Hassan Rouhani said the virus lingers on, but all should join hands to keep fighting the disease.
“The virus may stay there for another one or two years, but we should make the situation in the society tolerable for confronting the virus, which will weaken gradually,” he said at a Cabinet meeting Sunday.
The president noted there is consensus among authorities that the coronavirus cannot be expected to vanish in a short period of time.
“This virus has penetrated the society and is here to stay,” he said, and underlined efforts should be made to keep the outbreak from reaching a peak in a certain city or province and overwhelm the health system.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the president touched upon his consultations with experts and authorities about the COVID-19 epidemic.
“I asked them (experts and officials) where we stand in the coronavirus issue in Iran,” “Have we passed the peak, are we moving toward better conditions, or what?”
“Folks answered that we have passed the peak and have a downward trend in certain provinces,” Rouhani noted.
“But we cannot speak about some provinces with certainty,” President Rouhani quoted authorities as saying.
“Some said we have to wait until the end of the New Year holidays and then make a judgement,” he added.
