WHO: Sanctions against Iran do not apply during coronavirus outbreak

Amid coronavirus outbreak, on March 1, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the sanctions against Iran do not apply to emergencies. He further added that Tehran would get all help it needs to fight the deadly virus. He even stressed that there should be global coordination on the issues and pointed out that 'together we can defend this'.

Ghebreyesus at the second Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum said, “In an emergency situation, we could give them the support they need. So the best would be addressing the current issue and providing all supports that they need and in the process for the sanctions not to affect it. Sometimes when you bring it with other issues you lose focus, and you don't do what's at hand. So let's do what's at hand. Let's really focus on this and make sure that there is nothing on our way to fight or respond to this outbreak effectively”. 

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He further added, “We need to fight it because it's everybody. Everybody should stand as one. On sanction and emergency situations it is not applied. So, we are working and we will give all the support Iran needs to the outbreak. On COVID issues it's better to focus on COVID, the outbreak and whether we do it best to address this”. 

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Iran's total number of cases surpasses 900

According to reports, Iran has confirmed 11 new coronavirus deaths and the outbreak has also claimed the lives of 54 people till now. Kianush Jahanpur, the spokesman for the health ministry also said that there were 385 new cases of infected people in the last 24 hours due to which the total number increased to 978. He further even urged Iranians to avoid any unnecessary trips and stay at home. 

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 50 countries since December 2019. According to reports, the death toll in China has also surpassed 2,800 and the National Health Commission also confirmed 573 new cases. The total number of confirmed cases within China has reportedly hit 79,968 and more than 86,000 worldwide. 

(With ANI inputs)

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