TEHRAN – The National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control will implement a plan, according to which all occupations, except for emergency services and basic food suppliers, will be closed for two weeks in more than 100 cities in an attempt to curb the coronavirus.

Alireza Reisi, a spokesman for the Headquarters, said that “the plan will go into effect on November 21.”

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.

Deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi has predicted that the COVID-19 death toll would double in the next two weeks.

“Unfortunately, daily deaths reached over 450 in the past 10 days, and an upward trend in infection, hospitalization, and death is predicted,” he lamented.

Due to the high prevalence of the disease, officials at the Medical Council have written a letter to President Hassan Rouhani that the deplorable condition of the pandemic in the country, and the rising number of mortalities and new cases, requires a more serious review of the management methods of this crisis.

COVID-19 cases, toll at high record

In a press briefing on Saturday, Health Ministry spokesperson Sima-Sadat Lari confirmed 11,203 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total number of infections to 749,525. She added that 552,747 patients have so far recovered, but 5,642 still remain in critical conditions of the disease.

During the past 24 hours, coronavirus daily deaths and new cases hit the record high, as 452 patients have lost their lives, bringing the total number of deaths to 41,034, she added.

Lari noted that so far 5,464,191 COVID-19 tests have been conducted across the country. She said the high-risk “red” zones include provinces of Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, East Azarbaijan, South Khorasan, Semnan, Qazvin, Lorestan, Ardebil, Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad, Gilan, Bushehr, Zanjan, Ilam, Khorasan Razavi, Mazandaran, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Alborz, West Azarbaijan, Markazi, Kerman, North Khorasan, Hamedan, Yazd, and Kordestan.

The provinces of Hormozgan, Fars, and Golestan and Sistan-Baluchestan are also on alert.

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