Tehran: In an effort to curb the spread of mutant variant of COVID-19, the Iran government on Saturday announced the closure of several border points with Iraq, reports said.
Iran’s health minister Saeed Namaki told state TV that crossing points to Iraq from Khuzestan Province, as well as the neighboring provinces of Ilam and Kermanshah were closed to passengers.
“The main source of infection with the mutated version in Britain in the Khuzestan region is travelers who arrived from Iraq, and for this reason we closed the borders of this region until further notice,” he added.
Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki on Saturday announced the closure of several border points with Iraq in an effort to curb the spread of mutant variant of COVID-19 in the country.
Earlier, the Iraqi health minister Hassan al- Tamimi said that the new variant first found in Britain had been detected in the country, recording a significant increase in the number of infections.
The official media stated that Iran is the most affected Middle Eastern country by COVID-19. Besides, it is also currently witnessing an increase in the number of HIV infections, with 11 cities and towns in the Khuzestan region in the southwest of the country declaring highly dangerous “red” areas.
Iran’s health ministry on Saturday reported 7,922 new cases of COVID-19 and 68 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 59,409, with 1,566,081 registered cases.