COVID-19 Daily Briefing (May 13)

10:30 a.m.
In a Facebook live, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about the increased number of COVID-19 cases that have been registered during the past several days, which is an indicator that not everyone is following the anti-epidemic rules and regulations. Pashinyan reminded that, because of the socio-economic concerns and the fact that people need to learn to live alongside the virus for at least a year, the government decided to start easing the restrictions through a step-by-step approach. As a result, almost all forms of economic activity resumed their operations. Pashinyan went on to say that their efforts will be effective only if everyone follows the government’s call to fight against the virus through a decentralized approach. It means that everyone should take the responsibility to follow the guidelines set by the government, because non-compliance with the set rules can result in a serious crisis.

The PM once again reaffirmed that everyone can avoid being infected with the virus and infecting others, if they follow simple rules. Pashinyan went on to remind about three of the basic rules that can halt spread of the virus, and urged citizens to practice social distancing, avoid touching their face, and follow simple hygiene rules in the workplace and at home.

Pashinyan noted that, if the trend registered in the past few days continues, the government will need to introduce certain restrictions. The goal of the restrictions will be to avoid a scenario where healthcare resources are not available to treat a citizen in need of medical assistance. Pashinyan stressed that everyone should take on individual responsibility for avoiding that situation.

Speaking about the social assistance packages meant to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, Pashinyan noted that, as of May 12, 73 billion AMD has been allocated to over 1.1 million citizens.

Shortly after the Facebook live, PM Pashinyan went live again while walking in the city center and once again stressed that even in the streets people are not following anti-epidemic rules and regulations. Pashinyan said that discussions with citizens have shown that some of them want the government to tighten the restrictions and require everyone to wear face masks while outside, while others want to end all the restrictions and restart public transportation. Pashinyan explained that countries around the world are challenged to identify measures and restrictions that would help them to effectively fight the virus. He stressed that this is a complicated problem that encompasses economic, social, as well as political concerns. Pashinyan also said that, under the existing circumstances, the State of Emergency (SOE) cannot yet be lifted but that the government’s goal is that people start getting back to their normal life while following the anti-epidemic regulations. He once again stressed the importance of individual efforts and responsibility of each citizen.

The MInistry of Health reported that 146 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Armenia and 71 patients have recovered, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 3,538, of which 1,970 are active cases and 1,430 have already recovered. A 82-year-old patient died, bringing the total number of deaths to 47. To date, 32,561 tests have been conducted.