President Orders Special Support for Iranian Businesses

In a decree on Friday, Rouhani ordered Minister of Cooperative, Labor, and Welfare Mohammad Shariatmadari to allocate a sum of 750,000 billion rials in credit to the enterprises and businesses that guarantee they will not expel their workers amid the implementation of plans to contain the coronavirus epidemic in the country.

The president also called on the minister to carry out a careful inspection to make sure that all health protocols are being fully observed in the housing facilities for disabled veterans and retirement homes.

Rouhani also held a telephone conversation with Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami, urging him to carry out a detailed evaluation of the status of the country’s airports, train stations and bus terminals and offer proposals for handling the situation considering a remarkable drop in the travels after enforcing the restrictions for controlling COVID-19.

On Tuesday, Rouhani extended social distancing measures until April 8 to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus across the country.

He has repeatedly called on Iranians to stay indoors, noting that social-distancing and self-quarantining have helped the country’s health authorities make major breakthroughs in their battle against the viral infection.

The disease has so far killed 3,294 people and infected over 53,000 others in Iran. Nearly 18,000 people have also recovered.