Total number of people infected with COVID-19: 770
Total number of recovered: 43
Total number of deaths: 7
Updates From the Ministry of Health
6:40 p.m.
In the latest update on the health of the COVID-19 patients in Armenia, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health Alina Nikoghosyan wrote in a Facebook post that there are currently 25 COVID-19 patients with pneumonia, three are on ventilators and only one is in critical condition. Nikoghosyan said the health of the remaining 24 patients is severe but stable.
4 p.m.
In another Facebook post, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health confirmed that the ambulance involved in a collision on April 3 was carrying three COVID-19 patients from their place of quarantine. One patient sustained minor injuries; the other two were not hurt. The patient is being treated at the St. Gregory the Illuminator Hospital.
Two Thousand Armenian Citizens in Russia Waiting to Return to Armenia
Government to Create New Jobs
1 p.m.
In a Facebook Live, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the coronavirus pandemic has created many challenges for governments trying to mitigate the economic impact on citizens. Pashinyan said that the government has already ratified nine assistance programs to counter the effects of the crisis: five are social assistance packages and four are aimed at businesses. “We also understand that these programs are not a panacea and we cannot insist that, at this point in time, we have been able to identify all those citizens in need of assistance,” he said, noting that they will continue to develop new forms of assistance programs.
The Prime Minister said that the government has, in essence, been in crisis management mode, however, it is important to also clarify their roadmap to overcome the social economic crisis. “As soon as the epidemic situation allows, we will concentrate on creating new jobs,” Pashinyan said, adding that they are aware that there will be serious shifts taking place in the job market and the government needs to support the creation of new jobs.
One of the main tools in supporting the creation of new jobs is increasing capital spending.
Today, the government is working in two directions. One direction is the work of the special commission, which is mandated to balance two counterweighted problems: prevent the spread of the virus and create the circumstances to allow for more businesses to return to work without causing a new wave of infections. To solve this complicated problem, the Government had to impose a state of emergency.
The second direction is the development and ratification of socio-economic assistance programs and incentives to boost capital expenditure projects. The various ministers will be responsible for the creation of these incentives in their respective fields. Armenia has a history of under performing on capital expenditure projects, however, under these circumstances, the effective implementation of capital expenditure projects, and as a result increased investments, becomes significantly more important since every underutilized capital expenditure project means more people and families will be out of work and not have an income. The creation of new jobs through capital expenditure projects will subsequently create a new system with new jobs and new enterprises.
The Prime Minister also said that Armenia has a $1.3 billion loan capacity, which is waiting to be utilized and should do everything in our power to make sure this amount is utilized effectively.
