TEHRAN – Some 6,173 suspected passengers have undergone PCR tests for coronavirus at the country's official borders since March 20, a spokesman for the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), has said.

During the period, 16,630 rapid tests have been done at the country's 33 official borders and 33 individuals have been temporarily quarantined, Mohammad-Hassan Qousian Moghaddam stated.

So far, 87,786 passengers have been monitored through the plan, he added, IRNA reported on Friday.

With the cooperation of ministries of health and transport, a plan was implemented with the goal of rapidly identifying and testing incoming passengers and keeping them in quarantine facilities, if necessary.

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

Some 5,000 members of the IRCS cooperate for carrying out the plan; while around 8,000 individuals enter the country via borders on a daily basis, Karim Hemmati, head of IRCS said on March 26.

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.

New cases and mortalities

In a press briefing on Monday, Health Ministry’s spokesperson Sima-Sadat Lari confirmed 11,660 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total number of infections to 1,908,974. She added that 1,633,949 patients have so far recovered, but 3,784 remain in critical conditions of the disease.

During the past 24 hours, 117 patients have lost their lives, bringing the total number of deaths to 62,876, she added.

So far, 12,963,778 COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been performed in the country.

FB/MG