Iran enters lockdown, India short on jabs

Iran has entered a new lockdown amid a fourth wave of coronavirus as a number of Indian states are worried about a shortage of vaccines as infections soar in the country.

Iran on Saturday began a 10-day lockdown, state TV reported, a worrisome trend after more than a year of the country battling the Middle East's worst outbreak.

The country's coronavirus task force, charged with determining virus restrictions, ordered most shops closed and offices restricted to one-third capacity in cities declared as "red-zones".

The capital Tehran and 250 other cities and towns across the country have been declared red zones.

The severe surge in infections follows a two-week public holiday for Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

Millions traveled to the Caspian coast and other popular vacation spots, packed markets to shop for new clothes and toys and congregated in homes for parties in defiance of government health guidelines.

The new lockdown also affects all parks, restaurants, bakeries, beauty salons, malls and bookstores.

There appeared to be no respite in sight to the virus's spread as Iran's vaccine rollout lagged. Only some 200,000 doses have been administered in the country of 84 million, according to the World Health Organisation.

COVAX, an international collaboration to deliver the vaccine equitably across the world, delivered its first shipment to Iran on Monday from the Netherlands containing 700,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses.

The Health Ministry said there were more than 19,600 new infections on Saturday, including 193 deaths. The confirmed death toll since the beginning of the outbreak stood at more than 64,200.

Hadi Minaie, a shop owner at Tehran's Grand Bazaar, said mismanagement was the reason for the new surge and the government should have prevented people's movements during Nowruz - not at a time when people need to earn a living.

"Nobody can say the lockdown should not have been imposed. But better management would have been enforcing it during Nowruz holiday when everywhere was already closed not now that everyone wants to work and earn a living," he said.

Meanwhile in India, multiple states are warning the federal government of COVID-19 vaccine shortages as another spike in cases threatens to overrun the country and its already-feeble medical infrastructure.

Authorities in New Delhi and in Punjab and Rajasthan states said on Saturday that they would not be able to continue vaccinations in the coming days unless stocks were replenished.

Earlier this week, western Maharashtra state, the epicentre of the country's outbreak, closed some vaccination centres and turned people away due to inadequate vaccine supplies.

Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said the country has enough doses and urged state governments to put an end to "fearmongering."

India, a major vaccine manufacturer, has so far administered 97 million shots but is facing major supply snags as it works to inoculate a huge population of nearly 1.4 billion people. Vaccine shots are currently limited to people over age 45 and frontline workers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's opponents have blamed his government for exporting tens of millions of vaccine doses instead of focusing on immunisations at home.

India has exported 64.5 million vaccine doses of vaccines to other nations. It stopped exports last week to prioritise domestic needs.