The number of confirmed infections to coronavirus now stands at 245 and 26 people have lost their lives in the past few days, Jahanpour said.
He added that 106 new cases of corona-virus positive patients have been diagnosed since Wednesday noon, voicing regret that 7 of them have passed away.
Jahanpour had on Wednesday put the number of patients infected with coronavirus in the country at 139, adding that 19 people had died.
He also 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.
As a preventive measure, Iranian authorities have ordered a week-long closure of educational and cultural institutions across over 10 provinces as of Thursday.
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 over 3,000 worldwide, with the vast majority of those in mainland China. The total number of global cases stands at over 81,000.
South Korea now has more than 1,000 coronavirus cases nationwide. Europe’s biggest outbreak is in Italy, where 12 people have died and there are over 400 infections, with restrictions imposed on some municipalities.
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.
