TEHRAN – The Iranian health ministry has issued a statement, calling for the government to ban all recreational travels and restrict work travels from China due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

“Considering that the new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, our country will take preventive measures in harmony with other countries based on the World Health Organization’s protocols,” deputy health minister Alireza Raeisi told IRNA on Friday.

He also said that 70 Iranians residing in the Chinese city of Wuhan, which has been hardest-hit by coronavirus, will be returned home next week.

According to Raeisi, there are some 200 Iranian university students living in Wuhan, of whom 150 came back to Iran before the start of the Chinese new year while no one was affected by coronavirus.

On January 26, Hossein Erfani, head of the health ministry’s contagious diseases department, said no cases of coronavirus infection or even suspected cases have so far been reported in the country. 

Moreover, Kianoush Jahanpour, head of the health ministry's public relations department, announced that any kind of food carried by passengers from China and Southeast Asian countries into Iran is prohibited.

According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.  

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death. 

Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.

MG