Iran’s President Urges Tightened Vigilance on Mutated COVID Strain


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered the authorities to step up their vigilance to keep the county away from a new strain of the coronavirus that has been reported in the UK.

Speaking at a Saturday session of the Coronavirus Fight National Headquarters, Rouhani warned against the spread of the new mutated strain of COVID that has emerged in the UK and some other European states.

The president called on the officials to prevent the spread of the new strain to Iran and tighten the precautionary measures regarding the passengers coming from the infected zones.

Pointing to the suspension of UK flights in many countries, Rouhani stressed the need for vigilance at the airports of entry to prevent a new wave of pandemic caused by the new variant.

Last week, Iran began to halt flights to and from the UK for two weeks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus strain.

The British government said on Wednesday that a second new and potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus identified in South Africa has emerged in the UK.

According to the World Health Organization, the new variant has so far been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Australia.