Tehran Under Lockdown for Eid al-Adha to Halt COVID-19 Spread

Iran’s capital city and a neighboring province have been locked down for the Eid al-Adha holiday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Iranian government lowered the boom on Tehran and Alborz province beginning on Tuesday and running through Sunday. Iran begins its observance of Eid al-Adha on Wednesday, when millions of Iranians travel, many to the north of the country. Iran has seen more than 200 deaths a day throughout July, half of them in Tehran, with more than 25,000 new cases daily. Residents of Tehran are being prevented from leaving the city and nonresidents are not permitted to enter. The province’s highways on Monday were full of cars of people trying to leave the area before the lockdown, leading to massive traffic jams. All religious and cultural events have been closed, as have parks, with banks and government offices shuttered as well. Iran, which is in the midst of a fifth wave of COVID-19, has seen what is considered the deadliest outbreak of the virus in the Middle East.