National Coronavirus Task Force: The consequences of the country's quarantine will be greater than the spread of the virus

Kianoush Jahanpour, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, says that home quarantine is being implemented, and some people's opinion about the country's forced quarantine would be a type of martial law that would have social, economic, and security consequences.

The spokesperson for the National Headquarters for Combating Corona and the head of public relations for the Ministry of Health emphasized in a news conference held via video that a level four quarantine is not applicable in Iran. He said that after individual quarantine, the closure of schools, universities, and then shopping malls and arcades, home quarantine has been recommended, which is being implemented with the participation of the public.

IRNA news agency quoted Kianoush Jahanpour as saying: "What some people think about quarantine, which sometimes causes doubts, is generally the implementation of a kind of martial law and severe coercive measures, which in our opinion is neither possible nor desirable, and it is not possible to establish it in the country, and it will not have the desired desirability and effectiveness. In countries that have implemented this level of quarantine, it has not necessarily had a desirable outcome and opened a way, but rather will have economic, social, and even security complications and consequences, the effects and damages of which have been greater than the spread of the disease."

Iraj Harirchi, the deputy head of the Ministry of Health, had initially called quarantine a medieval affair. Hassan Rouhani also rejected the idea of ​​a complete quarantine of cities a week ago, saying: “There is no such thing. There is no quarantine today, nor during Nowruz… nor before or after, and everyone is free to do their business and activities.”

On April 2, Rouhani emphasized the need to continue work and production and, in explaining his opposition to the quarantine of cities, said: "From day one, I said that the anti-revolutionary conspiracy is to shut down work and economic activity in Iran, and the Ministry of Intelligence provided evidence for this... Therefore, we should not let their goal be achieved. We must all work and be active."

In the latest effort, former directors of the Iranian Health Insurance Organization have called on Rouhani to implement quarantine within and outside the city until at least April 10th, so that the spread of the disease can be managed by limiting people's movement.

Failure to confirm the downward trend of Corona

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Health rejected the rumors about the downward trend of the coronavirus epidemic and said: "It is still early to reach the downward trend of the coronavirus. Of course, due to the Nowruz holiday, some laboratories may be closed for a day, for example, and fewer samples may be taken... Of course, according to reports, the process of new patient arrivals in some hospitals is slowing down, but this does not mean that the disease is entering a downward trend."

The Ministry of Health spokesperson expressed hope that people will continue the slow process of patients entering hospitals by staying at home and avoiding visits or attending parks.

Jahanpour added that the Ministry of Health does not welcome a 40-70% spread of the coronavirus to overcome this epidemic, nor does it expect it to: "Basically, all efforts are to have fewer people infected and for the infection to occur over a longer period of time so that the healthcare system has the capacity to respond to patients."

The Ministry of Health says that as of noon on Sunday, April 23, 1,685 people in Iran have died from COVID-19. Jahanpour announced that 1,028 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the country in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infected people to 21,638.

Tehran continues to lead in registering new cases of the virus with 249 cases in the past 24 hours. According to statistics announced by Kianoush Jahanpour, Isfahan with 87 cases and East Azerbaijan with 57 cases are in second and third place.

Source: DW