Iran outlines most recent countermeasures against outbreak

Spokesman for the Iranian administration has outlined the country’s most recent efforts to battle the new coronavirus’ outbreak, saying containing the epidemic is currently the country's top priority.

Speaking to media representatives via video-link on Monday, Ali Rabiei said despite suffering an initial shock, the country soon regained control over the overall situation, and hailed that the Iranian people in various sectors for enhancing their cooperation with one another and with the administration in the face of the predicament.

As of Monday, the Health Ministry announced, the disease has claimed 66 lives and infected 1,501 others. Also 291 people have fully recovered.

The country has set up 107 new workshops tasked with making up for the shortage of disinfectants and sanitary items, Rabiei said.

The production of nanomasks for hospital staff will reach a daily 300,000 by the end of the week, the official said, noting that all the machinery required for manufacturing the item existed inside the country.

Rabiei also noted that experts with the Ministry of Defense had helped develop the testing kits used for diagnosing the infection.

The country, he added, had kick-started efforts to manufacture around 1.5 million facemasks per day. It has also begun distributing imported masks among the public. The official noted that more than 1.2 million masks hoarded across the country have been confiscated.

More than 700 pharmacies have been assigned by the Health Ministry for countrywide sales and distribution of facemasks and hand sanitizers, he said, and put the volume of domestic alcohol production at 400,000 liters per day.

Rabiei said given its stockpiles of imported goods, the country currently faced no shortage of staples. He also said the government had begun addressing the economic losses that had been suffered since the onset of the outbreak.

“What we seek to do is not only to put this monumental scourge behind us, but also to enhance the level of the country’s overall health situation in its aftermath,” Rabiei said.

He also hailed the Islamic Republic for being one of the most transparent countries in providing facts and figures since the start of the outbreak, as opposed to certain countries, which have withheld information due to political and economic reasons.

He also said the Islamic Republic would willingly accept help from all countries to deal with the situation except “the dishonest states,” referring to the US’s recent alleged offer of assistance.

He mentioned Washington’s enforcement of severe economic pressure and currency impediments against Iran as it alleges readiness to help the Islamic Republic.

The virus that emerged in China's central city of Wuhan late last year has so far claimed more than 3,000 lives worldwide.