TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian researchers produced a system for tracking infection and smartification of hospitals based on the internet.

“With this system a number of persons and objects inside hospitals are connected to each other and the internet by sensors,” Executive Director of a knowledge-based company affiliated to Tehran University Amir Reza Masahi Khaleqi told FNA.

He said that the object-based hospital GPS and smartification system is a sure mechanism for hospitals and medical centers to enhance work efficiency and satisfaction of patients, adding, “They can be controlled and administered through the existing applications on smart phones, tablets and computers.”

Khaleqi further said that the connection and exchange of information is carried out without the direct human interference and monitoring; while persons and objects are tracked every moment via RTLS technology.

Referring to the outstanding features of the smart system, he said the new system enables us to monitor the patients every moment, reduce injury and infection stake, and decrease delay time.

“This system controls hospital infections in two ways, namely, decrease of hospital infections via exact monitoring of hand hygiene compliance and increase of precision and speed for contact tracing of those affected with hospital infections,” he stated.

The Iranian health ministry announced on Friday that 1,168 new cases of coronavirus infection have been identified in the country, adding that 93 people have died of the COVID-19 virus in the past 24 hours.

“1,168 more patients infected with COVID-19 virus have been identified in the country since yesterday based on confirmed diagnosis criteria,” Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Friday.

He said that the total number of coronavirus patients in Iran has increased to 88,194, adding that 93 people have lost their lives due to infection to the virus in the past 24 hours, increasing the total toll to 5,574.

Jahanpour, meantime, said that 66,596 infected people have been treated and dismissed from hospitals, expressing concern that 3,121 patients infected with COVID-19 virus are in critical conditions.

Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki stressed on April 7 effective measures to control coronavirus epidemic, expressing the hope that the disease would be controlled in Iran by late May.

“At present, the country is in the phase of disease management and we should not imagine that we have reached the harness and control phase. Today is the time for full-fledged combat against the virus. God willing, we will control coronavirus by late May. The virus should be controlled in the minimum possible time,” Namaki said, addressing the Iranian legislators in an open session of the parliament in Tehran.

He noted that at least 30% to 50% of hospital beds are still vacant across Iran and nearly 15,000 beds are ready to keep the patients who are recovering from coronavirus disease.

“We have now moved down to tank 6th in terms of deaths,” Namaki said, adding that the country’s situation in treatment of patients will improve in the next few days.

The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting approximately all countries and territories around the world. The virus was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. It has so far killed more than 191,000 people and infected over 2.7 million others globally.

The Iranian foreign ministry declared that despite Washington’s claims of cooperation to transfer drugs to Iran via the new Swiss-launched payment mechanism, the US is troubling the process amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Although US claims that medicines and medical equipment are not under sanctions, they have practically blocked the transfer of Iran’s financial resources in other countries into the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement (SHTA), Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said.

As the death toll from the virus surges, Iran intensifies its preventive safety measures. Closures of schools and most universities have been extended until late April.

The government also imposed travel restrictions, specially on Iran’s North, which is among the red zones. The country has also adopted strict digital health control procedures at airports to spot possible infections.

Namaki announced last month that a new national mobilization plan would be implemented across the country to fight against the coronavirus epidemic and more effectively treat patients.

Namaki said that the plan will include all the 17,000 health centers and the 9,000 medical and clinical centers in all cities, suburban areas and villages.

He added that the plan will include home quarantine, noting that infected people will receive the necessary medicines and advice, but they are asked to stay at home.

Namaki said that people with a more serious condition will stay at the hospitals, adding that the public places will be disinfected, the entries of infected towns and cities will be controlled to diagnose and quarantine the infected cases.

He added that the necessary equipment and facilities have been provided, expressing the hope that the epidemic would be curbed.

According to the latest statistics of Health Ministry, the number of medical laboratories to test coronavirus infection has reached over 90 across the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says Iran's response to the virus has so far been up to the mark. Still, it says the US sanctions are a big challenge, and Washington would be complicit in the rising death toll in Iran if it would not remove its sanctions.

The World Health Organization has considered priorities in combating coronavirus and Islamic Republic of Iran obeys and follows up priorities as defined by WHO.

The WHO is dispatching separate delegations to all countries.