Rouhani: 70% of Iran may contract coronavirus

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has announced that he expects around 70 per cent of Iranians are likely to contract coronavirus, Arabi21.com reported on Friday.

During a meeting held with the National Committee Against the Coronavirus, Rouhani asked the interior minister to nominate the congestion places in the Iranian governorates in order to close markets and malls until 3 April.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the Iranian state TV, the Deputy Iranian Health Minister Reza Malekzadeh reiterated the point as he warned that up to 70 per cent of Iranians are likely to be affected by the virus.

READ: Khamenei lauds Iranians’ ‘dazzling’ sacrifices to fight virus

He explained the reason for this to be the delay and failure in disease prevention and control.

Arabi21.com disclosed that Iranian mass media did not report the president’s remarks on the issue, but noted that social media users recorded the TV interview.

📢 بخش مهم سخنان #روحانی که سانسور شد.

🔴 60 تا 70 درصد مردم کشور #كرونا خواهند گرفت منتها باید به تدریج بگیرند. pic.twitter.com/o9Sz9fkXLg

— امام موسی (@imammosasadr) March 19, 2020

It is worth noting that the Iranian Health Ministry announced that 50 people contract the coronavirus every hour, and one person dies every ten minutes, Arabi21.com reported.

According to Arabi21.com, until Friday morning the Iranian government recorded 1,284 Iranians deaths from the coronavirus and 18,407 people have tested positive for the virus.