Iran among Leading Countries in Fight against Coronavirus: Health Minister

Saeid Namaki said on Sunday Iran’s success comes despite unfair sanctions imposed by the United States.

“Fortunately, Iran’s situation with regards to fighting coronavirus is very acceptable despite all the hardship and problems caused by sanctions, and despite all economic restrictions and equipment shortages they imposed on us,” he said.

“We can say with certainty that Iran is one of the countries that are at the forefront of the campaign against coronavirus,” he said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the minister said it would be naïve to think the coronavirus outbreak is over.

“Today, we should observe the minimum [required directives] and maintain social distancing and try to keep abiding by instructions and health protocols,” he said.

“The biggest problem would be for people to think that everything is back to normal and the coronavirus is gone,” the minister noted.

He urged authorities to not believe that the situation is normal and everything could be returned to normal.

The health minister further said the COVID-19 outbreak has been contained and managed in most provinces.

“In some provinces, we are seeing new surges in the disease, but our colleagues are on the watch, and if people continue to maintain their rapport and national unity while following health tips, we hope that we will have more tranquil days in two months’ time,” he noted.

The minister also said there is no shortage of hospital beds in the country.
“We are also not worried about how to manage our own colleagues with regards to the coronavirus outbreak,” he said.

“Today, we have much more control compared to previous days and we have devised more modern health protocols, and we have not yet unveiled our achievements related to vaccine development,” he said.

“Fortunately, we are not behind the world in terms of producing vaccines, medicine and medical equipment; rather, we are ahead of many countries,” he said.

He once again urged people to further comply with health protocols to stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.