On Tuesday, Iran issued its strongest warning to data about the pandemic, suggesting that if the Islamic Republic continues to keep traveling and ignoring health guidance, “millions” of the Islamic Republic residents could die. Iran’s supreme leader also issued a ban on unnecessary domestic travel. Approximately 9/10 of the confirmed coronavirus cases in the Middle East have come from Iran weeks after the Iranian government initially denied the outbreak’s threat for days.
Officials have now implemented health checks for those trying to move major cities, although no areas have been quarantined at this time. Iran’s experienced a 13% increase in its death toll on Tuesday, and the virus has now killed 135 more people which brings the country’s total to 988 deaths. The country accounts for 16,000 of the 18,000 cases across the Middle East. Jordan has taken action, banning gatherings of more than 10 people but other neighboring countries have largely failed to announce precautions.
Read More: Iran warns virus could kill ‘millions’ in Islamic Republic