Minister: Iran among Top East Mediterraneans in Management of covid-19

"Despite the (US) sanctions and problems, the Islamic Republic of Iran is among the 7 top states out of 22 East Mediterranean countries in management of COVID-19 (epidemic)," Namaki said, addressing a video-conference meeting with his counterparts in East Mediterranean region on Tuesday.

He proposed cooperation among the regional states to establish integrated management to control the epidemic, and added, "Given Iran's important role in managing different diseases, we can be the leader of the group (of 7 top countrires) in the region."

Namaki underlined the need for the international bodies to help strengthen the infrastructures and technical know-how of the regional states.

The Iranian health ministry announced on Tuesday that 2,345 new cases of coronavirus infection have been identified across the country during the past 24 hours, noting that 184 patients have passed away since yesterday.

"2,345 new patients infected with COVID-19 have been identified in the country based on confirmed diagnosis criteria during the past 24 hours and 1,269 patients have been hospitalized," Iranian Health Ministry Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Tuesday.

Sadat Lari added that the total number of the COVID-19 patients increased to 331,189.

"Unfortunately, 184 patients have passed away in the past 24 hours, increasing the number of the dead to 18,800, and 3,983 patients are in critical conditions," the spokeswoman added.

She expressed pleasure that 288, 620 cases infected with coronavirus have recovered or been discharged from hospitals.

The spokeswoman further said that 2,736,514 COVID-19 diagnosis tests have so far been carried out across the country.

Sadat Lari warned that 26 provinces are still in red conditions or the status of alert.

Early in August, President Hassan Rouhani lauded Iranians for observing coronavirus-related instructions set by the health ministry, and noted that obligatory protocols will persist until discovering the vaccine.

Everybody should follow the instructions announced by the National Anti-Coronavirus Campaign Headquarters so that we overcome the virus and the related vaccine is made, Rouhani noted.

Those provinces which had already been in red conditions passed the coronavirus peak today, President Rouhani said.

He appreciated the nation for cooperating with the health officials in fighting the COVID-19.

Rouhani said in June that over 1,000 medical centers in the country have received necessary equipment to conduct tests on people suspected of infection to coronavirus, and added that Iran ranks first in the Muslim world in scientific achievements.

"Based on a report [by the health ministry], 1,200 centers across the country are ready to take samples and tests from people and 17,500 nursing and health homes are also prepared to provide hygiene and treatment services to people," Rouhani said, addressing a meeting of the national coronavirus campaign headquarters in Tehran.

Also, earlier this month, he said that the country will increase the number of its hospital beds to 8,000 by the end of the current Iranian year (March 19).

"We will add 8,000 hospital beds by the yearend," Rouhani said.

He added that 1,500 hospital beds for special cases have also been added to the capacity of the country's medical system since the outbreak of coronavirus in the country, noting that 2 drug production lines are also added every month to the country's pharmaceutical capacity.

The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting approximately all countries and territories around the world. The virus was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. It has so far killed over 739,500 people and infected more than 20.2 million others globally.

The Iranian foreign ministry declared that despite Washington's claims of cooperation to transfer drugs to Iran via the new Swiss-launched payment mechanism, the US is troubling the process amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Although US claims that medicines and medical equipment are not under sanctions, they have practically blocked the transfer of Iran's financial resources in other countries into the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement (SHTA), former Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said.

As the death toll from the virus surges, Iran intensifies its preventive safety measures. Closures of schools and most universities have been extended until further notice.