Iran to Reopen Schools, Universities Amid Pandemic

EghtesadOnline: With no end in sight for the Covid-19 outbreak, schools and universities in Iran will reopen at the end of the summer following months of closure.

News ID: ۷۵۰۲۷۷

21 June 2020

According to the latest decisions announced by Iran’s coronavirus taskforce chaired by President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday, students will return to classrooms for the start of the new school year, President.ir reported.

Higher education centers will welcome students for the start of the new academic year, which will start two weeks sooner on September 5.

At the taskforce’s meeting, Rouhani said, “We must prepare ourselves for the long haul. We might be tackling with the outbreak until the end of the year.”

The president asked for “consistency” and “patience” from the general public to keep the infectious disease at bay and maintain the country’s success in stemming the spread of the SARS-CoV-2.

With over 200,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 9,500 fatalities, Iran ranks 10th among countries hit hardest by an outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, in the final months of 2019.

Rouhani also discussed a proposal that would mandate wearing facemasks in enclosed public places.

“Low-cost masks need to become widely accessible before the scheme can be launched,” he said.

Starting Sunday, cinemas and theaters will resume operations after four months of nationwide shutdown and heavy economic losses.

According to the president, nationwide quarantine measures will be replaced with targeted lockdown moving forward to minimize the ramifications of pausing economic activities.

Covid-19 Fatalities Cross 9,500

The death toll of the coronavirus pandemic in Iran rose above 9,500 on Saturday, Health Ministry Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari was quoted as saying by ISNA.

“During the 24-hour period, 115 lost their lives to Covid-19 and the number of deaths reached 9,507,” Lari said.

Iran reported 2,322 new confirmed infections on Saturday, which took the national tally to 202,584. Nearly 600 were admitted to hospitals and the rest displaying mild symptoms were instructed to self-quarantine.

Over 161,000 have either recovered or left hospitals and 2,800 are in serious condition. Iran has carried out 1.39 million diagnostic tests in the past four months to track down and contain the deadly virus.

For the first time in weeks, the southwestern province of Khuzestan was listed among the regions with alarming Covid-19 numbers, an upgrade from the previous “red” status.

Across the globe, at least 8.8 million have fallen ill due to the coronavirus, over 463,000 of whom have died.