Chairman of the Parliament’s Social Commission announced on Wednesday that the legislature is going to hold meetings arranged via teleconferencing next week.
In the meetings, the lawmakers will use their personal computers to discuss various issues and present their ideas by videoconference instead of being brought to the Parliament, he noted.
In the upcoming session, the parliamentarians are scheduled to examine and discuss the bill on the national budget for the next Iranian year and meet the objections of the Guardian Council, Fars reported.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Iran led to the closure of the Parliament, as a number of lawmakers have been also infected with the disease.
At least two newly-elected members of the Parliament have also died of the disease.
Jahangiri on Wednesday ordered Minister of Cooperatives, Labour, and Social Welfare Mohammad Shariatmadari to address the woes faced by the country’s female-householder families and to provide special aid to this vulnerable group in the wake of outbreak of COVID-19.
The vice president emphasized that it is necessary to help the female breadwinners and mitigate the economic and social harms on them amid the outbreak of coronavirus and ahead of the new Iranian year, considering that the disease has had adverse effects on small businesses.
A few days ago, Jahangiri had held telephone conversations with the governors of provinces of Tehran, Qom, Alborz, Golestan, Gilan, Mazandaran and Khuzestan, urging them to employ the whole capacities to inform the public in a timely manner about the contagious disease and use the potential of all institutions, non-governmental organizations and media to improve the level of personal and public hygiene in order to contain COVID-19.
Iran’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday that the number of coronavirus infections has risen to 9,000, out of whom 354 have died and 2,959 have recovered and been discharged from the hospital.
During the 93rd Session of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on Wednesday, March 11, Alireza Kazemi Abadi was elected as the vice-chair of the OPCW Executive Council from the Asia regional group.
The representative of the US protested that Iran’s envoy has been elected as a vice-chair of the Executive Council, saying he could not agree with what he called the state sponsors of terrorism taking a post according to the US’ domestic law.
In response to the American ambassador’s protest, permanent representative of Iran to the OPCW said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has been elected as the vice-chair of the Executive Council by the general consensus among the Asian group’s Member States.”
“The US has already proved that it has no respect for the international law and the international organizations, and is the main sponsor of the terrorist groups and state terrorism, particularly in the Middle East,” Kazemi Abadi added.
“The brazen example of the American terrorist measures was the US president’s order to assassinate (Iranian commander) General (Qassem) Soleimani and his entourage on the Iraqi soil, which amounts to a clear violation of the fundamental principles of international law, the United Nations Charter, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” the Iranian ambassador stated, saying the US, with such shameful record, is in no position to portray itself as an anti-terrorism country.
In the report on Wednesday, Fars News Agency has compiled a list of the Iranian officials and political figures who have been infected with or died of the novel coronavirus.
Among the patients are three cabinet members, including the first vice president, and five members of the Parliament.
The top figure of the list in the report is First Vice-President Es-haq Jahangiri, who has been purportedly kept in quarantine and is receiving treatment.
The other cabinet members infected with COVID-19 include Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Reza Rahmani and Minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Ali-Asghar Mounesan, both of whom are recovering from the disease, according to Fars.
The other figures who have been kept in quarantine, admitted to the hospital, or have recovered from the disease include newly-elected lawmaker Zohreh Elahian, President of the National Olympic Committee of Iran Reza Salehi Amiri, Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, Head of Iran’s Emergency Services Organisation Pir-Hossein Kolivand, former minister of justice and interior Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Chairman of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mojtaba Zonnouri, Head of Iran’s Crisis Management Organization Esmaeil Najjar, Iranian Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs Massoumeh Ebtekar, member of the Expediency Council and an influential figure in Iran Leader’s office Mohammad Javad Iravani, and four other MPs, namely Masoumeh Aghapoor Alishahi, Mahmoud Sadeghi, Shahab Naderi, and Gholam-Reza Kateb.
The coronavirus has also taken the lives of a number of major figures, including newly-elected MP Fatemeh Rahbar, ex-ambassador to Syria Hossein Sheikholeslam, member of the Expediency Discernment Council Seyyed Mohammad Mirmohammadi, newly-elected lawmaker Mohammad Ali Ramezani, former lawmaker Mohammad Reza Rahchamani, former ambassador to Vatican City Seyyed Hadi Khosroshahi, advisor to the Judiciary chief Ahmad Tuiserkani, and Mojtaba Fazeli, the chief of staff of top cleric Ayatollah Shobeiri Zanjani.
Meanwhile, the reformist news website Ensaf News has dismissed speculation that First Vice President Jahangiri has been infected with coronavirus, saying the report released by Fars News is an “outright” lie.
