Iran's Health Minister on Friday said Iran is imposing a ban on all arrivals from China. Authorities say the six people suspected of coronavirus infection have all been cleared.
In a tweet on Friday Dr. Saeed Namaki said he has asked First Vice-President Es'haq Jahangiri to officially communicate a ban on all air, land and sea arrivals from China to the Ministry of Roads and Transportation and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus in the country.
In his tweet, Saeed Namaki also said all healthcare facilities are at full alert at all borders points.
According to Alireza Raeesi, Deputy Health Minister, in his letter to Es'haq Jahangiri the Health Minister has asked all "unnecessary" trips to China be cancelled.
Another Health Ministry official, Kianush Jahanpour, in a tweet on Friday said no confirmed cases of coronavirus have been detected in Iran. Jahanpour in another tweet said special procedures and medical precautions will be employed to return more than 70 Iranian residents of Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic.
The Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raeesi on Friday said about 200 Iranian students live in China and nearly 100 Chinese nationals work in Asalouyeh in southern Iran. They will be quarantined when they return from New Year holidays in China, he said.
The death toll from coronavirus in China has now reached 213 and more than 9700 have been diagnosed with the illness.
There are now 128 confirmed cases of the virus outside mainland China. The World Health Organization (WHO) on January 30 declared coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern.