TEHRAN, Mar. 18 (MNA) – Iran’s Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki and the Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom held a teleconference on Wednesday on the latest issues on coronavirus outbreak in Iran.

Appreciating Iran’s valuable measure taken against coronavirus outbreak, Tedros Adhanom said, “These measures reflect the valuable experiences and efforts of health professionals.”

The WHO head called the national program of the fight against the coronavirus in Iran a very big step, saying, “Self-reporting by households is crucial and will greatly help control the outbreak. At the same time, it is important to prevent the spread of fear and anxiety in social and governmental approaches.”

He also emphasized identifying more people with coronavirus infected and isolating them at home if possible.

Referring to required items such as test kits, masks, and other necessities, he said, “We are consulting on this issue and countries such as Japan, Germany and China are ready to assist in this regard.”

Praising Tedros Adhanom for sending a WHO delegation to Iran, Minister of Health Namaki presented a report on the latest developments on coronavirus in the country.

“Following confirmation of two positive cases of coronavirus in the country, the Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarter has been established in the Health Ministry,” said Namaki,  adding, “The closure of some public places, such as cinemas, theaters, and even religious sites, as well as cancellations of concerts were among the immediate measures taken to control the outbreak.”

Referring to the national program of the fight against the coronavirus, he said, “Through this program, we screened 15 million people across the country over the past four days. We identified those who were suspected or infected with coronavirus and hospitalized them.”

“Due to the onset of Nowruz holidays, some groups are located at the outposts to screen people who are traveling to other cities,” he noted.

Pointing to the activities of research centers in the country to further identify the virus, he expressed hope that the destruction of this virus in Iran, region and the whole world will occur soon with the help of WHO and others.

As of Wednesday, the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak, officially known as COVID-19, in Iran has risen to 1,135 with 17,361 confirmed cases.

MNA/ 4881872