Coronavirus mortality rate declines in Iran

TEHRAN, Iran, Dec.22

Trend:

The coronavirus mortality rate has declined by 50 percent, while the hospitalization of infected patients have also reduced by 40 percent, said Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei, Trend reports via IRNA.

"The mortality rate has decline in the past month, as people followed health protocols and there have been restriction on inner city transportation. So even the amount of road accidents has dropped, " said Rabiei.

"The treatment centers for coronavirus patients are separated from other sections of healthcare systems and hospitals to avoid the increase of death and infections," he said.

"Our teams are facing problems in screening people in villages, some villagers are against testing. Those that are suspected of having the disease, should visit hospitals," he said.

"The recent cabinet meeting has discussed the possibility to merge the government coronavirus support packages and the parliament's support package plan," Rabiei said.

Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. 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 of Iran only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19. The pandemic hit a wide range of businesses in Iran since its outbreak in mid-February.

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.