Coronavirus: 28M people go for health screening in Iran

ANKARA

In Iran, 28 million people underwent medical examination as part of measures to combat the new coronavirus, the country’s deputy health minister said on Saturday.

Ali Reza Raeesi told the Fars News Agency that more than 80,000 tests for detecting the virus have been conducted so far.

He underlined that 1,200 health centers have been operating throughout the country and the number of laboratories conducting tests have been raised to 55.

Nearly 40,000 beds in hospitals have been allocated to fight the COVID-19 disease, and 50% of them are occupied by people infected with the coronavirus, he added.

He urged Iranian people to follow the advices of health officials, adding: "If we follow the hygiene rules, we will get rid of this disease by mid-June.”

Iran announced on March 5 that under the National Corona Management Task Force, the health screening started with a team of 300,000 people across the country, especially in the provinces where the virus is most common.

A Health Ministry statement revealed on Saturday that the current death toll in the country is at 1,556, amid over 20, 600 cases.

A total of 7,635 people who were treated for the virus have been discharged from hospitals to date, the statement added.

The virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China last December, has spread to at least 167 countries and regions around the globe, while the tally of confirmed cases nears 287,000, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The global death toll has exceeded 11,900, causing a chain reaction as governments place countries on lockdown to stem the spread.

Italy, China, Iran, and Spain continue to be the most affected countries.

Despite the rising number of cases, a vast majority of those infected by the virus suffer mild symptoms and recover, with almost 90,000 people having recovered so far.

* Writing by Havva Kara Aydin