Dubai: Iran will set up checkpoints to limit travel between major cities and urged citizens Thursday to reduce their use of paper money to fight the spreading outbreak of the new coronavirus, which has killed at least 107 people across the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki announced his country’s new restrictions at a televised press conference. He added that schools and universities will remain closed through Nowruz, the Persian New Year, March 20. He said people should stay in their vehicles at gas stations and allow attendants to fill their gas tanks to avoid the spread of the virus. Iran and Italy have the world’s highest death tolls outside of China.
The Palestinian Health Ministry meanwhile said it was preventing all tourists from entering the West Bank. The ministry did not specify for how long. Most tourists to the West Bank visit the biblical city of Bethlehem, where the Nativity Church is located, and Jericho.
The measures come after suspicions that four Palestinians had caught the new coronavirus. A Palestinian official said the four had tested positive for the virus but that the tests were sent to Israel to verify the results. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to discuss the issue with the media.
The Palestinian Health Ministry also said churches and places of worship in Bethlehem will be closed for two weeks.
Earlier Thursday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) warned its citizens and its foreign residents not to travel anywhere abroad amid the ongoing worldwide coronavirus outbreak, a stark warning for a country home to two major long-haul airlines.
The country’s Health and Community Protection Ministry warning comes as its capital, Abu Dhabi, sent 215 foreigners it evacuated from hard-hit Hubei in China to a quarantine set up in its Emirates Humanitarian City. They include citizens of Egypt, Sudan and Yemen.
Health officials warned that those travelling abroad could face quarantine themselves at the discretion of authorities. The UAE is home to some nine million people, with only about one million estimated to be Emirati citizens.
The UAE is home to Emirates, the government-owned airline based at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel. Abu Dhabi also is home to Etihad, the country’s national carrier. Both airlines have encouraged staff to take time off as international travel has dropped due to the virus.
AP