The number of coronavirus infections in the country rose to 9,000 on Wednesday, out of whom 354 have died and 2,959 have recovered and been discharged from the hospital.
There are now over 100,000 IRGC and Basij forces actively participating in the campaign against the new coronavirus and the treatment of patients in the country, he said.
The spokesman went on to say that five IRGC forces and a few others from Basij have lost their lives in the operations to provide health services for the patients.
Iran’s administration on Thursday extended the closure of all schools and universities nationwide until the end of the current Iranian year (March 19) as the country is struggling with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
First detected in Wuhan city in central China in December, the virus has spread to more than 100 countries.
More than 4,200 people have died of COVID-19 across the world, and more than 113,000 people have also been infected, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). About 64,000 people have also recovered from the illness, globally.
The death toll from COVID-19 outbreak in Iran has risen to 354. Meanwhile, more than 2,950 coronavirus patients have recovered from the respiratory disease and discharged from hospitals so far.
In remarks on Wednesday evening, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyyed Abbas Mousavi slammed the measures taken by the US authorities as “nothing but deception.”
“They opened a limited financial channel with hullabaloo but do not allow us to bring the resources we have in various places into this channel,” he deplored.
“We have been holding talks for three weeks with one of the countries in which we have financial resources, and they claim, emphasize and insist that the Americans are blocking this work and do not allow our resources in that country to enter into this channel so that we could use them in the current circumstances and purchase the items we need,” Mousavi explained.
“As a result, we deem that their (Americans’) words and claims are nothing but exaggeration and deception as long as they are not taking practical measures and the obstacles are not removed,” he stated.
Denouncing the US’ claims of support as mere slogan, the Iranian spokesman said if Washington is sincere in what it is saying, it must declare that the whole channels for the delivery of pharmaceutical and medical products to Iran are open and announce how the deliveries could be made without any obstacles.
“Despite their (US’) claim that the pharmaceutical items are exempted from sanctions, they have practically blocked the road, and even this Swiss channel that they have opened has limited resources,” the spokesperson noted.
“We requested them to allow our other resources in various countries to enter into this (Swiss) channel, but they declined,” Mousavi noted, stressing that the US must allow the Iranian nation’s assets to be included in the financial channel for the purchase of medicine.
“This is a technical and legal issue. Unlike what they claim it has not been a [nuclear] “site”. The word has its particular definition,” said Mousavi addressing a video press conference on Wednesday morning.
Stressing that “Iran has had the highest level of technical cooperation with the IAEA,” he said “we are not supposed to respond to any baseless claim and question posed by the IAEA.”
“Iran’s framework for collaborations with IAEA is clear. The IAEA needs to consider its image and reputation, and should not base its questions on not every empty claim made by every regime and individual.”
“We do not consider the basis for IAEA’s stand to be right … IAEA should not make claims based on political games played by some regimes,” Mousavi added.
About the statement issued by European Union last night about Iran’s nuclear activities, he said “we consider it to be in line with their previous statements, and to be a kind of “statement-therapy” … they need to act according to their commitments under the JCPOA so that Iran’s economic interests under the international agreement are met.”
“There is still a place for the hope that some measures will be taken which will return both parties to their commitments. If the efforts don’t pay off, Iran will announce its major step in due course,” he added.
In relation to UK Secretary of State Dominic Raab’s recent remarks that London will not allow Iran to access nuclear weapons and that Iran has caused instability in the region with its measures in Syria, Iraq and Hormuz Strait, Mousavi said “these remarks are not appropriate and constructive. He is not in a position to determine guidelines for Iran.”
“Unlike Mr. Raab we think that what causes insecurity, instability and turmoil in every corner of the world including our region is the inappropriate and meddlesome presence and remarks made by … countries [located] thousands of miles away from the region,” the official added.
As regards US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement in which he voiced concern about the health situation of prisoners in Iran given the outbreak of coronavirus, and his call for Iran to release US prisoners for humanitarian purposes, Mousavi said “it is an appropriate and right concern, and it is also our concern, given the shambolic situation of prisons in the US … This is not propaganda, but based on reports published by US official media.”
“Everybody is concerned about the current situation in the US and its different states as well as about their public health and millions of the poor and hungry, the rough-sleepers in every corner of the US and the American prisoners.”
“We are also concerned about the Iranian prisoners taken hostage by the US, and hope that the US government provides for their health … We are ready to return home these hostages who are there for no reason,” Mousavi added.
