Скачать или смотреть Iran imposes 6-day nationwide lockdown over virus

(16 Aug 2021) LEAD IN:
Streets in Tehran were largely empty and stores were closed in the Grand Bazaar as a six-day lockdown went into effect in Iran.

STORY-LINE:
Iran on Monday entered a six-day lockdown in cities across the country after being hit by what it describes as its fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lockdown that begins on Monday and will last through Saturday includes all bazaars, markets and public offices, as well as movie theaters, gyms and restaurants in all Iranian cities.
The Grand Bazaar, traditionally the beating heart of Tehran, was completely closed down on what would otherwise be a busy day of the week.
The country's national coronavirus taskforce, which issued the decision, also ordered a travel ban between all Iranian cities from Sunday to Friday.
The country's health officials on Sunday announced its highest death toll from COVID-19 for a single day, state media reported.
The official IRNA news agency said 620 patients had died since Saturday and health workers found more than 36,700 new cases over the same period.
It also said 7,323 patients were in critical conditions.
Before the Sunday report, the highest single-day death toll was reported last Monday.
Iran is struggling to vaccinate its people against the pandemic.
Like much of the world, it remains far behind countries like the United States in vaccinations, with only 3.8 million of its more than 80 million people having received both vaccine doses.
Many front-line medical workers have been vaccinated with Iran's locally produced shots or the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine that may be less effective than other inoculations.  
Iran's government announced that its homemade vaccine provides 85% protection from the coronavirus, without disclosing data or details.
Iran also imports Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, as well as the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot through the United Nations-backed COVAX program.  
So far, authorities have avoided imposing heavy-handed rules on a population badly equipped to bear them.
Iran, which has suffered the worst virus outbreak in the region, is reeling from a series of crises: tough U.S. sanctions, global isolation, a heat wave, the worst blackouts in recent memory and ongoing protests over water and electricity shortages.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, in January slammed shut any possibility of American or British vaccines entering the country, calling them "forbidden."
For now, the majority of Iranians receiving vaccines rely on foreign-made shots. A health ministry spokesman said that Iran could import Western vaccines "as long as they're not produced in the U.S. or Britain."

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...