New Covid-19 cases rise sharply in Armenia, expert says

YEREVAN, January 13. /ARKA/. New Covid-19 cases have risen sharply again in Armenia in recent days, according to Romela Abovyan, head of a department at the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"If a few days ago Armenia was in the green zone by EU standards, during the last 2-3 days it has been shoved in the orange zone, which indicates an increase in the rate of infection," she said at a press conference on Thursday.

This is the first time such a high reproduction rate of infection has been recorded, she said, specifying that it is now 2.3. She stressed that the increase in the incidence rate is registered in all age groups of children and adolescents.

"This disease is not subject to epidemiological patterns, and has no seasonality. Instead, waves of infection emerge and subside every 3-4 months. The number of cases that are registered during these waves will depend on the measures taken in a given country," Abovyan said.

According to the expert, if there had not been restrictions, for example, during the fourth wave of infection, some 2,500-3,000 cases per day could have been registered.

She gave importance to the implementation of preventive measures and compliance with epidemiological rules.

"We have two imported cases of the new omicron variant, but it is possible that it is already circulating in our country, and in these conditions the only preventive measure is vaccination," the specialist said.

As of today morning, the total number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 346,811. According to the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, four people have died from Covid-19 during the past 24 hours. The total tally of such deaths is now 8,014.

On November 11, the government of Armenia extended the coronavirus quarantine until June 20, 2022.

The nationwide quarantine was first imposed on September 11, 2020 replacing the state of emergency that was declared on March 16 to stop the spread of coronavirus. -0-