COVID-19 Update (June 24-25)

During the Government session, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that coronavirus remains the most pressing issue in the country. Arsen Torosyan, the Health Minister, provided updates on the COVID-19 situation in the country. The Minister said that from 2,336 tests conducted within the last 24 hours, 771 came back positive, which is a record number of cases confirmed on one day. He went on to say that the absolute number of confirmed cases remains a critical factor in the ability of the healthcare sector to provide assistance to all those who need it. The situation in the country, according to Torosyan, remains stable but critical. Speaking about bed capacity, Torosyan said that as of 9 a.m., there are 51 patients who need to be hospitalized (two of them are in their homes, while the remaining 49 are already in hospitals but need to be transferred to specialized medical centers). Torosyan stressed that this is an ongoing process and that in this regard the situation is normal.

Speaking about bed capacity in intensive care units, the Minister said that almost all medical centers treating coronavirus patients have unoccupied beds and stressed that currently anyone who requires treatment in ICU, is not being turned away because of a lack of beds. According to Torosyan, this does not mean that the situation has improved, because the number of patients who need to be placed in ICUs can change very quickly. Currently, 502 patients are in critical condition, 113 in extremely critical condition and 40 patients are on ventilators.

PM Pashinyan said that it is important to understand if the number of confirmed cases represents the overall situation in the country [he reminded that according to some estimates, up to 100,000 were infected in Armenia about ten days ago but because they were asymptomatic, they did not know about their infection]. Torosyan explained that theoretically and practically it is impossible to identify everyone infected with COVID-19 in the country, because a person may be infected with the virus but the test would not show it in the first few days. He went on to say that the estimated number of cases, including the undetected ones, are calculated by considering a number of factors and stressed that it is never the reflection of the situation in the country on that particular day. That number includes all those who were infected, but did not know about the infection and have already recovered, those who are infected now but because they are asymptomatic don’t know about the infection, those who are infected and know that they are infected. Torosyan stressed that it would be wrong to say that we have 100,000 cases in the country, because some of them have already recovered.

The Minister said that according to analysis conducted by the Ministry, the growth rate of the spread of the virus has not increased among younger people. The picture is the direct opposite among older people. Speaking about the geographical analysis, the Minister said that now Yerevan is one big infection hub (in the past the virus was spread in specific administrative districts). Torosyan stressed that the virus is everywhere and everyone needs to take preventive steps by following the anti-epidemic rules (wear a face mask, regularly wash/disinfect hands and maintain physical distancing).

Pashinyan reminded about his meeting yesterday with the representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), during which they confirmed that the three rules, which the Armenian Government is recommending people to follow, have proven their efficiency around the world. The problem is with compliance of those rules. Vahe Ghazaryan, the Chief of Police reported that 1,707 reports on administrative violations were filed on June 24 alone, 939 of which were reported in Yerevan. He went on to say that the main problem remains ensuring compliance of the rules in small neighbourhoods and that the police will continue their monitoring. Pashinyan stressed that local self-government bodies, volunteers have to keep small neighbourhoods under their constant attention. Pashinyan urged citizens to change their behaviour and follow the anti-epidemic rules because otherwise the situation will continue deteriorating.

Zaruhi Batoyan, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, presented the twenty-second assistance package aimed at mitigating the consequences of COVID-19. The beneficiaries of the program are those citizens of Armenia who were employed between January 1 to March 30, 2020 for at least 85 days but were fired between March 31 to June, 2020 and did not secure new employment within the mentioned period. Batoyan said that some of the exceptions include pawnshops, credit organizations and insurance companies. The beneficiaries of the package will receive one-time assistance in the amount of the minimum wage. PM Pashinyan reminded that as of April over 70,000 jobs were lost due to the pandemic and about 50,000 were recovered in May. He went on to say that the Government decided to provide assistance to the remaining 20,000 citizens who lost their jobs. Pashinyan noted that people along with the Government have to do everything to avoid another lockdown, otherwise thousands of people will be left without jobs.

The second group of doctors from France arrived in Armenia on a Marseille-Yerevan charter flight on June 23. Welcoming the doctors at the airport were High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan, Deputy Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan, French Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lacôte, and Chief of Staff to the Office of the High Commissioner Sara Anjargolian.

The initiative was made possible through the efforts of the Office of the High Commissioner, with the close collaboration of the Ministry of Health and the French Embassy to Armenia.

There are two Armenian doctors in this second mission, including the leader of the group, Professor Laurent Papazian, Director of the Intensive Care Unit at the Nord Medical Center in Marseilles, France, and a leader in the field of ventilator-associated illnesses and intensive care specialist Dr. Hayk Vardanyan. According to Zareh Sinanyan, discussions are underway with Armenian doctors from the United States, Ukraine, and other countries in order to involve them in similar missions to Armenia.

“Our local doctors welcomed their international colleagues with open arms. Looking at the results of the previous group, I can say that a wonderful cooperation took place. Of course, we have to ensure continuity, so today, this group will meet the previous group and they will share their impressions and experiences. A lot of effort is being made in order to make such initiatives possible,” stated Deputy Minister of Health, Anahit Avanesyan.

The doctors, hailing from some of the best medical institutions in Paris and Marseilles will carry out their mission at St. Gregory the Illuminator Hospital and the Traumatology and Orthopedics Research Center.