Medical Official: 10% of Patients Discharged from Coronavirus-Specialized Hospitals in Full Health

“Generally, between 8% to 10% of patients are released from Forqani and Kamkar hospitals (in Qom city) every day after full recovery,” Deputy Head of Qom’s Medical Sciences University Ali Ebrazeh told reporters in Qom today.

He added that given the rising number of coronavirus patients in Qom province another hospital has also been equipped to receive them.

Spokesman of the Iranian Health Ministry Kianoush Jahanpour said on Tuesday that the number of patients infected with coronavirus in the country has increased to 95, adding that 15 people have died so far.

“15 people have lost their lives so far in the country and generally, 95 confirmed coronavirus-positive cases have been reported,” Jahanpour said.

He added that 34 people were diagnosed with the disease since Monday noon.

Jahanpour said that over 700,000 sanitation packs, including equipment to prevent coronavirus-infection have been transferred to Qom province, the first place where the COVID 19-infection was diagnosed, and are being distributed among people.

Head of the Iranian Health Ministry’s Center for Infectious Diseases Mohammad Mahdi Gouya had announced on Monday that medical centers across the country have performed around 1750 diagnostic tests for coronavirus in the last week.

“Since last Monday that we have been provided with diagnostic kits we have performed around 1750 tests for coronavirus,” Gouya declared, reassuring that with modern equipment and state of the art medications almost all patients diagnosed with the virus are getting improved.

Meanwhile, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami said on Monday that the IRGC is ready to help the Health Ministry in the national campaign against the epidemic.

Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said that border closures with some neighboring countries and travel restrictions imposed by some countries are temporary, and reassured that border gates and travel routes will get normalized after the situation grows stable.

The epicenter of the outbreak is the Central city of Qom and official reports have so far showed that the virus has been contained in the Central city. All those diagnosed with coronavirus infection in Iran are a citizen of Qom or have had a travel to the city.

As a preventive measure, Iranian authorities have ordered a week-long closure of educational and cultural institutions across over 10 provinces as of Tuesday.

These provinces include Qom, Markazi, Gilan, Ardabil, Kermanshah, Qazvin, Zanjan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Hamadan, Alborz, Semnan, Kordestan and the capital, Tehran.

Spokesman for Tehran’s Department of Education Masoud Saqafi said the decision was made to “prepare schools” which have to be disinfected and sanitized.

Tehran’s Mayor Pirouz Hanachi said Sunday that all the city’s public places, including the metro trains and buses, are being disinfected every night as part of attempts to contain the spread of the virus.

Head of Food and Drug Administration Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz also said that pharmacies will no longer be allowed to sell protective masks and that masks will be distributed among the population via government-run centers free of charge, with the priority given to virus-hit provinces.

Iran’s Minister of Science, Research, and Technology Mansour Qolami called on all university deans to make every effort to maintain a calm atmosphere and adopt effective measures to prevent the virus from spreading.

The death toll from the novel coronavirus has risen to 2,698 worldwide, with the vast majority of those in mainland China. The total number of global cases stands at over 80,000.

South Korea now has more than 890 coronavirus cases nationwide. Europe’s biggest outbreak is in Italy, where seven people have died and there are over 220 infections, with restrictions imposed on some municipalities. Iran has reported at least 60 cases and 12 deaths.

The coronavirus can cause various illnesses, ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as pneumonia. Common signs of the infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, coughing, shortness of breath, and other breathing difficulties.