Iran tests 33 million people for coronavirus

A health officer, wearing a mask and special protective suit, takes care of a patient infected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) at a hospital on 2 March 2020. [Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency]

Iran’s Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education announced on Sunday that his medical teams have tested 33 million people for coronavirus. Saeed Namaki told journalists in Tehran that 40,000 members of the ministry’s medical staff were involved in the process.

Around 145,000 people are currently in quarantine in medical facilities and their homes, he added. The situation has improved compared with the first days of the pandemic, explained the minister, but that does not mean that travel and movement are possible yet.

He went on to point out that about 60 per cent of the population in Iran are in self-isolation in compliance with the government’s recommendations.

On Saturday, the Iranian Health Ministry announced that 20,610 people were infected with the virus, and 1,556 have died.

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