Al-Monitor - Iranian Health Ministry officials have warned against traveling during Eid al-Fitr.

Iran's Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour spoke to reporters May 21 about the latest update of the country’s coronavirus numbers and efforts to bring the spread of the virus under control.

Jahanpour discussed efforts by the Health Ministry to hire temporary workers who signed up to combat the virus that causes COVID-19. While he did not discuss the total number of workers hired, the ministry conducted local screenings nationwide in order to identify and isolate local hotspots of COVID-19 infections.

Jahanpour was asked about the controversy surrounding the new traffic rules. Due to the great risk of virus transmission on public transportation, bus and metro services have been reduced significantly — from 4 million passengers to 1 million passengers daily. This has led to increased traffic on the roads, particularly in Tehran. In response to increasing public transportation services again, Jahanpour said, “Our priority is observing social and physical distancing, not air pollution.” He warned, “Pushing people toward public transportation can create many problems for Tehran.”

On the issue of immunization and reinfection, Jahanpour said, “We cannot be certain that someone who has recovered from the coronavirus cannot be infected again.” He added that if someone recovers, there is a period “of a few months” in which they cannot be reinfected with the coronavirus, but beyond that no one knows if the immunity lasts many months or years.

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