COVID-19 Update (July 17-18)

The Ministry of Health reported 461 new cases of COVID-19 and 631 recoveries, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 34,462 of which 10,507 are active cases and 23,123 have already recovered. Eleven COVID-19 patients (the youngest aged 53 and the oldest 92), who all had pre-existing health conditions, died bringing the total number of deaths to 631. Four patients with COVID-19 also died, but the virus was not the cause of death; 201 such cases have been reported. To date, 145,083 tests have been conducted, of which 1,969 were in the last 24 hours.

During a press conference, Gayane Sahakyan, the Deputy Head of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Head of the National Immunization Program, announced that the two possible vaccines for COVID-19, which are in the third and the last stage of testing will probably reach Armenia next year. According to Sahakyan, vaccination for coronavirus will not be mandatory but they will identify high-risk groups and will suggest these people to get a vaccination.

She noted that although Armenia’s Health Ministry is already in negotiations to procure the vaccine, we cannot expect to secure them for the country soon. Sahakyan also stressed that due to the pandemic, the ongoing work of some healthcare services has worsened and some important vaccination programs have been disrupted. She said that due to the COVID-19 situation in the country, people are afraid to get vaccinated since they think they might get infected when they go to the polyclinics. According to Sahakyan, this year Armenia has registered two cases of mumps and yellow fever whereas in the past two years there were only one or no cases at all.

During March of this year, vaccination among the population has decreased by 27 percent. Sahakyan noted that although COVID-19 remains a priority, we should not forget about other infections, which can easily spread if there is no vaccination. She went on to say that face masks, and disinfecting hands are important for the fight against the coronavirus, but these efforts also prevent other diseases. According to Sahakyan, because people follow basic hygiene rules, the percentage of airborne and intestinal diseases has decreased compared to previous years.

The Ministry of Health reported 442 new cases of COVID-19 and 561 recoveries, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 34,001 of which 10,692 are active cases and 22,492 have already recovered. Thirteen COVID-19 patients (the youngest aged 49 and the oldest 84), who all had pre-existing health conditions, died bringing the total number of deaths to 620. Eight patients with COVID-19 also died, but the virus was not the cause of death; 197 such cases have been reported.To date, 143,144 tests have been conducted, of which 1,704  were in the last 24 hours.