Russian Official Urges All to Stand by Iran in Tough Days

"While some politicians are just talking, writing articles or delivering a speech, we are helping people survive", Slutsky said in his video message.

The Russian official noted that his country has recently sent artificial respiration devices, pumps, and other medical equipment to Iran.

Meantime, last Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in a phone conversation conferred on latest efforts to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

During the phone talks at Tuesday night, Zarif and Lavrov reviewed issues on the coronavirus pandemic, and evaluated mutual collaboration in fighting the highly contagious disease as excellent.

Lavrov, for his part, underlined his country's resolve to continue all-out trade and economic cooperation with Iran and help it increase agricultural exports for which the good neighbor needs under the US illegal sanctions.

He also pointed out that Russian will resolutely ask Washington to remove its inhumane sanctions which have created obstacles in the way of the government's fight against the deadly coronavirus.

However, according to FNA, the researchers of Tabriz University succeeded to make an automatic spraying apparatus and optical thermometer that can be installed on walls. This measure has been taken in line with confronting coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Saeed Namaki said that, with the help of diagnosing the infected persons, we will cut the chain of transmission of this disease. He added that the project of social distancing will be put into effect. 

Head of Tehran's Traffic Police Colonel Nurollah Khadem also told FNA that new limitations have been imposed on all commutations to and from Tehran from 00.00 a.m. Friday. Head of Iran's Traffic Police Brigadier General Teimur Hosseini also informed FNA that no new trip will be allowed across the country.

The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting over 195 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 24,300 people and infected over 542,000 others globally.

Iran reported on Friday that a total number of 2,378 coronavirus patients have died and 32,332 cases of infection have been identified in the country so far. Meanwhile, 11,133 people have also recovered.

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 universities have been extended until early April.

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.

Health Minister Saeed Namaki announced earlier this 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.

Namaki said that the number of medical laboratories to test coronavirus infection has reached 22, and will increase to 40 soon.

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.

Source: MehrNEWS