The Health Ministry diagnosed 1,680 patients with the respiratory illness overnight, bringing the tally of cases to 101,650, which makes Iran the 10th country with case numbers in the six-digit range.
“The relative increase in cases during the past few days is without doubt due to our own behavior. We are even witnessing unnecessary travels inside and outside cities,” Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour was quoted as saying by ISNA.
In the past few weeks, Iran relaxed confinement measures for low- and medium-risk businesses under its Smart Distancing Initiative to resume economic activities while following the Health Ministry protocols.
In recent days, the administration of President Hassan Rouhani has also allowed the resumption of high-risk business activities by opening up dental facilities and beauty parlors.
Owners of these businesses must register at Salamat.gov.ir and commit to comply with health protocols before receiving the permit to resume work.
The death toll from the outbreak rose by 78 to 6,418 on Wednesday. More than 81,500 have recovered from the infectious disease and 2,735 remain in critical condition.
Iran has carried out 531,000 coronavirus tests since the pandemic was first detected in the Middle East country.
Medical Exports
According to the Industries Ministry statistics, Iran produces more than one million facemasks per day and the production of sanitizers has soared eightfold to 400,000 liters per day.
In his weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Rouhani underlined Iran’s export capacity for medical equipment.
The top official said, “The Health Ministry has announced that we can export a portion of our stocks of N95 and three-layered masks.”
Iran has also begun to export coronavirus testing kits to countries tackling the widespread outbreak.
Rouhani noted that Iran’s response to the pandemic has been “acceptable” compared with other countries, despite the “maximum pressure campaign” imposed on its economy.
The United States unilaterally reneged on the 2015 nuclear deal over two years ago and reimposed harsh sanctions targeted at the country’s oil sales to force Iran to renegotiate the terms of the accord.
Rouhani praised the people’s resolve to withstand the economic fallout of both sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 3.74 million have tested positive for the deadly virus worldwide and nearly 260,000 have died.