Iranian health officials on Friday warned they may apply "force" to restrict travel between cities and disclosed the novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of 124 people in the midst of 4,747 confirmed cases in the country.
Ministry of Health spokesperson Kianoush Jahanpour bared the information at a televised media briefing. Jahanpour did not provide any further details on the warning to use force, although he acknowledged the virus now was reportedly monitored in all 31 provinces of Iran.
The threat may be to prevent people from using closed schools as an alibi to go to the Caspian Sea and other Iranian holiday areas. Unofficial news agencies in the country shared photos of long traffic lines as people tried to head for the Caspian coast from the capital city Tehran Friday, despite government authorities telling them earlier to remain in their homes.
The total number of virus cases confirmed around the globe breached the 100,000 mark on Friday. Tehran's announcement came as the World Health Organization called on nations to make containment "their highest priority" and United States President Donald Trump signed an $8.3 billion emergency funding bill to manage the outbreak, despite claiming that "it will just go away".
On Thursday, authorities announced they would set up checkpoints to limit travel between cities, hoping to slow down the spread of the coronavirus as Friday prayers were canceled across the country's major cities.
Checkpoints on roads in Gilan and Mazandaran provinces were being manned by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards in what is the most visible intervention by the government yet. There also appeared to be strict mandatory checks for those entering or leaving the holy city of Qom.
In the capital, firefighters sprayed disinfectant on an 18-kilometer stretch of the city's famous Valiasr Avenue, some from firetrucks and others walking along the sidewalks, spraying ATMs and business shops.
Stung by criticism of the way it dealt with the outbreak, Tehran authorities have pointed to WHO evaluations that have not challenged the state numbers. Health ministers disclosed the new figures may indicate the availability of more precise testing materials.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, a dozen new cases were reported among personnel of a cruise liner in Egypt. A tourist who traveled on the same ship tested positive for the coronavirus on her return to Taiwan a week ago.
Meanwhile, schools in some parts of China were scheduled to reopen as the main province of Hubei reported no new cases of the virus in the last 24 hours for the first time since the outbreak was detected last year.
