Schools, libraries, mosques and other public institutions in Tehran have been closed for a week as part of measures to stem a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases, state media cited authorities in the Iranian capital as saying.
The closure plan, which will also affect universities, seminaries, museums, theatres, gyms, cafes and hair salons in the city, came after Alireza Zali, head of the Tehran Coronavirus Taskforce, called for the shutdown to help control the epidemic.
Zali warned in an interview on state television that if the spread of the virus continues at the current rate in Tehran, there would be a three- to five-fold increase in cases and a rise in the fatality rate to between 1.5 per cent and 3pc.
Iran's death toll from Covid-19 rose by 179 today to 26,746, and identified cases by 3,523 to 468,119, health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV.
