TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that mask-wearing will be mandatory in closed-door areas and public places as of next week.
"It has been decided that certain measures be adopted so that wearing masks will be mandatory in places of gathering or covered areas from July 5 to 21. If necessary, this approval will be extended to August 21," Rouhani said, addressing a meeting of the national coronavirus campaign headquarters in Tehran.
Elsewhere, he referred to the impacts of coronavirus on different European countries and the US while they were not like Iran under different pressures and sanctions.
"Today's conditions in the US have increased unemployment by 25%. They were not sanctioned and it's been just the disease (coronavirus) that has left such an impact on their economy," Rouhani said.
He also said that many Asian and non-Asian countries have witnessed capital outflow after the coronavirus outbreak.
Iran’s pharmaceutical firms and manufacturers have begun mass production of cotton face masks and hand sanitizer upon a request by the Health Ministry in a bid to push back against the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Earlier this month, Iranian Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari had said that the Iranian knowledge-based companies have developed such a capability that they now can export extra equipment needed for treating coronavirus patients to the other countries.
"The Iranian knowledge-based companies made the ICU and the CCU equipment, CT-scan machines, coronavirus diagnostic kits, disinfectants, and 6 million masks a day," Sattari said.
He added that if the Iranian Health Ministry issues the permit to export the medical equipment, the knowledge-based firms can do it.
