Hassan Rouhani noted that seventeen months have passed since the virus broke out in the country, saying different variants of COVID-19 have emerged ever since.
“During this period of time, this dangerous virus has not only created numerous problems for people’s health, but also led to many difficulties in various economic, social, cultural and educational areas,” said the president at a meeting of the National Coronavirus Headquarters.
He said every effort has been made to stem the spread of the virus in the country.
“These attempts delayed the transfer and transmission of the disease for some time, but unfortunately we are still witnessing the transmission and mutation of the virus in the country while everyone thought that the condition was going to get calm,” he added.
“Due to different reasons, namely the election, nonessential travel and laxity in observing health protocols, today we are seeing another surge in the disease almost all across the country,” said the president.
He voiced concern over a drop in the rate of abidance by health protocols, which has fell by nearly 50 percent in society according to reports.
“All of us should stop regarding this dangerous virus as an ordinary phenomenon and should keep observing health protocols,” he said.
He then touched upon the importance of vaccination in containing and controlling the disease and reducing the number of fatalities.
He said millions of people have been inoculated so far, adding the rest of the population will receive the jab in due time as scheduled.
