President Hassan Rouhani says his entire administration is involved in the fight against a coronavirus outbreak across the country, stressing that all state institutions and officials are, in parallel, doing their utmost to minimize the damage caused by the epidemic to people’s livelihood.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Rouhani said everyone at the cabinet and government institutions — including those related to economy, science, research and defense — are supporting the Health Ministry and the crisis committee formed to manage the nationwide fight.
“The entire government is playing a role in the committee,” said Rouhani. “There is no individual in our administration that is not engaged.”
A section of the government is trying to help people live their normal lives, said the president. “What does a normal life mean? This means electricity, water, petrol, gas and monetary issues. Our effort is focused on making people’s lives, which are currently difficult, easier and more tolerable.”
Besides the officials, the president added, the Iranian Armed Forces, including the Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), are likewise active in containing the virus, adding that they have expressed readiness to prepare makeshift hospitals wherever the need be.
The coronavirus called COVID-19 initially emerged in China late last year and is now spreading in Europe and across the Middle East, sparking fears of a global pandemic.
In Iran, the epidemic has so far killed 354 people and infected 9,000 others. Some 2,959 people have also recovered.
