There have been suggestions for Armenia to go back under lockdown for two weeks due to the fact that the latest data regarding the number of coronavirus cases and deaths is worrisome. Aravot Daily conducted a survey in Yerevan, which showed that people are not in favor of restrictions, but instead, they want the rules to be enforced.
Some people find that there is no need for restrictions because people need to worry about their relatives’ health for themselves. “They can tell us what to do as much as they want, but if people don’t want to understand how they need to behave, nothing will help.”
Citizens complained that many people wear masks indoors for show, but they lower their masks when they speak. One person said that all coffee shops and other entertainment venues need to close and people need to stay and work at home as much as possible.
Someone else said that the traditions of drinking coffee and playing cards or backgammon with the neighbors have been set aside for now. “We only greet each other from balcony to balcony. Some have complained that, despite the current situation, young people greet each other with a kiss. “They’re not supposed to do that. It’s embarrassing and there’s a pandemic.”
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Another person said that people are acting irresponsibly in coffee shops and on the streets. “It would be nice if the state would enforce the rules. These restrictions were only lifted for a few days. We lived as normal for two months and nature got a break. But nothing that has happened over the past two weeks is understandable. They trusted us, but we did not deserve that trust. But those people who trusted us were right when they said that we need to act responsibly both as people and as Armenians. We need to love and respect each other because there are so few of us. We have a very warm mentality and a little bit of enforcement now would not hurt. If we need to go under lockdown again for a while, it won’t hurt us. We lived through so many hardships and went without food, electricity, water, and life. What is this in comparison that we can’t handle it? We need to fight against this together. It’s not uncomfortable. It’s our duty to help the state and ourselves.”
Citizens wished the Prime Minister a fast recovery, but they also complained. “He needed to be more careful so that it wouldn’t have reached this level. This is a result of carelessness.”
Hripsime Jebejyan
