TEHRAN – More than 40,000 passengers have been tested for coronavirus at official border terminals since March 14, the Iranian Red Crescent Society reported on Thursday.

During the period, 9,439 rapid tests and 4,337 PCR tests have been done and 30 individuals have been temporarily quarantined, the report added.

With the cooperation of ministries of health and transport, this plan will be implemented with the goal of rapidly identifying and testing incoming passengers and keeping them in quarantine facilities, if necessary, IRCS head Karim Hemmati has said.

Thirty border checkpoints have been selected, including 18 land borders, nine air borders, and three sea borders, he said, adding that all incoming passengers will be tested and referred to the quarantine facilities in case of necessity.

He went on to say that some 5,000 members of the IRCS will cooperate for carrying out the plan, noting that around 8,000 individuals enter the country via borders on a daily basis.

In February, Khuzestan province’s governor general said Iraqi nationals visiting Iran have worsened the coronavirus pandemic in the southwestern province.

More than 300 Iraqi nationals cross Chazzabeh and Shalamcheh borders per day, Qassem Soleimani-Dashtaki said, adding that the issue has contributed to a rise in the number of coronavirus cases.

MG