Iran registers eight deaths from coronavirus, it’s neighbors close borders
Three new patients died this Sunday; Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan suspend flights and block border crossings.
Iran became on Sunday 23, the country with the highest number of deaths caused by the new coronavirus outside China: eight deaths. The situation has led some of it’s neighboring countries to close their borders or ban travel to Iran alltogether.
The Iranian Ministry of Health has announced the death of three new patients infected with Covid-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. The country has 43 cases of contamination. The first cases in Iran and the first two deaths, which took place in the holy Shi’ite city of Qom, were announced on Wednesday 19.
Iran was the first country in the Middle East to record deaths from the new coronavirus. As a “preventive measure”, the government announced the closure of schools and universities, cinemas, theaters and other cultural centers in 14 of the country’s 31 provinces, including the capital, Tehran. Cultural and artistic events were banned for a week in the affected regions.
Health Minister Said Namaki announced that the treatment of the disease will be free. At least one hospital in each city will dedicate itself exclusively to assisting, examining and treating cases of coronavirus contamination. In Tehran, a city with more than eight million inhabitants and where four of the 15 new cases announced on Sunday were registered, the city ordered the closure of water sources and candy sales outlets at metro stations.
Closed borders
Turkey announced yesterday the temporary closure of its land border with Iran, as well as the suspension of flights from the country. “We have decided to shut the land border temporarily after an increase in the number of cases in our neighbor Iran,” said Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.
The minister stressed that Turkey is “concerned” about the situation and took these measures after talking to Iranian officials. Roads and railways will be closed, and air traffic will also be suspended. The land and railway borders will be closed from 5 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) on Sunday, the minister said. He added that air traffic from Iran into Turkey would also be stopped from 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) but departures to Iran could continue.
In addition to Turkey, other countries took the same preventive measure on Sunday. Pakistan announced it would close its border with Iran because of the coronavirus. “We have closed our border with Iran because of the reports of coronavirus there,”,” said Ayesha Zehri, a senior official in the government of Baluchistan, the largest Pakistani province, which borders the Islamic Republic.
Likewise, Afghanistan “temporarily banned” travel by land or air to Iran to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The National Security Council said that so far no cases of the virus have been detected in the country.