Iran’s caretaker minister of industries says that the country has lifted restrictions on exports of some tests kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to confront the new coronavirus pandemic amid a surge in production that outweighs domestic demands.
Hossein Modarres Khiabani said on Wednesday that curbs imposed on exports of N95 masks, surgical gowns and serological test kits had been eased.
Modarres said the measure could help domestic producers offset the losses suffered during the initial stages of the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, in Iran while it would help other countries better cope with the pandemic.
The caretaker minister, who was appointed to the job earlier this week, said the government had also allowed a partial lifting of bans imposed on exports of ventilators, vital sign monitors and portable oxygen concentrating machines.
Iran, the worst-hit country in the Middle East region by the COVID-19, has largely relied on home-grown efforts to fight the disease as sanctions imposed by the United States have largely curbed the government’s ability to import drugs and medical equipment needed to contain the virus.
Iranian biomedicine companies have already started exporting test kits used to determine the rate of immunity in a population against the pandemic. Local media reports said Germany had taken delivery of a first batch of those serological test kits earlier on Wednesday.
Modarres said that Iran would maintain a ban on imports of certain medical equipment and drugs used against COVID-19 that are abundantly produced inside the country.
He said a government registration system used for placing import orders had been closed to ensure none of those items would be shipped into Iran during the pandemic.