Iran opens up as economic woes trump virus infection fears

An Iranian man, wearing personal protective equipment amid the Covid-19 pandemic, shops at the Grand Bazaar market in the capital Tehran, on April 18, 2020.

There are still lingering questions over Iran's outbreak and the safety of those returning to work. Taxi drivers partitioned their seats from the customers with plastic shields and wore masks, having seen colleagues sickened and killed by the virus and the Covid-19 illness it causes. Iran downplayed the crisis for weeks, even as top officials found themselves sick with the virus. The country's civilian government, led by President Hassan Rouhani, has declined to implement the 24-hour lockdowns seen in other Mideast nations.Authorities have defended their response by outpointing the harsh economic impact such a lockdown would have.

The state-owned polling centre ISPA found the virus has hurt the income of 50 percent of those surveyed, with 42 percent saying their businesses closed as a result. Of those polled this month, 13.5 percent said the outbreak left them jobless. The survey interviewed 1,563 people and offered no margin of error.

That need has put drivers at risk. In Tehran, taxi officials say over a dozen cab drivers died from the virus and more than 300 contracted it. But distancing and government decisions have seen more people drive themselves, taking away from the cabbies' possible fares. Meanwhile, some worry the plastic guard shield they put up may not be enough protection.

Iran is under the most severe sanctions It does not have the economic ability to fully quarantine.

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