‘COVID-19 pandemic will continue for 6 more months in Iran’

Tehran, Aug 10 (IANS) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue for another six more months in the country which is currently the hardest-hit in the Middle East.As of Monday, the total number of coronavirus cases in Iran stood at 326,712, with 18,427 deaths.A total of 284,371 coronavirus patients have recovered, while 4,022 are in critical condition.”Until we obtain a vaccine that is effective and get a sufficient quantity of it… We will be confronting this situation,” Rouhani said in a statement on Sunday.However, it is not feasible to “completely cancel economic, social, cultural, and religious activity”, nor to act as prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.Rouhani asked the public to respect social distancing procedures, saying punitive measures will be announced next week against those who transgress norms and get infected with COVID-19.–IANSksk/