A large outbreak of the coronavirus is possible in Armenia. The Minister of Health, Arsen Torosyan, spoke about this during the session of government. He presented Thursday’s data regarding the number of coronavirus cases. There were 697 new confirmed cases and the overall number of sick patients is 11,221. Six new deaths were confirmed, which raised the total number to 174. There are 391 people in serious condition, 59 in critical condition, and 15 using ventilators.
“There is a dangerous trend: we are seeing new cases in several factories. Our experience shows us that it is possible for there to be a large outbreak because it is due to one of the sources that originated in March that the virus spread quickly throughout Armenia. This source was also a factory, so it is a possible scenario. Therefore, it is important for factories to uphold all the rules. The situation in hospitals continues to remain tense. For example, 15-20 percent of these cases need to be hospitalized. The rest of them are staying home and receiving treatment there while under supervision. We are having difficulties trying to avoid using up all the hospital beds. It is important for us to have a decrease in cases. Otherwise, it will be difficult for us to provide medical assistance,” Torosyan said.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was participating in the session online. He said that the goal is to make sure that the healthcare system will be able to provide medical assistance to citizens who need it. “Now, the issue is not the healthcare system. I am referring to the rules. People all over are not following the rules. One of the main areas at risk is banks.” Pashinyan said that the issue was resolved in the evening after working with the president of the Central Bank, but he received information this morning that the rules are not being upheld again. The Prime Minister said that lots of people are going to the bank. People are going to receive their benefits and they are not following the rules. The Prime Minister ordered the president of the Central Bank, Artur Javadyan, to work with the banks to resolve this issue.
Javadyan said that there were positive changes on Wednesday and the banks are carrying out the necessary measures. But they received two calls on Thursday from the regions and Yerevan. “For one of the cases, people suspect that there were provocations. The issue in the regions has to do with benefits. People who were not able to receive government assistance went to the bank to get money. The situation is under control.”
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Then, the Prime Minister spoke to the Minister of the High-Tech Industry, Hakob Arshakyan, about how people are not upholding social distancing at HayPost branches and there are lots of crowds. Arshakyan said that all the post offices are trying to control the lines outside as much as possible. Several HayPost offices have had issues with crowds due to the fact that they serve more than 1,000 retirees. “Lines have been drawn outside many post offices on Wednesday. Those activities continue today, and at the end of the day, most post offices will have those lines, which are important for social distancing.”
He also said that people will receive their pensions this month as well. The minister said that retirees have the opportunity to get bank cards and receive their payments that way, despite the fact that it is not mandatory. Only less than a hundred thousand retirees have made use of this method. “I would like to call upon all retirees to receive their pensions this way to avoid too many crowds. There is a draft for legislation in parliament right now regarding pensions, which will make electronic receipt of pensions in July mandatory.”
Nelly Babayan
