Pres. Rouhani: Coronavirus cases, hospitalisation declining

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Iran's President referred to the inauguration of major projects throughout the country, stressing that the government is doing its best to increase employment and keep people safe and happy.

Speaking on Thursday at the inauguration ceremony of energy, agriculture projects in Ilam province, President Hassan Rouhani said, "We are in tough conditions, but we have high hopes and people must know that they are not alone and the entire system and donors are beside them".

Parts of Dr Rouhani's speech is as follows:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

I would like to tell the dear and honourable people of the country that this year, although the situation is difficult due to this virus and many business sectors are facing problems, and on this day of labor, I feel that some workers and businesses are under pressure and hardship, but this year we are witnessing very good steps. Yesterday's report of the Central Bank showed that people's savings in banks have grown, which makes all of us happy.

In the stock market, we have witnessed an unprecedented growth, and the dear people and the 2 million people who are active in the stock market are both happy and have made a lot of profit.

Especially since the Supreme Leader agreed to release Justice Shares, which is very important for the people. Those who have one-million-toman shares, if they want to sell their share, they will be given a considerable amount, and those who want to keep, can do this and it maybe be better.

In terms of food and basic goods, I would like to emphasise again that we are almost self-sufficient in some goods this year. It is an honour for the government that we have been self-sufficient in wheat for the fifth consecutive year.

In this government, 24 dams have been completed and inaugurated in the western part of the country, all of which show that the right conditions have been created for people's activity and production.

Basically, some businesses are in trouble because they were closed for a month, 5 weeks, they could not be active during Nowruz, and the government will do its best to help them as much as possible so that they could have a good Ramadan and a good year ahead.

I emphasise that we have no choice but to cooperate and coordinate in order to succeed against coronavirus. The main burden is on the Ministry of Health and the doctors, nurses and medical staff of the country, but the main help is in the hands of the people.

Compared to other countries, the country's statistics show that our success has been significant.

In general, the statistics of the number of patients, the number of hospitalisations, the number of recovered and the number of those who have lost their lives, and the equipment we built in this field are clear, and these are the results of the performance of government agencies, non-governmental public sector, armed forces and all Iranians.

We help the people as much as we can and people should know that they are not alone, people should know that the government, the entire system, the armed forces, all donors, all those who have a pure heart are by their side.

In these 7 to 10 days, we have restarted some economic activities and we will continue these activities very carefully. Yesterday, the Minister of Labour announced that the registration process for receiving unemployment insurance had stopped, and some of them even announced that they would withdraw from this unemployment insurance registration and look for their jobs, and this was very good news for me.

Of course, I know that we have problems in many jobs, and we have problems for months, because it is not clear to us what day and date the disease will end, and this is unclear to everyone.

So it's not yet clear to us what it's like, but we have to do our best. I tell our dear people that the statistics I saw last night were very satisfying for me, which is a declining statistic, which means that there is a declining number in patients and hospitalisations.

All over the world, when I talk to their leaders, they ask us if we have enough beds and nurses. It is important that people take care of themselves against the virus, and that the health sector be prepared so that, God forbid, one person needs a hospital, a bed, equipment, and, most importantly, a nurse and a doctor, they have them available.

So, the situation is difficult, but at the same time our hopes are very high. One of these hopes is the projects that will be opened. We started the openings almost at the beginning of the year, and this is the third weekly inauguration we have had a few weeks ago.

One of the projects that was inaugurated today was related to water projects, and it was announced that direct employment will be created for more than 5,000 people, and in the agricultural sector, they said that more than 5,500 direct jobs will be created.

It is important for us to be able to keep employment rate constant this year and not let people be unemployed.

The prayers of our dear people during this holy month of Ramadan, God willing, will be answered, and we hope that when Eid al-Fitr arrives, our souls will be happier and our trust in God will be greater, and the conditions in the country will be better that day.

Thank you very much

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings

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