TEHRAN, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday ruled out the likelihood of locking down the capital city of Tehran or other cities despite the novel coronavirus outbreak, Iran's Press TV reported.
"We have no such thing as quarantine at all. There have been rumors that certain jobs and stores in Tehran or some cities will be quarantined. They are not true," Rouhani was quoted by the Press TV as saying.
"There will be no quarantine neither today nor during, before or after Nowruz (the Iranian New Year)," he said.
People are free to pursue their professions as they like, while the government continues to offer its services as usual, he said.
"However, we are doing our best so that the government's economic activities and services are offered in a way that to keep people at home longer," he added.
On Saturday, local media reported that authorities were mulling over imposing a partial lockdown on 11 provinces in the country to fight the spread of novel coronavirus, which has claimed more than 700 lives in Iran.
