Iran passes 10,000 COVID-19 deaths
Iran's president says citizens must wear masks as part of a “new phase” of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says his country is properly handling its response to the coronavirus outbreak but is looking to make sure that people wear masks in public.
At a meeting of the National Headquarters for Combating the Coronavirus on June 25, Rouhani said that while some cities are seeing a spike in infections and deaths, “on the whole the rate of the outbreak … is on the decline.”
A spokeswoman for Iran’s Health Ministry, Sima Sadat Lari, said that in the previous 24 hours there had been 134 registered coronavirus-related deaths, the highest 24-hour total since April 7. The total put Iran over 10,000 virus-related deaths.
Rouhani said Iran, like many other countries, is “entering a new phase” in combating the pandemic. He said mask wearing is an “inevitable step” of this new phase. Rouhani said that while some countries have used the threat of fines to enforce mask wearing, he is planning on citizens voluntarily following health guidelines and that there is no need to use police or other enforcement agencies.
