Rouhani: Iran's fight with coronavirus not over yet

By Trend

Iran's work in fighting coronavirus should not be considered over, as the work of the healthcare sector in the country has increased, said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Trend reports via IRNA.

"Coronavirus has become a test of proficiency of countries and the global system. Iranian healthcare workers' skill in treatment and controlling the disease is increasing every day," said Rouhani.

"The statistics show that the road travels around Iran have dropped by 80 percent, while traveling by train has reduced by 96 percent, and air and sea travels declined by 83 and 98 percent respectively since the start of the Iranian year (started March 20,2020). This indicates the people's cooperation in fighting the disease," he said.

"There were concerns over shortage of equipment and masks in hospitals during the early stages of virus spread, but thanks to the public and the private sector,we can domestically supply sanitizers, detergents, masks and ventilator domestically and even have power to export them," he added.

"In recent days the coronavirus spread has declined in some provinces, although there are still problems in a few provinces that should be taken care of," he said.

The outbreak of the coronavirus began in the Chinese city of Wuhan (an international transport hub), at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

Iran is one of the countries affected by the rapidly-spreading coronavirus.

The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.

The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.