Iranian Knowledge-Based Firms Assisting Nation in Battle against Coronavirus

Researchers at a knowledge-based company produced active oxygen to decrease the organic gases in hospitals, improve the air quality and disinfect the sheets and pillows.

Another knowledge-based firm manufactured a drone with a flight range of 2km to 5km which sprays sterilizing solutions and can disinfect every hectare in 10 minutes.

Other knowledge-based companies have also increased their production of disinfecting liquids, masks and kits to diagnose coronavirus infection to compensate for their shortage in the hospitals and pharmacies.

Meantime, other companies, including Iran’s largest carmaker, Iran-Khodro Company, have focused their efforts on supplying well-equipped ambulances to the health ministry.

“Today, 50 out of 63 ambulances which were due to be delivered to the health ministry have been prepared and the remaining 13 will be delivered soon,” Iran Khodro’s CEO Farshad Moqimi said on Monday.

The Iranian Armed Forces have also since the very first days of coronavirus outbreak tried to help the government in preventing an outbreak and treat the patients.

“The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Navy has mounted a field hospital with 80 beds in the backyard of Razi hospital (in Rasht city in Northern Iran) in cooperation with Gilan province’s University of Medical Sciences,” Commander of the IRGC Base in Gilan province Brigadier General Mohammad Abdollahpour told FNA on Monday.

He added that the number of beds can be increased to 127.

Meantime, an Iranian Industrial official in the Western province of Kurdistan said on Monday that a contract has been signed between the health ministry and a company to produce 5mln N95 face masks.

He added that 25 tons of alcohol have been supplied to the province’s companies to produce 35-40 tons of disinfecting materials which will suffice for the public consumption of 10-12 days.

Also, the Iranian health ministry launched an online self-assessment system for all Iranians to ensure of their health conditions and receive the necessary instructions in case of suspected infection.

Meantime, Commander of the IRGC’s Seyed al-Shohada base in Tehran province Brigadier General Hassan Hassanzadeh told FNA that 15,000 sanitary packages have been prepared to be distributed among the veterans of the 8-year Iraqi-imposed war against Iran (1980s) who had sustained injuries.

He added that the capacity to produce 1mln masks has been developed in the cities of Tehran province.

General Hassanzadeh noted that 2,000 volunteer groups have been formed in different parts of Tehran province which help the municipalities to disinfect the streets, alleys, bus stations and the houses in need.

Also, Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki in a letter called on all universities of medical sciences across the country on Monday to exhaust all their research capacities to study different aspects of the COVID-19 virus epidemic in Iran.

Globally, more than 110,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 with over 3,800 deaths so far, the vast majority of them in China where the virus originated late last year.

The coronavirus is spreading in the Middle East, Europe, US and other parts of the world, while parts of China begin to lower their emergency response level as the number of new cases reported there continues to slow.

Authorities across the United States reported 500 cases of coronavirus and 22 deaths as of Sunday.

As of Monday, the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Iran rose to 237 with 7,161 confirmed cases.

Some 2,394 patients infected by the coronavirus have so far recovered from the disease.

As the death toll from the virus surges, Iran intensifies its preventive safety measures. Closures of schools and universities have been extended for the next two weeks.

The government also imposed travel restrictions, specially on Iran’s north, which is among the red zones. The country has also adopted strict digital health control procedures at airports to spot possible infections.

Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki announced last week that a new national mobilization plan would be implemented across the country to fight against the coronavirus epidemic and more effectively treat patients.

Namaki said that the plan will include all the 17,000 health centers and the 9,000 medical and clinical centers in all cities, suburban areas and villages.

He added that the plan will include home quarantine, noting that infected people will receive the necessary medicines and advice, but they are asked to stay at home.

Namaki said that people with a more serious condition will stay at the hospitals, adding that the public places will be disinfected, the entries of infected towns and cities will be controlled to diagnose and quarantine the infected cases.

He added that the necessary equipment and facilities have been provided, expressing the hope that the epidemic would be curbed.

Namaki said that the number of medical laboratories to test coronavirus infection has reached 22, and will increase to 40 soon.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says Iran’s response to the virus has so far been up to the mark. Still, it says the US sanctions are a big challenge, and Washington would be complicit in the rising death toll in Iran if it would not remove its sanctions.

The World Health Organization has considered priorities in combating coronavirus and Islamic Republic of Iran obeys and follows up priorities as defined by WHO.

The WHO is dispatching separate delegations to all countries.