Gov't backing forerunners of health with all its might: Pres. Rouhani

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the dear and honorable people who endured these days and the instructions given by the country's health authorities, as well as the group that did all they could to provide for people's lives and needs,” said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a National Task Force for Fighting Coronavirus session on Sunday.

“In our country, the first principle in the current conditions is people's health; we have to thank and support the health sector and all soldiers of this frontline, like doctors, nurses and medical staff; the government will support them with all its might; their needs, equipment, whatever needs to be provided from inside and outside of the country; we support the health sector 100%,” he added.

Rouhani noted, “Yesterday, we had a great videoconference meeting with about 30 top specialists and doctors in different fields of infectious diseases, viruses, and other medical fields related to this new disease and we had good discussions. Thankfully, their opinions are very close.”

“In the questions, I asked these dear ones, they all agreed that this was a surprise to the world, meaning that no one in the world, any scientific and medical authority years ago, would have expected such an invasive contagious disease that could spread to the whole world in a short time and affect everyone,” the president said.

“Some experts said at yesterday's meeting that it was similar to 140 years ago, but we did not have such a contagious disease 140 years ago that was so universal and so contagious that it could affect all aspects of society from politics and economy to social relations, and it was the first time in more than a century that we are dealing with such a thing,” he added.

Rouhani went on to say, “When I asked all of them where we are with regard to coronavirus in Iran and whether we have passed the peak of the disease, their answer was that in some provinces yes, we have passed the peak, but in some provinces, we still cannot speak confidently; some said that we should wait for the end of the Nowruz holidays and then judge about it.”

“But, what was a very important thing that everyone agreed and I want to tell the dear people of our country is that we cannot say, for example, a week or 10 days later, there would be no such virus in the world or in Iran,” the president said.

President stated that the decisions at the National Task Force for Fighting Coronavirus are made after discussions at specialized committees, adding, "To date, we have not made any decision without it being discussed at specialized committees.”

“The virus that has come into the society may be here a year or two; but the society needs to be able to deal with this virus, which will become weaker, and the majority of the population becomes stronger against the virus and the bodies become stronger to endure it,” he added.

Rouhani noted, “One doctor gave me an example, saying it was like the flu that is there, going and coming, rising and falling, and coming again. So we have to prepare ourselves to live with such a virus until a definite cure or a vaccine is found, none of which has happened yet.”

“After starting our daily activities, it doesn't mean that we should put all those health protocols aside. We have to continue this new lifestyle for a while, and maybe even in some areas the disease can give us a chance to do a part of our life electronically, and this is in the interest of our society,” Iranian President said.

MNA/President.ir