Iran President, Hassan Rouhani, has launched new preventive measures to curb the spread of coronavirus infections in the country.
Iran continues to witness huge spikes in Covid-19 infections as number of cases keep soaring on a daily basis. According to Sima Sadat Lari, Iran’s Health Ministry spokeswoman, as of Saturday the number of cases has risen to 237,878 with 148 deaths bringing total coronavirus deaths to 11,408.
With the new measures imposed, it is now mandatory for Iranians to wear masks in public places. Anyone who fails to do so would be denied state services.
Similarly, workplaces that refuse to comply with the new heath protocol and fail to enforce same on their employees risk the penalty of one-week closure.
While giving the health measures on the state television, Rouhani said,
“Government employees should not serve people who do not wear masks and employees who do not wear them should be considered absentees and sent home.”
The announcement came after tougher measures were imposed on cities and towns in five provinces where the infections rates were constantly on the rise.
President Rouhani warned that anyone who has been in one or the other infected should notify others as doing so is part of their religious duties. He however said anyone who acts otherwise does so in blunt violation of other people’s right.
“Keeping your infection a secret violates the rights of other people,” said Rouhani.
In what proves to Iranians that President Rouhani is determined in his efforts to enforce the new measures, a government website published a photo of the president in which he was wearing a protective mask.
Despite spikes in coronavirus cases, Iranians have been reluctant to use masks as a measure to prevent spread of the virus.
Government as a result has tirelessly been sensitizing citizens through a series of week-long campaign on the state television to the need to use masks.
With the new measures and penalty attached, Iranians are expected to play safe and accept the use of masks as from Sunday to curtail the spread of the deadly virus.
