TEHRAN – A dynamic distancing plan will be put into operation in provinces across the country, so that each can decide whether to impose restriction or reopening, depending on the COVID-19 new cases surge in their area, Iraj Haririchi, deputy minister of health has announced.

After the relative decline in the number of new cases and deaths in April and early May, the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control gradually put the reopening of public places on the agenda by observing health protocols, but the increasing number of patients and deaths in recent days have prompted the Headquarters to delegate authority to provincial officials.

The coronavirus chart has been speeding up or slowing down in different provinces over the recent months, so it is not possible to manage it equally across the country, President Hassan Rouhani said.

Therefore, the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control has announced the implementation of a dynamic distancing plan, through which each province is allowed to announce lock-down or reopening regarding their condition.

Under the scheme, people at risk for COVID-19 will be screened to undergo treatment, including the elderly and those with high blood pressure and diabetes, Haririchi noted, IRNA reported.

Provinces of Kordestan, Kermanshah, Khuzestan, East and West Azerbaijan, Khorasan Razavi, Lorestan, Golestan, Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan were the provinces faced a surge in infected cases over the past week, he said.

He went on to say that there is a trio to control the epidemic in the country, the first part is to observe the social distancing, the second is screening, testing or diagnosing the infected cases, and the third one is separation and isolation. 

The number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in Iran reached 200,262 on Friday, of whom 9,392 have died and 159,192 recovered so far. Over the past 24 hours, 2,615 new cases of people having the virus have been identified, and 120 died, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.

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