“We are facing a huge problem and the reason is that we are not taking the coronavirus seriously enough,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a Facebook live video as he presented the current data for the coronavirus. He noted that the cases increase every day.
According to him, the information waves are affecting everyone, but it is time for people to take the coronavirus seriously. On Tuesday, 218 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed as well as three deaths. Coronavirus cases increased by more than 300 on Monday. The overall number of deaths is 64.
“Now that almost all restrictions have been lifted, we all need to understand our political and civil responsibility in overcoming this virus. I also understand that the number of deaths in Armenia now is less than the number of deaths last May,” the Prime Minister said.
According to Pashinyan, the essential thing to understand is that, if the trend is not stopped, there will be 10,000 cases on May 29th and 20,000 cases on June 12th. “This means that the number of deaths will increase dramatically because rehabilitation units will be completely filled with patients and we will not be able to provide patients with assistance.”
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He said that the majority of cases do not show any symptoms and people are not experiencing many problems. There are also cases where the biggest problem is the loss of smell and taste. “If we do not stop the trend, dozens, even hundreds of people will die every day and we will be forced to implement the toughest restrictions. But we have the opportunity to avoid that by recognizing our own personal responsibility,” Pashinyan said. He reminded citizens to uphold the new rules, uphold social distancing, wear masks and gloves, and wash their hands frequently. “I have seen people outside who are standing close to each other and talking. It seems like nothing is wrong.”
Pashinyan said that false information about how the coronavirus is not real causes people to not take it seriously. “We have not withheld any information from the public from the day the first coronavirus case was confirmed until now. You have learned the exact same things that the government learned about the virus.”
Pashinyan also requested- using a harsh tone- that citizens wear masks, avoid standing close to each other, and that they avoid going to the funerals of people who were not closest to them. Everyone will be fined if they do not uphold the rules. “And don’t tell us that you are living in poor social conditions. If that is the case, then follow the rules. And please, do not come to us with false information and demand that we deny that we have shares in mask production or that we are involved in smuggling.
Whoever wants to believe that has the right to do so. They can bring back their favorite authorities and live happily. The mafia mentality is so deeply entrenched in our society that, when the revolution took place, people were happy for one week, then they slowly started to talk about what they would do if they were in charge. I do not think that way. I hope that no one watching me is like that. Therefore, I am not preparing to deny anything. We have lived our whole lives denying things. We can deny one hundred things, and they’ll come up with one hundred more things to accuse us of,” Pashinyan said.
Nelly Babayan
