Iran may restore curbs; Sri Lanka aims to open up

TEHERAN－Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has said the government will restore strict restrictions relating to the novel coronavirus if it is forced to do so for the sake of public safety.

Speaking at a meeting of the National Headquarters for Managing and Fighting the Coronavirus in Teheran on Saturday, Rouhani expressed satisfaction that many Iranian provinces had successfully fought the pandemic and were experiencing a decline in the number of infections after the peak of the disease had been reached, according to its state TV.

In those regions the situation can no longer be regarded as an emergency, he said, but concerns had been raised about people ignoring health protocols in several provinces.

In April and May "people cooperated better in implementing health guidelines and we witnessed a proper situation", but since early June the "observance level has decreased from about 80 to 20 percent," Rouhani said. "It could be worrisome."

Over the past month, with the slowdown in the pace of infections and deaths, Iran started to gradually ease certain restrictions and reopened businesses and public places.

"All these reopenings are conditional," Rouhani was quoted as saying. "If we have to, we will restore the restrictions."

On Sunday Iran reported 2,472 new cases, raising the total number in the country to 187,427, the state TV reported.

In Pakistan, the number of confirmed cases rose to 132,405 after 6,472 people tested positive for the disease on Friday, the highest single-day rise since the outbreak in the country, Pakistani health ministry said.

The rise in the cases follows the easing of a lockdown. The government and health authorities say the main reason for the rapid spread of the disease has been a failure by the public to adhere to measures aimed at curbing the disease.

India reported more than 11,000 new infections on Saturday, another single-day high for the country, as it passed the milestone of 300,000 cases. India's caseload has risen by about 100,000 in a week, coinciding with the reopening of shopping malls, houses of worship and restaurants.

New Delhi's government has projected that the number of cases in the capital area alone could rise to more than 500,000 by late next month and is considering requisitioning luxury hotels and stadiums to convert them into field hospitals.

In Sri Lanka, the country has reported 1,884 confirmed cases as of Sunday and 11 deaths, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. The country's officials said earlier that the virus-battered tourism industry can reopen for foreign guests from August but under strict guidelines.

Xinhua - Agencies