“We may take stricter measures to combat coronavirus”: Veep

He made the remarks in the meeting with managers and specialists of Pasteur Institute of Iran on Monday.

Stating that good cohesion has been established to combat coronavirus in the country, Jahangiri said, “Cohesion and companionship of people in addition to the great and exceptional work done by the country's medical community will be effective in the fight against the virus."

“If people stay at home to break the chain of infection, it can be said with certainty that we will be dominating the virus in the not too distant future,” he added.

“This is not just about Iran but for the whole world. Today, industrialized countries suffer the most,” he said, adding, “We didn't find any problems because of the companionship of the people in the different sections. We have done well to meet the needs of our people, and our stores are full of daily supplies.”

“The government and the Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters have closed important religious and community centers since the first days of the outbreak. The main parts of the government are closed today, but some parts cannot be shut down,” Jahangiri said.

“The government will have to make tougher decisions if needed because we cannot neglect the health of the people,” he added.

According to the Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters session on Thursday, the social distancing project has been put into effect through serious from Friday and effective cooperation from all executive bodies in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus and will continue until April 3.

Based on the latest reports by Iran’s health ministry on Sunday, the death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak, officially known as COVID-19, in Iran has risen to 2,640 with 38,309 confirmed cases.

MNA/4888853