Need to Monitor Entry Points in Face of New Virus Variant

As more and more cases of the new coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom are detected worldwide, Iran’s National Coronavirus Headquarters called for screening measures at international travel entry points.
“The new virus is right behind our country’s borders; we need to be constantly prepared,” the headquarters’ spokesperson, Alireza Raeisi, was quoted as saying by ISNA. 
According to British officials, the mutated coronavirus is up to 70% more transmittable, prompting many countries to block travel from the UK to prevent another surge in cases.
“Covid-19 is being eliminated and replaced by the new variant,” Raeisi said. “We need to be prepared in case the virus enters the country and identify and isolate infected individuals fast.”
He warned that the slightest neglect could trigger another wave of infections over the next month. 
Iran imposed widespread restrictions during most of autumn to contain a third wave that was killing 500 a day at its worst.
Estimates by the Health Ministry suggest that without the recent intervention, Covid-19 hospitalizations would have increased by a whopping 50,000 and 7,500 more would have died. 
Iran’s death toll currently stands at 54,000.
The government has enforced a nightly curfew in at least 440 cities around the country to prevent patients from overwhelming its healthcare system.

Deaths Decline by 50%

Health Minister Saeed Namaki on Monday announced overnight deaths caused by Covid-19 have plummeted by at least 50-60%. 
Pointing to an exhaustive plan launched across the country to track and isolate coronavirus positive patients, especially among the underclass, the minister said, “We’re seeing at least 50-60% drop in daily deaths and a 60-70% drop in hospitalizations.”
“Over 5,900 tested positive for the novel coronavirus within one day, which pushed the tally of cases to 1.206 million,” the spokeswoman for the Health Ministry, Sima Sadat Lari, said.
“Within the past 24 hours, 121 Covid-19 patients lost their lives, taking the national total to 54,814.”
The health official said 5,170 are currently in critical condition and 960,000 have recovered from the respiratory illness. 
Lari concluded that Iran has carried out 7.46 million PCR tests since the deadly virus was first identified in the country.
More than 81.2 million worldwide have caught the infectious disease and 1.77 million have died from it.