FNA - A top Islamic Revolution Guards Corps commander announced that 10,000 IRGC physicians, nurses, and specialists have rushed to the frontline of fighting the coronavirus.

�Nearly, 10,000 specialized treatment staff of the IRGC Ground Force across the country have been mobilized to continue fight against the coronavirus or they are cooperating with the universities of medical sciences and the 10 IRGC Ground Force�s treatment bases across Iran,� Commander of the IRGC Ground Force Brigadier General Pakpour said on Wednesday.

He added that field hospitals of the IRGC Ground Force with 3,000 beds are ready to treat the patients infected with COVID-19 virus, noting that all hospitals of the force are prepared to fight against coronavirus.

�Nearly 60,000 masks, 57,000 pairs of gloves and 4,100 protective gears for medical staff have been produced in the IRGC Ground Force�s workshops,� General Pakpour said.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that his country has gained the capability to export diagnosis kits for coronavirus, and added that the virus is a test for the efficiency of the world�s governments.

�At present, we can be an exporter of diagnosis kits, and exports of masks will be possible for us after meeting the needs inside the country,� President Rouhani said, addressing a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday.

�Our people are fully aware that the coronavirus issue has turned into a test for the efficiency of all world states and governments. All countries are in rivalry to control, treat and decrease the period of disease and most importantly, prevent its epidemic, alongside each other and all nations are making efforts to this end,� he added.

Rouhani noted that it would be impossible to evaluate the date when the virus would perish or the epidemic would end, calling on people to continue respecting the hygiene protocols and social distancing to prevent spread of the disease.

Moreover, Iranian Deputy Minister of Road and Urban Development Shahram Adamnejad said on Wednesday that 14,000 Iranians have returned home from various countries in the coronavirus conditions onboard Iranian planes that were empty on departure.

�The first step was to prepare protocols for all transportation sections,� Shahram Adamnejad said and added that 11 protocols were issued to help contain the outbreak.

�The Ministry was among the firsts to follow them,� he added.

He said the transportation capacity was limited and in some parts the demand dropped by almost 85%, which was a good thing for public health and a bad thing for transportation economy.

Meantime, Head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) Hamid Zadboum said on Tuesday that no commercial events and fairs will be canceled in the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2020) due to coronavirus outbreak in the country.

�As a foreign trade policy-making organization, TPOI is ready to hold trade and business events in �online� basis; accordingly, no trade fairs and events will be called off this year and those who work in the economic sector should not worry about this.�

�According to the annual habit and after the blessed month of Ramadan, all exhibition titles will be held in collaboration with the relevant associations,� he stressed.

He noted that holding trade fairs and exhibitions in �online� basis will create a new opportunity for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) which previously failed to participate in the events due to the limited space.

Furthermore, Tehran province Governor-General Anushirvan Mohseni announced on Wednesday that the hospitals in the province have been equipped with special devices to confront coronavirus disease.

He added that two hospitals have been provided with state-of-the-art apparatuses in the capital while other hospitals in the adjacent suburbs and towns enjoy good facilities for fighting coronavirus.

Also, Head of Tehran Emergency Department Peyman Saberian said in case of a second wave of coronavirus epidemic, fully equipped healthcare services will be available.

�Tehran Emergency Department is constantly active,� he said on Wednesday.

It is a novel disease and there is little information about it in the world. From the onset of the disease, the Emergency Research Office monitored all the events," he said.

He continued that the training of the personnel has been done according to the latest available information.

Due to the outbreak of the disease Iranians had many questions, he said noting that the counseling dispatch for coronavirus was assigned to answer the raised questions.

The Iranian health ministry announced on Wednesday that 94 people infected with COVID-19 virus have lost their lives in the past 24 hours, while over 63,000 patients have been treated so far.

�1,194 more patients infected with COVID-19 virus have been identified in the country since yesterday based on confirmed diagnosis criteria,� Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Wednesday.

He said that the total number of coronavirus patients in Iran has increased to 85,996, adding that 5,391 people have lost their lives due to infection to the virus, including 94 in the past 24 hours.

Jahanpour, meantime, said that 63,113 infected people have been treated and dismissed from hospitals, expressing concern that 3,311 patients infected with COVID-19 virus are in critical conditions.

He also noted that 377,396 coronavirus diagnosis tests have been carried out in the country so far.

Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki stressed on April 7 effective measures to control coronavirus epidemic, expressing the hope that the disease would be controlled in Iran by late May.

�At present, the country is in the phase of disease management and we should not imagine that we have reached the harness and control phase. Today is the time for full-fledged combat against the virus. God willing, we will control coronavirus by late May. The virus should be controlled in the minimum possible time,� Namaki said, addressing the Iranian legislators in an open session of the parliament in Tehran.

He noted that at least 30% to 50% of hospital beds are still vacant across Iran and nearly 15,000 beds are ready to keep the patients who are recovering from coronavirus disease.

�We have now moved down to tank 6th in terms of deaths,� Namaki said, adding that the country�s situation in treatment of patients will improve in the next few days.

The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting approximately all countries and territories around the world. The virus was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. It has so far killed more than 178,500 people and infected over 2.57 million others globally.

The Iranian foreign ministry declared that despite Washington�s claims of cooperation to transfer drugs to Iran via the new Swiss-launched payment mechanism, the US is troubling the process amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Although US claims that medicines and medical equipment are not under sanctions, they have practically blocked the transfer of Iran�s financial resources in other countries into the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement (SHTA), Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said.

As the death toll from the virus surges, Iran intensifies its preventive safety measures. Closures of schools and most universities have been extended until late April.

The government also imposed travel restrictions, specially on Iran�s North, which is among the red zones. The country has also adopted strict digital health control procedures at airports to spot possible infections.

Namaki announced last month that a new national mobilization plan would be implemented across the country to fight against the coronavirus epidemic and more effectively treat patients.

Namaki said that the plan will include all the 17,000 health centers and the 9,000 medical and clinical centers in all cities, suburban areas and villages.

He added that the plan will include home quarantine, noting that infected people will receive the necessary medicines and advice, but they are asked to stay at home.

Namaki said that people with a more serious condition will stay at the hospitals, adding that the public places will be disinfected, the entries of infected towns and cities will be controlled to diagnose and quarantine the infected cases.

He added that the necessary equipment and facilities have been provided, expressing the hope that the epidemic would be curbed.

According to the latest statistics of Health Ministry, the number of medical laboratories to test coronavirus infection has reached over 90 across the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says Iran's response to the virus has so far been up to the mark. Still, it says the US sanctions are a big challenge, and Washington would be complicit in the rising death toll in Iran if it would not remove its sanctions.

The World Health Organization has considered priorities in combating coronavirus and Islamic Republic of Iran obeys and follows up priorities as defined by WHO.

The WHO is dispatching separate delegations to all countries.