Call for Upholding Health Protocols, Despite Declining Corona Casualties

The Iranians government on Saturday again underlined the importance of social distancing to fight the coronavirus pandemic and asked the public to heed health guidelines in spite of the continuing drop in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
“We ask the Iranian people to keep adhering to health protocols,” President Hassan Rouhani said in a meeting with the heads of multiple committees that constitute the coronavirus taskforce, ISNA reported.
Rouhani said assessments by the taskforce show that a significant portion of people heed the health advice and are committed to the stay-at-home policy.
“These evaluations help the taskforce plan the timing of the next step in reopening medium-risk businesses,” he added.
Iran has allowed low-risk businesses to resume operations across the country under an initiative dubbed Smart Distancing to stave off economic collapse while controlling the spread of the infectious disease.
Health officials on Saturday reported the lowest number of daily infections since March 22 and the least overnight deaths since March 11.
Saturday was also the third straight day of a decline in confirmed cases, as the country’s registered COVID-19 patients crossed 80,000 and its related deaths exceeded 5,000.
Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said Iran’s tally of deaths due to the novel coronavirus rose by 73, bringing the death toll to 5,031. 
As of Saturday, 1,374 more people contracted the virus known to cause COVID-19, which brings the total confirmed cases to 80,868. 
Jahanpour added, “So far, 55,987 of recovered people were discharged from hospitals and 3,513 are in critical condition.”
Iran has carried out 330,137 coronavirus tests since the outbreak took a hold in the country.

Provincial Categories

Rouhani noted that the Health Ministry has been ordered to classify Iran’s 31 provinces into three groups based on the extent of the coronavirus spread. 
The classification, “based on standards accepted by the World Health Organization”, will allow the coronavirus taskforce to devise health protocols in accordance with the severity of the situation in each province.
The top official said, “People’s cooperation with the Smart Distancing Initiative has resulted in a decline in the spread of the virus in some provinces, and in steady numbers in other provinces.”
The president also said the Health Ministry must coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development to develop protocols that would allow for the safe travel of Iranian expatriates and foreign nationals in and out of the country, if their purpose is justified.
Rouhani emphasized the facilitation of travel for those pursuing trade activities. 
However, many countries have resorted to border shutdowns to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, which has curbed foreign travels.
The highly infectious outbreak has taken the lives of over 154,000 patients out of the 2.26 million who have contracted the virus worldwide.