Iran launches 7 hospitals to expand bed capacity by 1,400
President Hassan Rouhani has inaugurated seven new hospitals across Iran, a sign investment has kept flowing into the country’s health sector despite financial costs imposed on the government because of the spread of the coronavirus.
Rouhani used a video conference call on Thursday to order the opening of the hospitals in various cities, including two in the capital Tehran.
The hospitals would add a total of 1,400 new beds to Iran’s current bed capacity of less than 141,000.
Rouhani said his administrative government would finish another 10,000 hospital beds until it leaves office in August 2021.
“Given that 1,000-1,400 beds have routinely been inaugurated in the country each year, this figure is a very good one for the current year and despite the economic pressures,” said Rouhani.
The hospitals were part of a total 26 healthcare projects opened on Thursday. The official IRNA news agency said the projects had cost 9.89 trillion rials (nearly $40 million) and would create 3,929 permanent jobs.
Iran has gone to great lengths to tap into its domestic health resources to fight one of the worst outbreaks of the coronavirus in the world.
The country has been under a series of economic sanctions imposed by the United States since 2018. Washington has resisted international calls to relax the bans to help Iran amid the pandemic.
Global health institutions have hailed Iran’s home-grown efforts to contain the spread of the virus, including the increased use of domestically produced medicines and medical equipment to treat the patients.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Iran increased by 2,815 since Wednesday to reach 413,149. The number of deaths also increased by 176 to 23,808 while there have been 353,848 recoveries, according to health ministry figures announced on Thursday.
Sri Lankan sailors rescued in stormy waters in south Iran
The epic of Iran’s economic invincibility
Iran's need for production surge and its requirements
US vetoes Palestinian request for full UN membership
Iran sufficed to striking part of Israel’s military positions: FM to UN chief
IRGC: Israel’s Dimnoa nuclear reactor not among Op. True Promise’s targets
VIDEO | West Asia awakens
'Stop any further Israeli adventurism,' Iran FM tells Security Council
Google fires 28 employees for protesting military deal with Israel
Burkina Faso expels three French diplomats over ‘subversive activities’
Iran slams G7 statement, vows no iota of doubt to respond to aggression
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
