Televised Remarks on the Status of the Coronavirus Disease

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Peace be upon Hussein and upon Ali ibn Hussein and upon the children of Hussein and upon the companions of Hussein who sacrificed their lives for Hussein (peace be upon him).

I do not intend to give a speech. It was necessary to convey a few essential points regarding the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic to the officials and to our dear people.

The wild disease has surged, not only in Iran but almost all over the world, going through a period of outbreak. Naturally, when the disease, the virus, takes on a new form, our defensive posture and methods of operation must also change; it enters with a new approach, and we must adopt new, robust guidelines and positions to confront this disease, which today poses a major threat. The issue of the coronavirus, in my opinion, is the number one issue in the country; it is an urgent matter that must be pursued.

The afflictions and casualties are truly very painful; it is easy to say, but in reality, when you look at it, is it a small matter for over five hundred families to mourn in a single day or for tens of thousands to become infected in one day? Is it a trivial issue? The problem is not only the mourning, which is indeed very painful and significant; becoming ill is also a problem; those who become sick, who are afflicted, endure various hardships for medication, treatment, testing, and other issues! Truly, the heart of every Muslim, the heart of every compatriot burns and is set ablaze when they look at this situation. Therefore, we have responsibilities.

Fortunately, the esteemed President recently set a one-week deadline, which was a very good move to ensure that all officials understand the importance of the issue and bring forth the necessary thoughts and proposals for decision-making and action. And I now state here that all officials, at the head of this deadline, at the end of this week, must decisively carry out their actions—whatever actions they have decided upon, whatever they think is in the best interest and can be done—and carefully assess the situation and do whatever is necessary.

I mentioned the afflictions, which are one side of the issue, and the casualties and calamities that occur; however, the other side of the issue is the severe fatigue of the healthcare systems; this is also truly a major concern. In this hot summer weather, being faced with these problems day and night in hospitals is indeed a significant issue; physical and mental pressures are placed on them, and truly the healthcare teams, doctors, nurses, and others are engaged in jihad. I must sincerely thank them, although our gratitude is of little importance; the main gratitude is to God Almighty, who is Grateful and All-Knowing and sees their efforts.

I want to remind the officials of a few points and a few points to the people. What I convey to the officials is that at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, public testing for disease detection became common, and this was a very good move; this work must be carried out; that is, in the true sense, both the health network and the Basij must operate in this area and be able to provide disease detection tests free of charge and widely for everyone. Today, it is not available to all; there are problems, and apparently, it also incurs costs for individuals, and for some, it is a heavy burden. It should be such that disease detection and related tests are available to all people. Of course, insurance companies must assist, and the government must also help for this matter to progress and be implemented.

The next point is the issue of vaccines. Fortunately, domestic vaccine production has taken place, and domestic production has facilitated foreign imports, as the officials have stated; that is, the issue of imports was such that the government and the Ministry of Health had purchased vaccines from some places—from some countries and from COVAX—and had even paid for the vaccines, but they breached their promise and did not deliver. After our vaccine entered the market and people began to use it, the situation improved, meaning the path for imports opened up. In any case, both for imports and for domestic production, there must be increased efforts to ensure that vaccines are delivered to all people in whatever way possible, as millions of vaccines must be made available.

The next issue is medication, as we hear that medication is either unavailable in pharmacies or hospitals, or it is scarce or difficult to obtain, but it is available in the free market at several times the price; if this is true, it indicates a fundamental problem in the distribution network; this issue must be addressed and prevented. Medication must be made available to the people.

Another point is the assistance of the armed forces. In the early months and at the beginning of the work, the armed forces—both the army and the IRGC—seriously engaged and accomplished significant tasks, and the Basij also had a very good and strong presence. Although they are still busy and doing work, in my opinion, they must now expend their efforts in this matter and come to the aid of the people.

These are the tasks related to the officials that were necessary. They should not consider any reservations. Now, I do not comment on the necessity or non-necessity of closures, as it is a specialized issue and must be examined by the National Coronavirus Headquarters; however, if they reach a conclusion, that conclusion must be decisively implemented and put into action.

As for the people; our dear people are facing this bitter incident and this problem, but part of the problem arises from the failure of some people to adhere to the guidelines. It is said that the level of compliance among the people is 40 percent or 35 percent! Well, this is very low; the people must comply one hundred percent. Now, if some individuals have problems that prevent them from properly wearing masks and maintaining distance and similar things, at least the overwhelming majority of the people must adhere to this. This is a problem that returns to us; if we do not comply, we endanger our own lives and health, as well as the health of others, especially our loved ones and those around us. Therefore, part of the problem arises from this non-compliance. The same sensitivity that people exhibited in the early months and truly adhered to must be maintained.

According to experts, if the people exert pressure on themselves for two or three months and adhere to these guidelines, this disease will subside; and the healthcare systems will be able to breathe, and the devices can perform their tasks in the best possible way. And the vaccine, God willing, will reach a reassuring state; with God's grace, in a few months, the vaccine will be made available in the best possible way—if efforts are made, which, God willing, will be made—and then the danger will diminish; there may still be infections, but the crisis and the danger of death and the suffering of families will no longer exist, and if the people fully comply for a few months—one month, two months, three months—God willing, the problem will lessen or be resolved.

One issue is the gatherings for mourning and the Ashura mourning ceremonies, which are very important. Of course, these gatherings are a source of blessings, a source of divine mercy, a source of divine blessings for the country and the nation; we need these gatherings, they must exist, but with utmost precision and rigor, the guidelines must be observed; that is, truly both the officials who organize the gatherings, and the speakers and mourners who lead the gatherings, and all the people who participate in these gatherings must take care to ensure that the guidelines are strictly followed, and distances are maintained. They must not allow these gatherings, God forbid, to become a means of spreading the disease so that opponents and enemies can criticize and say that the mourning gatherings caused the spread; such an event must not be allowed to happen. These matters must be strictly observed in these gatherings. This is one point.

The next point is public assistance; some people truly need help. This public charity movement, the movement of mutual assistance, which was carried out in the best possible way during part of this year and a half, especially in the early days, and truly benefactors, those who were interested, helped and entered the field—whether with their physical presence or with their financial contributions—and provided various forms of assistance to those who were deserving of help, must continue. This movement must rise again; there are those whose jobs are inevitably being suspended—whether it is a suspension or not, some jobs are truly facing difficulties due to suspension—well, they encounter problems. In my opinion, the center must be the mosques; the center for assistance and cooperation with the people and charity and mutual assistance can be established in the mosques. In every mosque, individuals who are dignified yet in need—there are those who are truly dignified but, at the same time, in need—should be identified, and assistance should be provided to them, and the people can help and do help. These are my reminders.

And my final reminder is the issue of prayer, supplication, and humility. All these things we have mentioned are means and causes; the Creator and Wise God is the ultimate cause, who "causes the causes to occur by Your grace." We must ask God Almighty. These mourning gatherings are also a good place, a good opportunity for humility, for supplication, for turning to the Lord and asking from God. Let us pray, seek forgiveness, and request God's grace; God willing, God Almighty will also bestow His grace.

God willing, may God grant the Iranian nation His blessings and grace, and may He soon deliver the Iranian nation and all believers and all humans across the world from this wicked and troublesome disease and reduce its harm from the lives of people around the world, God willing.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.