Iranians Flock To Armenia To Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19; Govt Tightens Rules
As Iran is grappling with highly infectious delta variant of COVID-19, the countrymen flocked to neighbouring nation Armenia to get a jab of the vaccine.
Written By
Ajeet Kumar
As Iran is struggling to overcome the highly infectious delta variant of COVID-19 due to less presence of government-sponsored vaccination drive, the countrymen are now moving to the neighbouring nation Armenia in order to get a jab of the coronavirus vaccine. According to the scientific publication Our World in Data, Iran has vaccinated less than 2 per cent of the country's 84 million people.
Tour and travel businesses have seen an unprecedented surge
A 39-year-old garment trader also waiting to embark on the journey at a Tehran bus station told AP that he could not wait for such a long time for vacation, adding the Iranian officials have delayed the mass vaccination that forced him to take this step. As Iranian citizens started touring to the neighbouring country, the travel business that has seen its worst phase since the pandemic erupted has witnessed an unprecedented surge in the business. According to the local media report, around 500 Iranian citizens ferry to Armenia through flights, buses and private taxis. Amid the surge, airlines have added multiple flights from Iran to Yerevan while buses have doubled the trips. A manager of a tour and travels agency in Tehran, on the condition of anonymity, said, "The number of passengers travelling to Armenia has increased tremendously for the last three to four weeks, adding most of them are ferrying to inculcate the covid-19 vaccine jab.
Armenia tightens rule for foreigners
Earlier, the Armenian authorities had said that they were rolling out vaccination drive for the foreigners in order to boost the tourism sector of the country, however, with the sheer number of Iranian citizens visiting the country for the shake of vaccine, it has pressed the authorities to tighten the rules. Following the government strict action towards the foreign tourists, it has designated only five places for the tourists' vaccination and also made it compulsory to spend at least 10 days, if they want to take the jab of AstraZeneca vaccine.
Government makes mandatory 10 days stay for Vaccine wishers
"As a result, the crowds of the foreigner has gone down. Those who can afford 10 days stay in Armenia are now getting the COVID vaccine at the AstraZeneca mobile clinics in Yerevan," said a country based doctor on the condition of anonymity. According to the Worldometer– a reference website that provides counters and real-time statistics about the covid cases– Iran has registered at least 35,01,079 cases of which 86,966 have died since the pandemic erupted in the country.
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