Pak-Iran border closed temporarily amid coronavirus outbreak

Tehran has confirmed eight deaths from COVID-19 virus, the highest toll of any country outside China

QUETTA: Pakistan on Sunday closed borders with Iran following a spike in novel coronavirus cases in the country.

Sources in the Balochistan interior ministry told The Express Tribune that the provincial government has banned Pakistani pilgrims from traveling to Iran. At least a hundred pilgrims were called back to Quetta from the Taftan border while special check posts have been established to monitor their movement.

According to Express News, Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri shared details of Pakistan’s measures to curb the virus outbreak with the Iranian authorities.

Tehran has confirmed eight deaths from the novel coronavirus on Sunday, the highest toll of any country outside China, with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accusing foreign media of trying to use the outbreak to sabotage the polls.

The final results of the parliamentary election are due later today, two days after it was held on the heels of the confirmation of novel coronavirus cases in the country.

The latest three deaths Iran reported on Sunday were among 15 new confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus, bringing the overall number of infections to 43 and fatalities to eight — the highest death toll outside of China, the epicentre of the epidemic.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan called up Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan and discussed with him the coronavirus spread in Iran and its implications for the border province. Kamal informed the prime minister that he is personally overseeing the government efforts to prevent the deadly infestation from seeping into Balochistan.

The Balochistan government has constituted special teams for safety and precaution against coronavirus, while all district headquarters hospitals have been directed to stay vigilant.

“The provincial government has deputed special health teams at Taftan border, while an emergency has been declared in the districts that share border with Iran,” said the provincial chief minister, who also discussed the preventive measures with the de facto health minister Dr Zafar Mirza.

‘Pakistan has effective drug for COVID-19’

On Saturday, Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces from Sunday following five deaths in the Islamic Republic – the most outside East Asia and the first in the Middle East. Iran’s outbreak surfaced on Wednesday and has quickly worsened with 28 cases confirmed.

“The concern is… that we have seen … a very rapid increase (in Iran) in a matter of a few days,” said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO’s global infectious hazard preparedness department.

Iran’s government also ordered all “art and cinema events” nationwide cancelled until the end of the coming week. Iran is preparing for a parliamentary election on Friday, raising fears that balloting could spread the virus further.

China reported another 97 deaths in its daily update on Sunday, taking its total to 2,442, plus another 648 new infections. Nearly 80,000 infections have been reported worldwide.

The vast majority of Chinese deaths and new infections remained concentrated in the hard-hit city of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have first emanated from a live animal market in December.