“Fortunately, the fatality rate of coronavirus in Iran is less than many advanced states and the US,” Ehsan Mostafavi, a member of the coronavirus epidemiology committee and the director of the department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Pasteur Institute, said on Tuesday.
He added that the young population is also a positive point in dealing with the epidemic and other diseaes, saying that half of people in Iran are under 30.
The medical official noted that strenuous and effective efforts of the Iranian medical staff is also another reason for less coronavirus deaths.
Mostafavi also said that 150 laboratories across Iran take coronavirus tests along with one third of private laboratories, adding that 15mln people in Iran could have been infected with coronavirus without any or minor symptoms.
Moreover, Iran’s medical firms are planning to export products related to the prevention of the deadly coronavirus to other world countries, an Iranian official announced.
“Effective steps have been taken for easing the export of coronavirus products of domestic companies to other countries,” Head of International Interaction Center of the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology Affairs Mehdi Qalenoyee said.
He pointed out that the issue of exporting products related to COVID-19 has become important at the condition that many countries are unable to export these products, and said, “Currently, more than 80 countries in the world have been banned from exporting corona-related products due to the terms and conditions created in this regard.”
Qalenoyee referred to the products that can be exported, and said, “COVID-19 diagnostic kits, ventilators, oxygen generators, pulse oximeters, thermometers, face mask production equipment, medical gloves, disinfectant solutions, etc. are of the products that are produced by knowledge-based companies in the country and meet the country’s demands” and can also be exported.
He reiterated that many countries in the world need these products and cannot produce them due to the lack of infrastructure as well as some other factors.
Mentioning the target countries for exporting such products, he said, “These countries include Central Asian states, and neighboring countries, including Oman and Qatar. This issue can create a golden opportunity for Iranian knowledge-based companies to be able to export their products.”
In relevant remarks a scientific official said on Tuesday that over 5,000 Knowledge-based companies have expanded their operations to expand knowledge on and campaign against the new coronavirus, and they have been manufacturing masks and disinfectants.
“Sale of raw materials is detrimental to the country’s economy and it has no value added,” Iranian Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari said, and stressed, “We should pay special attention to knowledge-based economy.”
He stressed that Ardebil province enjoys rich potentials to stand among the 10 top provinces in the field of knowledge-based companies.
The Iranian health ministry announced on Tuesday that 2,095 new cases of infection to coronavirus have been diagnosed in the country in the past 24 hours, noting that 74 patients passed away.
“2,095 more patients infected with COVID-19 virus have been identified in the country in the past 24 hours based on confirmed diagnosis tests,” Health Ministry Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Tuesday.
She explained that 901 new patients have been hospitalized.
Lari noted that the total number of coronavirus patients in the country has increased to 175,927 people.
She expressed pleasure that 138,457 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.
Lari said that 8,425 people have lost their lives due to infection to the virus, including 74 in the past 24 hours.
The ministry’s spokeswoman, meantime, expressed concern that 2,639 patients infected with COVID-19 virus are in critical conditions.
She added that 1,128,601 tests have been conducted in the country to diagnose patients suspected of infection to COVID-19 virus.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday 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.
Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki stressed on April 7 effective measures to control coronavirus epidemic, expressing the hope that the disease would be controlled in Iran by late May.
“At present, the country is in the phase of disease management and we should not imagine that we have reached the harness and control phase. Today is the time for full-fledged combat against the virus. God willing, we will control coronavirus by late May. The virus should be controlled in the minimum possible time,” Namaki said, addressing the Iranian legislators in an open session of the parliament in Tehran.
He noted that at least 30% to 50% of hospital beds are still vacant across Iran and nearly 15,000 beds are ready to keep the patients who are recovering from coronavirus disease.
“We have now moved down to tank 6th in terms of deaths,” Namaki said, adding that the country’s situation in treatment of patients will improve in the next few days.
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 more than 409,100 people and infected over 7.2 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), 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.
The government also imposed travel restrictions, specially on Iran’s North, which is among the red zones. The country has also adopted strict digital health control procedures at airports to spot possible infections.
Namaki announced last month that a new national mobilization plan would be implemented across the country to fight against the coronavirus epidemic and more effectively treat patients.
Namaki said that the plan will include all the 17,000 health centers and the 9,000 medical and clinical centers in all cities, suburban areas and villages.
He added that the plan will include home quarantine, noting that infected people will receive the necessary medicines and advice, but they are asked to stay at home.
Namaki said that people with a more serious condition will stay at the hospitals, adding that the public places will be disinfected, the entries of infected towns and cities will be controlled to diagnose and quarantine the infected cases.
He added that the necessary equipment and facilities have been provided, expressing the hope that the epidemic would be curbed.
According to the latest statistics of Health Ministry, the number of medical laboratories to test coronavirus infection has reached over 90 across the country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says Iran’s response to the virus has so far been up to the mark. Still, it says the US sanctions are a big challenge, and Washington would be complicit in the rising death toll in Iran if it would not remove its sanctions.
The World Health Organization has considered priorities in combating coronavirus and Islamic Republic of Iran obeys and follows up priorities as defined by WHO.
The WHO is dispatching separate delegations to all countries.