Mask Use to Become Mandatory in Iran
The Iranian government has decided to make wearing face masks mandatory in enclosed spaces. In the past 24 hours, Iran has been the second country in the world in terms of death statistics from COVID-19. The condition of approximately three thousand critical patients has been reported.
According to statistics from Iran’s Ministry of Health, in 24 hours, 2,489 new COVID-19 patients have been added to the number of infected patients in Iran. Of this number, 1,406 people have been hospitalized in medical centers across the country. According to Sima Lari, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, 144 COVID-19 patients died during the past 24 hours (July 28-29).
Looking at Johns Hopkins University statistics shows that considering death statistics in the past 24 hours, Iran recorded the highest number of COVID-19 deaths after Mexico. According to official statistics, the condition of 2,946 COVID-19 patients in Iran has been reported as critical.
Iran’s Ministry of Health has declared the coronavirus pandemic situation in the provinces of Khuzestan, Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, Hormozgan, and Kermanshah as “red” and the provinces of Bushehr, Ilam, East Azerbaijan, and Razavi Khorasan as “warning” status.
Qom University of Medical Sciences also warned of the risk of coronavirus resurgence in Qom province, pointing to a threefold increase in the number of people seeking corona testing.
With the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, the government has moved to make wearing face masks mandatory in enclosed spaces. Hassan Rouhani announced on Sunday, July 28, at the headquarters of the National Coronavirus Combat Committee: “Arrangements are to be made from next week to make mask-wearing mandatory from July 30 until the end of the month in places where gatherings occur or that are enclosed.”
According to Hassan Rouhani, mask-wearing is to be made mandatory for two weeks and, if necessary, until the end of August. Iran has been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic since February of last year, and many experts have long warned that government measures to manage this pandemic are insufficient.
Other countries such as South Korea made wearing face masks mandatory in public gatherings from the beginning of the pandemic and began crisis management by implementing travel restrictions and increasing the capacity of coronavirus testing laboratories.
Iran, considering the number of tests conducted per one million population, is currently ranked 91st in the world and has no written plan for quarantine or travel restrictions in case of an increase in coronavirus cases.
Hassan Rouhani claimed on Sunday that Iran has done “tremendous work” in combating coronavirus compared to the rest of the world. He called on “all professions and all people” to observe health principles and said: “We have no other option. The only way is to be careful and follow health principles.”
A month earlier, after the pandemic situation turned red in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, Hassan Rouhani had emphasized that there was no way except observing health principles and that the country’s economic activities would not be limited.
He said on Sunday that based on one of the recent decisions of the National Coronavirus Combat Headquarters, if the pandemic situation in a city turns red, the provincial headquarters can propose one-week restrictions that will be carried out with coordination and with the knowledge and approval of the president, and the restriction can be enforced for one week or extended.
Source: DW
