A team of WHO experts has landed in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, to support the ongoing response to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the country.

The team will work with health authorities and other stakeholders to review ongoing readiness and response efforts, visit designated health facilities, laboratories and points of entry, and provide technical guidance.

Overall, the objectives of the mission are to: identify transmission dynamics and at-risk populations; provide guidance on strengthening and scaling up the response to the ongoing outbreak, including agreement on priority control measures; and provide guidance on strengthened readiness for areas not yet affected by the outbreak.

To date, 1501 COVID-19 cases, including 66 deaths, have been reported in the country, as of 2 March at 15:00 Cairo local time. According to the health ministry spokesperson, in total, 291 people have already been discharged from hospitals after regaining their health.

Cases with a travel history to the Islamic Republic of Iran have also been reported from Afghanistan, Canada, Lebanon, Pakistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The plane carrying the technical team members also contained a shipment of medical supplies and protective equipment to support over 15,000 health care workers, as well as enough laboratory kits enough to test and diagnose nearly 100,000 people.

WHO expresses its sincere gratitude to the Government of the United Arab Emirates for providing the chartered plane that enabled WHO to successfully allow its team and medical supplies to travel to the Islamic Republic of Iran.