TEHRAN – Iran will extend restrictions on non-essential travels as of November 21, attempting to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan called on [colleagues in various] provinces to comply with the new rules set by the National Headquarters for Coronavirus, urging they should inspect tourist and accommodation places more seriously, ISNA reported on Sunday.

This time, the minister apparently didn’t accentuate his previous stance which encouraged travels but not mass, unplanned and irresponsible ones, the report added.

He made the remarks days before implementing a plan for a two-week lockdown as of November 21 for over 100 cities to curb the disease. The plan divides cities into three levels of alert, according to which, if a city is in a state of high alert, all other occupations will be closed, except for the most essential jobs, which are related to the provision of basic necessities, security, and health.

Mounesan announced early in November that smart and responsible traveling should replace “do not travel” recommendations, adding “In our country, Corona has caused problems in the tourism industry and the worrying point is the continuation of this trend.”

“We are well aware of what the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control proclaims [the health protocols], hence as a proposal, we have formulated some smart, responsible travel packages by the implementation of which we could have secure travels.”

Days before, the deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi predicted the COVID-19 death toll would double in the next weeks, adding “Unfortunately, daily deaths reached over 450 in the past 10 days, and an upward trend in infection, hospitalization, and death is predicted.”

The headquarters has also issued a directive, based on which corona tests would be mandatory as of November 18 upon entry and exit for passengers during air, land, and sea travels.
Over the past couple of months, many countries, including Iran, have imposed travel restrictions to help curb the spread of novel coronavirus. In this line, flights have been suspended and road and sea travels restricted to a great extent.

AFM/MG