Armenian government works to prevent another lockdown- prime minister says

YEREVAN, January 20. /ARKA/. The authorities are trying to prevent a new lockdown as another wave of coronavirus is approaching, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting on Thursday.

He said a sharp increase in the daily confirmed new cases of COVID-19 has been recorded for several days already.

The prime minister brushed aside the criticism of new anti coronavirus restrictions, which are coming into force on January 22 as unfounded and stressed that the situation is under control.

"Some individuals resort to manipulations, arguing that the businesses have already suffered damages, but the government is introducing new restrictions forbidding unvaccinated people to visit restaurants, cafes, theaters, gyms and other public places," the Prime Minister stressed.

He recalled that Armenia was the first country in the world to do away with lockdowns as a result of heated discussions in government.

"Our policy now is to make sure that we don't have to go back to lockdowns. I want to state that the inspection authorities will be strictly enforcing the rules for visiting public facilities - entry will only be allowed with a certificate of vaccination or a negative PCR test," he said.

According to the prime minister, if hospitals are filled with infected patients, there will be no possibility to provide people with medical care (at the expense of the government) and it will be necessary to declare a lockdown.

The Ministry of Health said earlier that the latest restrictions do not apply to persons under 18 years of age, pregnant women, citizens with medical contraindications to vaccination, citizens who have had coronavirus within 90 days after the first positive PCR test.

Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said both doses of COVID-19 vaccine were given to 805,550 citizens, which is 35.7% of the country's adult population.
She said another 987,084 people have received so far the first dose of the covid-19 vaccine, which is 43.7% of the adult population.

According to her, over the past week the number of citizens receiving a booster dose, which is administered 6 months after the second dose, has also increased.

According to the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one person has died from Covid-19 during the past 24 hours. The total tally of such deaths is now 8,026. -0-