“I express gratitude to the doctors, nurses and the medical staff as well as the Health Ministry and the minister, for their efforts in fight against the outbreak of the virus,” Ayatollah Khamenei said on Thursday in a video message.

The video also featured Alireza Marandi, head of the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences.

The Leader hoped that the virus will be controlled and defeated in the near future.

Kianoush Jahanpour, head of the Iranian Health Ministry’s public relations department, announced on Friday that the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak, officially known as COVID-19, in Iran has risen to 34 with 338 confirmed cases.

According to the latest reports, coronavirus has caused 2,867 deaths, while 83,863 people have been diagnosed with the illness across the globe.

The virus is spreading in the Middle East, Europe and other parts of the world, as Brazil confirmed its first case in Latin America, while parts of China begin to lower their emergency response level as the number of new cases reported there continues to slow.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said countries should use quarantine against the deadly new coronavirus only when they are truly needed.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday, Michelle Bachelet hailed medical teams around the world working to rein in the COVID-19 outbreak, but said respect for human rights needed to guide the response.

“The rights of those under quarantine must be protected, including rights to food and clean water, the right to be treated humanely, access to health care, the right to be informed and freedom of expression,” the UN rights chief noted, adding, “All public health measures should be carried out without discrimination of any kind.”

MH/PA