Hassan Rouhani: We will be dealing with the coronavirus for at least another year or two
On Monday, October 19, in a meeting with the directors of the Ministry of Health, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani referred to the country's problems in dealing with the coronavirus and said that Iran will be struggling with the coronavirus for at least another year, and the main task in combating it is to change lifestyle.
Mr. Rouhani said: "On a pessimistic basis, we will be dealing with this disease for another year. For now, we are basing our assumptions on the fact that we will be facing this problem this year and maybe next year, and the main thing to do against it is to change our lifestyle."
He mentioned the most important solution as convincing people to comply with health protocols, and in this context, he cited the example of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, who, according to him, considers himself "bound to the approvals of the headquarters."
Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has canceled all public meetings and his annual religious programs, and has also delivered his few speeches virtually.
In another part of his speech about imposing fines for not wearing masks, the Iranian president also stated that the government "has not sewn a bag" and said, "All people must accept that the conditions in the country today are different from yesterday and that these conditions may continue for months."
He also described the increase in the death rate from the coronavirus as a "warning signal," saying, "People should not be afraid of the high number of infections, but if our death rate increases, that means a warning signal."
In recent days, officials of the National Headquarters for Combating Corona have tried to contain the spread of Corona in Iran by imposing some social restrictions, imposing fines on citizens who violate the rules, and banning some cultural, sports, and religious activities. However, the new statistics on infections and deaths show that these policies have failed.
In the latest official statistics, the spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Health announced today that 337 people have died from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily death toll from the coronavirus in the past 9 months.
Hassan Rouhani also emphasized the expansion and increase of testing to stop the chain of infection, saying: "Every person who is infected should call their family, close friends, and those who were with them and immediately quarantine them."
Conducting widespread testing and tracing infection chains requires more technical facilities and manpower in the healthcare sector. In this regard, Mr. Rouhani did not explain how this directive would be implemented, but said that "there is no limit" to the number of coronavirus test kits, and the number of 25,000 tests per day should increase to 40,000 tests per day.
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran also announced a fine of 200,000 Tomans for those who do not comply with the quarantine, but added: "These regulations that are being imposed must be implemented and put into practice, otherwise, if they remain on paper, they will not progress and we will not achieve results."
According to official statistics from the Iranian Ministry of Health, the total number of victims of COVID-19 in Iran has reached 30,712 as of October 19, while Iraj Harirchi, Deputy Minister of Health, recently said that the actual death toll from the coronavirus is 2.2 times higher than the official figures.
Source: Radio Farda
