Iran blocks off holy sites Iran as virus deaths near 1,000

A cleric prays outside the Fatima Masumeh shrine in Iran's holy city of Qom. Iran closed four key Shiite pilgrimage sites across the Islamic republic on Tuesday (March 17) in line with measures to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, state media reported. State television said that "upon the orders of the anti-coronavirus headquarters and the health minister, the holy shrines of" Imam Reza in Mashhad, Fatima Masumeh in Qom and Shah Abdol-Azim in Tehran were closed until further notice. - AFP

TEHERAN: Four holy sites in Iran are blocked off to visitors due to the coronavirus outbreak which has now claimed nearly 1,000 lives in the country.

State media on Tuesday (March 17) reported that three mausoleums in the cities of Mashad, Qom, and Tehran were shut, as well as the large Jamkaran mosque in Qom, which is south of Teheran.