4th Phase of Fighting Covid-19 Launched

President Hassan Rouhani said all employees are to return to work starting next Saturday with reduced opening hours

As Iran enters the fourth phase in its fight against the novel coronavirus, authorities further relaxed confinement measures but intensified health inspections and screenings. 
Iran’s National Coronavirus Taskforce, headed by President Hassan Rouhani, announced on Saturday that all employees are to return to work starting next Saturday with reduced opening hours, President.ir reported.
Museums and historic sites reopened on Sunday, coinciding with the end of the holy month of Ramadan. 
As per the orders issued by the taskforce, holy sites reopened on Monday after over two months.
The new reopenings are part of the government’s fourth phase that replaces lockdowns with aggressive screening. 
During Saturday’s session, Rouhani reviewed the administration’s first three phases to tackle the infectious disease, known as Covid-19, which began with the announcement of the illness followed by mobilizing all resources aimed at fighting the virus.
The president said the second phase was passing the peak of viral infection with containment efforts through social distancing and smart distancing initiatives.
“The third phase was the gradual reopening of places of business,” he added.
He pointed out that not all provinces have passed the first three phases to enter the fourth stage, that is, intensified inspections and comprehensive testing to rapidly identify and isolate Covid-19 patients.
Warning against baseless fearmongering, the president said, “Health protocols must be fully complied with but some are trying to imply that the situation is irreversible, which is not the case.”
Rouhani also referred to the Health Ministry’s latest updates on the pandemic, noting that both the number of deaths and the time spent in intensive care units have declined.
“What is alarming is the fact that 88% of those who died had one or several underlying health conditions,” he said.
The taskforce will make further decisions on lowering the limits on the activities of mosques and malls next Saturday.

  Daily Coronavirus Report According to data compiled by health authorities, Iran identified 2,023 new infections in a 24-hour period on Monday, taking its caseload to 137,724.  Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said out of the new cases, only 338 (17%) required hospitalization. Deaths from the outbreak dropped on Monday, with 34 overnight deaths that brought the national death toll to 7,451. Nearly 108,000 have fully recovered from Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. More than 2,500 are in intensive care units.  Iran has carried out 819,000 diagnostic tests since the illness found its way into the country. Khuzestan Province is still in a state of emergency, although hospitalizations declined by 10-15% in the past few days.  Jahanpour said, “In the past 24 hours, 19 provinces reported no fatalities and five registered only one.” The global tally of cases crossed 5.5 million on Monday and deaths reached 347,000.