full lockdowns to stop the
pandemic’s spread and the use of masks and protective equipment has been optional
in most areas.
Iran closed schools, cancelled public events and banned movement between its 31
provinces in March, but the government gradually lifted restrictions from April
to try to reopen its sanctions-hit economy.
The increasing virus caseload has seen some previously unscathed provinces
classified as “red” — the highest level on Iran’s colour-coded risk scale —
with authorities allowing them to reimpose restrictive measures if required.
They include Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Bushehr, West and East
Azerbaijan, and Khorasan Razavi, all located along Iran’s borders.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1432 hrs