Iran Contains 3rd Wave of COVID-19, West Still Grappling with It: Rouhani


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – While Iran has managed to tackle the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic sooner than expected, Europe and the US are still plagued by the new wave, President Hassan Rouhani said.

In comments at a Saturday session of the Coronavirus Fight National Headquarters, Rouhani said his administration has succeeded in containing the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic sooner than expected in cooperation with all organizations.

The situation in controlling the infection across Iran has improved, except for only four towns that are categorized as red zones, he added.

He said Iran has managed to deal with the pandemic while Europe and the US are still grappling with the third wave and the number of coronavirus cases in those countries continues to rise.

The president then called for increased vigilance to prevent a new wave of pandemic in the last two months of winter, stressing the need to observe the health protocols and avoid gatherings.

The big threats that Iran would be facing in the coming days and weeks are the cold season, the air pollution, and the mutated strain of coronavirus reported in the UK, Rouhani warned.

In late December 2020, Iran began to halt flights to and from the UK for two weeks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus strain.

The British government says a second new and potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus identified in South Africa has emerged in the UK.