TEHRAN – Air pollution has no special effect on the spread of the coronavirus disease, and studies have shown that there is no connection between these two issues, Ali Maher, deputy chief of Tehran special working group for coronavirus control said.

Pointing to the coronavirus outbreak in winter, he noted that the prevalence of coronavirus in winter depends on the people, if they observe health protocols, the infection will reduce.

Because there has been no evidence that temperature affects the prevalence, therefore the only way to control the virus is the observance of health protocols by the people, he highlighted, ILNA reported.

COVID-19 toll hits 32,000 in Iran

In the press briefing on Sunday, Health Ministry spokesperson Sima-Sadat Lari confirmed 6,191 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total number of infections to 568,896. She added that 455,054 patients have so far recovered, but 4,969 still remain in critical conditions of the disease.

In the past 24 hours, 296 patients have lost their lives, bringing the total number of deaths to 32,616, she added.

Lari noted that so far 4,719,597 COVID-19 tests have been conducted across the country.

She said the high-risk “red” zones include provinces of Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, East Azarbaijan, South Khorasan, Semnan, Qazvin, Lorestan, Ardebil, Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad, Gilan, Bushehr, Zanjan, Ilam, Khorasan Razavi, Mazandaran, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Alborz, West Azarbaijan, Markazi, Kerman, North Khorasan, Hamedan, Yazd, and Kordestan.

The provinces of Hormozgan, Fars, and Golestan and Sistan-Baluchestan are also on alert.

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