Iran plans to export domestically-created coronavirus test kits abroad to countries including Turkey and Germany, Sorena Sattari, Vice President for Science and Technology under President Rouhani, has said.
Speaking to Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency on Monday, the official explained that exports are expected to begin sometime “in the coming weeks,” and that they have already received the necessary export licenses from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
Sattari said the kits were created and produced by Iranian knowledge-based companies.
“Iran has attained a level of self-sufficiency regarding coronavirus diagnostic serology kits that allows us to export them to most countries. Furthermore, we have not faced any restrictions on the volume of exports of these products abroad,” he explained.
According to the official, Iran has now built up the capacity to perform up to one million coronavirus tests per day, with “all of these tests performed using kits that are domestically produced.” This is a significant figure, given that the Middle Eastern nation has a total population of about 83 million people.
“Our knowledge-based companies have produced a great deal for the coronavirus, which we can export to other countries in the fall, when the second wave of coronavirus strikes,” Sattari noted.
The vice president had previously indicated that in addition to test kits, Iran has made strides in the production of ICU and CCU equipment, CT-scan machines, disinfectants, and upwards of 6 million masks per day.
During the first months of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Iran was one of the countries hit hardest by the disease, suffering not only high fatalities rates, but higher-than-usual infection rates among the country’s leaders and lawmakers. Today, with a total of 97,400+ total infections and 6,203 deaths, the country rounds out the global top ten.
Source: Sputnik
