Iran screens 10 million for coronavirus symptoms

Iran's Health Ministry says the country has screened more than 10 million people for the new coronavirus symptoms as it goes all out against the outbreak.

According to Press TV, speaking on Sunday, Deputy Health Minister Alireza Ra'eisi said the screening was carried out over a span of four days.

“6.5 million individuals were screened at health centers, and 3.7 million others via the online platform,” he said.

In all, 900 people were hospitalized among those who tested positive for the virus, the official said.

Ra'eisi warned that visiting hospitals raises the risk of infection to 40 percent, advising volunteers to register their symptoms via the salamat.gov.ir online service.

People potentially requiring hospitalization will be provided with relevant instructions by the ministry’s experts who will call them, he added.

The official also commended high participation in the screening in northern Gilan, which houses a large concentration of virus cases, saying around 76 percent of the province’s population has been screened so far.

Ra'eisi called the project the least costly and most accessible way of breaking the chain of infection. He also advised the public to remain home, saying it is the only way to prevent the virus from spreading further.

The new virus, a respiratory disease known as COVID-19, emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province late last year. It has killed nearly 5,800 people globally, and infected over 153,000 others, according to the World Health Organization.

Head of Iran's Plan and Budget Organization Mohammad-Baqer Nowbakht on Sunday strongly criticized the United States for its illegal and unilateral sanctions against the Iranian people amid the outbreak. 

He called the Trump administration's attitude “adversarial and inhumane,” reminding that while Washington continues to impose new sanctions on the Iranian nation, it is falsely offering help at the same time. 

ME