Officials at the Red Cross Society of China's headquarters in Beijing talk to staff members on the ground in Iran on Tuesday morning. (Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily)
Voices on the other end of the line cut in and out due to a poor phone connection as officials at the Red Cross Society of China's headquarters in Beijing attempted to talk to staff members on the ground in Iran on Tuesday morning.
As the signal stabilized, the latest developments in controlling the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic in Teheran streamed into a conference room packed with Red Cross managers.
Zhou Xiaohang, head of a five-member team－four medics and a Farsi interpreter sent to assist with COVID-19 control in Iran－said Iranians are increasingly taking precautions such as wearing face masks and washing their hands more often.
But he said the progress has been hampered by a severe shortage of medical supplies.
Zhou, whose team arrived in Teheran on Feb 29 at the invitation of the Red Crescent Society of Iran, the Iranian version of the Red Cross, implored headquarters to supply more face masks and protective gowns.
"Face mask prices are rising," he said, adding that protective gowns are in short supply.
