WHO: Iran Strong in Crisis Management

"This is my second trip to Iran and according to my experiences, Iran is strong in managing crisis," Bernan said on Wednesday in a video conference with managers of Tehran Municipality.

He referred to the check posts established at Iranian international airports, and said, "Iranian managers are paying a specific attention to curbing the virus."

The WHO official added that Iran can exchange its acquired knowledge of the virus to the world, since it is getting experienced in dealing with it.

On the same day, as reported, Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) Esmaeil Baqayee Hamaneh met and held talks with Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed further cooperation on Iran's strategic plan for the control of the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, emphasizing the need for international cooperation to control the disease.

The World Health Organization on Monday sent its first planeload of assistance to Iran to help fight coronavirus, dispatching six medics with tons of medical equipment and test kits aboard a UAE military aircraft.

Globally, more than 95,480 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 with over 3,280 deaths so far, the vast majority of them in China where the virus originated late last year.

The coronavirus is spreading in the Middle East, Europe, US and other parts of the world, while parts of China begin to lower their emergency response level as the number of new cases reported there continues to slow.

As the US death toll hit 11 Wednesday, both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti declared states of emergency and announced six additional cases of the deadly coronavirus that has health officials around the world scrambling for answers. More than 150 cases have been confirmed across the US. 

The number of patients firmly diagnosed with coronavirus infection in Iran has reached 2,922, health ministry announced on Wednesday, raising the number of deaths to 92.

It added that 552 coronavirus patients have been cured and discharged from hospitals across the country.

Reports from different cities and towns of Iran indicate strenuous efforts by the officials to help the coronavirus patients and prevent an epidemic.

As a preventive measure, Iranian authorities have ordered closure of educational and cultural institutions as well as gyms across the country as of weekend.

Tehran’s municipality announced that all the city’s public places, including the metro trains and buses, are being disinfected at the end of the line every hour as part of attempts to contain the spread of the virus.

Head of Food and Drug Administration Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz also said that pharmacies will no longer be allowed to sell protective masks and that masks will be distributed among the population via government-run centers free of charge, with the priority given to virus-hit provinces.

The WHO has also earlier stressed Iran’s high capabilities to prevent an epidemic of novel coronavirus infection.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting last week to brief a WHO representative and the foreign ambassadors residing in Tehran on the latest preventive and therapeutic measures taken by the country to contain COVID-19, as the novel coronavirus is called.

In comments at the meeting, the WHO representative said Iran has the necessary fundamental capabilities to tackle the epidemic, and that Tehran’s performance has been as “successful and exemplary” in the region and the world.

The Iranian Health Ministry officials, who were also present at the meeting, reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to the international health regulations and standards.

Iran enjoys all the technical and specialized capabilities needed to battle the coronavirus, they stressed.

Source:FarsNEWS