Asked whether the coronavirus is a naturally infectious disease with a particular origin or a case of biological warfare, the Iranian official said “we do not know and cannot make any comments until the results of investigations are known.”
Regarding the issue of Idlib, he said “We believe that the Astana peace process can continue to serve as the best, most successful and accessible settlement … We emphasize that the established and legal Syrian government has a right to exercise its national sovereignty all over its territory. Some parties also have their own concerns, and we see these concerns. We concur with [the need to put] an end to bloodshed throughout Syria.”
“We hope that Astana summit will be held as soon as possible when all the technical, political and hygienic conditions grow favourable,” he added.
Asked about simultaneous inauguration of Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani as the presidents of Afghanistan, Mousavi said “for a long time we have tried our utmost at different levels to forge convergence and camaraderie among Afghan people, groups and political figures, and have stated to them that the only way to create prosperity, welfare, stability and security in Afghanistan is through formation of an inclusive government and unity among different personalities, groups, parties and officials in the country.”
Kianoush Jahanpour confirmed in an interview with ISNA on Wednesday that an Iranian version of the Swiss-made “Actemra” which regulates the immune system has been used at one of Isfahan’s hospitals and that a relative improvement in the patient’s symptoms has been observed.
“This has been the first case trial of the Persian biosimilar tocilizumab and the disease symptoms have improved 48 hours after the usage,” he said.
“But it is too soon to make any judgment,” the official stressed.
“The medicine has shown a relatively positive response 24 hours after the first injection.
Oxygenation in the patient and the chest radiography show better results, but the patient still gets intubated. Today and in next days the trial will continue at doctors’ discretion and if the medicine shows a relative efficacy in the cases, it will enter into the country’s drug list.”
“Some case reports in China indicate their relative efficacy in some serious cases of COVID-19,” said Jahanpour.
The medicine can be mass-produced in a matter of three weeks, he added.
The official, however, emphasized that the medicine cannot be generally used, but can be prescribed to those patients in CRS at the last stages of the disease, under certain circumstances.
At the same time, the efficacy of a couple of other biosimilar medicines i.e. interferon alpha and interferon beta, both of which already exist in the country’s drug list, is under consideration, he added.
One of the most common ways of taking essential oil is through using a diffuser. However, you should get it right with the diffuser you purchase.
Remember, there are numerous vendors online selling a myriad of essential oil diffusers on the market. Thus, it can be difficult to choose the best aromatherapy diffuser – especially if you are new in this sphere. However, this shouldn’t overwhelm you. This article has been prepared to help you choose the right diffuser for your essential oil.
The Basics
Diffusing essential oils is one of the most popular techniques to use these products. The diffuser is an electrical device that’s uniquely designed to spread your preferred essential oil throughout your house for the desired period of time. It creates an inviting fragrance and is extremely safe. Just be careful to use it as instructed.
Popular Types
Ultrasonic diffusers come at all prices, so you can rest assured that you’ll find a model that perfectly suits your budget. These diffusers utilize electronic diffusers to vibrate rapidly and consequently breaking down the essential oils into tiny particles that are then dispersed into the air like a fine mist.
Go for a Stronger Scent
Want a stronger fragrance? Well, consider going for a nebulizing diffuser. With a nebulizing diffuser, you have a unit that’s not only affordable but also highly reliable as well as efficient. The nebulizing diffuser tends to vaporize the Zenvea Essential Oils before it can be released into the mist. It brings out more aroma-especially if you are so much into citrus oils. The best part is that these types of diffusers are available from as low as $100. They are made from glass. However, to prevent clogging, you need to do a lot of cleaning.
Stay Away from the Heat
Of course, there are different options on the market. But this doesn’t mean choosing any diffuser. Thus, be sure to avoid heat. Stay away from steam diffusers and hot plate-based diffusers. Also, don’t purchase candle diffusers.
The problem with these diffusers is that they tend to heat the oil—which distributes their delicate chemistry. It’s important to note that more heat isn’t good for your essential oil. It makes it less effective. This means that, for more results, you will need to go for more oils.
Features of a Good Diffuser
Don’t let price be your ultimate guiding point. Other factors also come into play when choosing the right essential oil diffuser. Go for a diffuser that is easy to use, simple top clean, and able to output the amount of essential oil you want. Normally, a good diffuser runs at a time increment on one or so hours. The cycling period is about 10 minutes. If you want the best aroma for your room, go for a diffuser that can dispense enough scent in under 30 minutes
The Bottom-Line
Don’t purchase any diffuser. Go for the best one. Use the above guide in selecting the right diffuser.
