TEHRAN – In a ceremony on Tuesday night, a projection mapping was carried out on the iconic Azadi Tower in Tehran to convey the message of sympathy with Chinese people fighting coronavirus.

The ceremony was held in the presence of Chinese Ambassador to Iran Chang Hua, ISNA reported.
An outbreak of the disease, originating at a seafood market, occurred in the central Chinese city of Wuhan; which killed at least 2,000 people and infected 75,000 in China so far.

On February 14, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi appreciated his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif for being the first foreign minister who sent sympathy to the Chinese people since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

"You are the first foreign minister who sent sympathies to the Chinese people since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which fully reflects the profound friendship between the people of the two countries, who support each other and tackle difficulties in a cooperative manner," said Wang.

In a tweet in Persian language on February 13, Chinese Ambassador to Tehran Chang Hua thanked Iranian people for sympathizing with the Chinese in their campaign against coronavirus.

“There is a proverb in the Persian language that says ‘heart speaks to heart’. In China’s struggle against coronavirus we deeply felt the friendship of the government and nation of Iran,” the ambassador said.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on February 14 announced that many foreign ambassadors and representatives to China have said on social media platforms that they stand with China in this fight against the virus. 

He thanked the Iranian ambassador to China, Mohammad Keshavarz-Zadeh, for saying, “I’m sure China, with 5000 years of civilization, will overcome this problem.”

The World Health Organization proposed an official name for the illness caused by the new coronavirus: COVID-19. The acronym stands for coronavirus disease in 2019, as the illness was first detected toward the end of last year.

According to the WHO, 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.  

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