Long-Term Plan to Deal With Covid-19

EghtesadOnline: President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday said his administration prefers a long-term solution to the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic to safeguard the people’s health and livelihood.

News ID: ۷۵۰۷۱۱

16 August 2020

During the national coronavirus taskforce’s meeting chaired by Rouhani, he reminded that the long-haul Covid-19 battle requires a multifaceted approach to encompass all aspects of life, the presidential website reported.

To achieve this goal, the top official said he is investing in the country’s healthcare infrastructure, noting that “by the end of the [fiscal] year [March 2021], 10,000 hospital beds and 2,000 ICU beds will be prepared and delivered to the medical community”.

The government will also allocate a budget to the education sector to facilitate online learning, as well as any other activity that could be moved online.

Rouhani said knowledge-based companies will have the full support of the government to manufacture medical equipment and coronavirus testing kits.

Iran will keep in touch with other countries pursuing a vaccine, aid the underclass and strictly enforce health protocols during religious ceremonies and nationwide exams as part of the government’s long-term plan to halt the spread of the outbreak.

No Virus-Free Zone

The status of Iran’s last remaining Covid-19-free zone, its southernmost island of Abu Musa located in the Persian Gulf, became alarming over the past week due to rising infections, the spokeswoman for Health Ministry, Sima Sadat Lari, was quoted as saying by ISNA.

The strategic island was the nation’s sole “green” zone before the contagious virus found its way to its shores.

Lari said, “Within a 24-hour period, 2,245 new patients were identified across the country, 943 of whom were hospitalized.”

She added, “The new cases take Iran’s tally to 341,000. Over the past 24 hours, 161 patients died and the nationwide total rose to 19,492.”

Over 295,000 have so far recovered from the respiratory illness, or were well enough to be discharged from hospitals. Some 3,900 are in intensive care units.

Iran has administered 2.8 million diagnostic tests to track the deadly virus.

Over 21.3 million have been diagnosed with the infectious disease around the world, 765,000 of whom have lost their lives.