Iran plans resumption of ‘low risk’ activities
TEHERAN — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that “low-risk” economic activities in the country would resume from April 11 under the supervision of the health ministry, even as new cases and deaths continued to be reported in other countries in Asia and Africa.
Rouhani did not spell what he meant by low-risk activities, but said the suspension of “high-risk activities” — schools and various social, cultural, sports and religious events would be extended to April 18.
He also said Iranian authorities will launch a “smart distancing” plan to continue its fight against the virus.
The health ministry said on Sunday that the Islamic republic’s death toll had reached 3,603 from a total of 58,226 infected people.
In Japan, 143 people were infected with the novel coronavirus in Tokyo, Japan’s NHK public broadcaster reported on Sunday, citing officials from the metropolitan government.
It was the highest daily jump in confirmed cases in the Japanese capital so far, taking the number of positive cases there to more than 1,000.
Meanwhile, Tokyo’s metropolitan government has strongly urged people to stay at home as the city of 13 million has seen a rise in the number of cases in recent days.
In South Korea, the country continued to see a decline in new coronavirus cases on Sunday, but Seoul and the surrounding areas reported a rise due to cluster transmission and imported cases.
Forty of the 81 new COVID-19 cases are imported cases involving entrants from foreign countries, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The country now has 10,237 cases. In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 77 and the total number of confirmed cases in the country reached 3,374 on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a team of 12 medical experts departed from China for the Philippines on Sunday morning to aid the country to fight the COVID19 outbreak.
Separately, a batch of medical supplies donated by China’s Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation arrived in Jordan on Sunday.
In Africa, Morocco has pardoned 5,654 prisoners and ordered measures to protect inmates from the coronavirus outbreak, the justice ministry said on Sunday.
In Algeria, the authorities on Saturday declared a nationwide lockdown to slow down the spread of the virus.
According to the Africa CDC, 44 African countries have already banned mass gatherings, closed public spaces and educational institutions due to concerns related to the spread of COVID-19 across the continent.
The death toll on the African continent was 313 as confirmed positive cases surpassed 7,741 as of Saturday.