Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Tehran Calm is the word to describe the otherwise busy streets of Tehran after a tiered nationwide lockdown to curb the coronavirus pandemic came into force Saturday.  The new restrictions will be in place for two weeks in Tehran and 150 other worst-hit cities.

As per the new measures, travel to and from high-risk cities are banned and a night ban on movement keeps streets empty from 9 p.m.

to 4 a.m.

The initiative also requires the presence of only one-third of government employees at work place in the red zones.

All non-essential private and public services are also ordered to shut down.

The health ministry says the new measures will be strictly enforced and those who cross the limits will be fined.

While many find the government's initiative a wise step to curb the pandemic, others are concerned about the economic side effects of the lockdown on the most vulnerable strata of society.

The government says it has not left this issue unattended.

President Hassan Rouhani says his administration plans to provide monthly aid packages for families that are worst affected by the lockdown.

Last week, the number of daily infections crossed the 13,000 mark and has been hovering around that figure.

The daily death toll is also inching closer to the 500 mark.

So far, hundreds of thousands of people have contracted the disease and tens of thousands have died of the virus.

Health officials advise everyone to take the curbs seriously, since they say they are the last shot in bridling the soaring numbers of infections and deaths.

They warn the spread of the coronavirus would spiral out of control if the restrictions are overlooked