Iran's COVID-19 battle toughens as healthcare workers getting infected

2020-06-22 03:22:30

(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Trend

Iran's COVID-19 situations isn't getting any better, as the amount of infection cases has increased, the head of emergency at the Tehran Sina Hospital Hossein Kermanpour told Trend.

"The spread of the coronavirus has reduced significantly in the past 15 days, due to implementation of health protocols. The main hospital for treating COVID-19 were eventually oriented towards treating coronavirus patients only. But due to rise in number of infections, most hospitals were forced to resume working as spots for COVID-19 patients, similar to how it was in February," he said.

The doctor went on to add that t he number of testing kits in the country has increased, adding that most people are misunderstanding how COVID-19 testing works.

"The current coronavirus situation is definitely not like it was in the first days. Back then people were more cautious, paid attention to their health and followed health protocols, while our health workers were strongly motivated," he said.

"Currently, many of our health care staff members are infected themselves, and we keep receiving new cases," said Kermanpour.

"So far since March 20, about 110 health care workers have lost their lives. It includes general doctors and specialists, significant number of nurses," he said.

The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.

The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

MENAFN2206202001950000ID1100368074

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.