The National Assembly Standing Committee on Healthcare and Social Affairs discussed the new approaches towards the coronavirus pandemic, the world post-coronavirus, and methods of treatment.
The head of the committee, Narek Zeynalyan, said that the coronavirus forced the entire world to stop its natural way of life and it limited almost all sectors. Studies that the main changes are still to come. The virus changed our mentality and our approach towards the medical field.
Paid working hours are expected to decrease by 7 percent in mid- to high-income nations, which includes Armenia. This includes approximately 100 million employees. The public food, production, vehicle repairs, and other industries will be even more vulnerable. Approximately 209,000 Armenian citizens work in these sectors, which makes up approximately 35 percent of the workforce. The coronavirus may also worsen the living conditions of unregistered employees. Everything needs to be done to keep the same extreme poverty level that was seen last year. Annual employment programs need to be reviewed and changed to suit future predictions. They also need to be in harmony with the education sector. The issue of allowing more people to receive unemployment and maternity benefits also needs to be discussed. “We need to learn how to live with the pandemic quickly by following these restrictions. It is important for all businesses to follow sanitary norms and ensure that they are being followed.”
Read also
Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan presented new data; there are 121 new cases and 36 recoveries as of May 4th. This brings the overall number of confirmed cases to 2,507 and the number of recoveries to 1,071. “Unfortunately, four more people died. The overall number of deaths is 39, and there were four people who died who had the coronavirus, but they died from something else.” Yesterday, 765 people were tested, and the overall number of people tested is near 25,000. The minister said that nine people are using ventilators, 35 people are in critical condition, and 25 are in serious condition.
Arsen Torosyan said that they are continuing to find new cases, test people, isolate them, and treat them, which is the main advice that the WHO has given to all countries regardless of the number of cases. “There are already countries that do not follow whom an individual was infected by and who else could have been infected. They are only discovering new cases, testing them, and treating them. But we will continue to follow the four steps. We will try to isolate all new cases as deeply as possible. The burden on the healthcare system is only increasing, but we are still able to handle it. However, we need to ensure that citizens do not end up being left without treatment. The irresponsible attitude of citizens can cause a situation where we will not have enough supplies, which is the case in many countries.”
The minister also said that people need to be responsible in stores, workplaces, outside, and at home. It is important to fight against the challenge as a nation. No nation’s government can fight alone against a virus that spreads from person-to-person if people are not being responsible.
Arsen Torosyan said that there are complaints about why there are few tests. “The number of tests administered in Armenia is similar to that in Japan and Italy. Of course, there are countries that administer ten times the number of tests, such as the USA, but we are not in a bad position.” The minister also said that the production of triple-layer medical masks began yesterday to ensure that Armenia will never face a deficit.
As far as what would change in Armenia after the state of emergency, Arsen Torosyan said that legislation needs to change and the government needs to have a working group to carry out local activities. This means local and personal restrictions depending on where the virus has spread. For example, it is possible for there to be quarantine and self-isolation demands in individual cases after the end of the state of emergency.
Hripsime Jebejyan
