Government to return corona-related limitations if required

 “All these lifting of restrictions is conditioned on our cooperation. If we are forced to do so, we will return those restrictions. If the peak of the outbreak returns to a province, we will have to return the restrictions of the first weeks. If people's health is endangered in a city or province, we have no choice but to restore limitations. If we want to reduce restrictions, we must follow all the principles," Rouhani said.

He made the remarks on Saturday’s meeting of the National Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters and added, “our dear people know that facing the novel coronavirus global pandemic, also known as COVID-19, is an unprecedented issue in the country at least in the past 150 years.”

The issue of Spanish influenza was put forward in the world in 1920 in a way that this deadly influenza claimed 50 million lives in this period, he said, adding, “the novel coronavirus started in Asia and then hit Europe, US and finally Africa respectively and nowadays, we can witness that all countries are now grappling with the pandemic."

Since a proven vaccine and medicine has not yet been discovered for the disease, health protocols should be strictly observed, he emphasized.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani stressed the increase of hospital beds, medical equipment and protective facilities for doctors and hospitals after the spread of the disease and added, “the government makes its utmost effort to contain the disease in the country.”

“We have urged the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade to provide all walks of life in the country with low-price face masks,” President Rouhani stressed.

He called on people to observe health protocols and guidelines in line with uprooting the pandemic in the country.

Turning to the considerable growth in export of non-oil goods, he said, "it is a matter of happiness that the country is moving towards exports growth in a way that Iran’s borders with other neighboring countries were closed due to the outbreak of pandemic but its borders have been reopened in the recent two weeks with western, eastern, southern and northern borders."

He further noted that Iran’s export of non-oil commodities has also been increased.

Head of Executive Branch noted that productions in the country registered a 10 to 12 percent growth in the first two months of the current year [from March 21 to May 20, 2020] as compared to the last year’s corresponding period.