After the session of government, the Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan announced that the number of coronavirus cases in Armenia has risen from 115 to 122. The new cases are tied to the manufacturing plant. “These people have been at the center of our attention from the beginning. This, of course, improves the situation somewhat, but not entirely. We anticipate that the number of confirmed cases from the manufacturing plant will increase due to the number of employees and the nature of the work that took place there.”
Torosyan said that all the patients are feeling well and there are no patients with serious or life-threatening symptoms.
“Most of them do not have a fever; 40 percent have a temperature between 37 and 38 degrees (98.6-100.4 degrees F). A few people have a fever between 38-39 degrees, but we do not have any patients with a temperature higher than that,” the minister said, noting that there are 13 patients over 60 years old.
He said that, unfortunately, there are many cases in Italy and it is possible for the number of deaths to surpass those in China. “There has been a sharp increase in deaths among individuals over 75 years old. This is due to men’s lifestyles and other illnesses, such as lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and others. All of these conditions complicate the illness.”
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The minister said that there is a connection between lung disease and death from the coronavirus. This also is impacted by smoking. Men are 2.5 times more likely to die than women from the virus, according to the minister.
Torosyan said that all citizens who arrived in Armenia from Italy are doing well. Only one patient had a fever and was taken to the hospital to be tested. Torosyan said that the rest will be tested when their quarantine is over since they all seem to be healthy.
Torosyan did not exclude the possibility of becoming infected twice, but he said that we need to be able to learn to live with the virus as we are able to live with other viruses, such as the flu.
Lusine Budaghyan
