The situation with ARVI in Armenia is improving – Minister

YEREVAN, February 28. /ARKA/. Over the past three days, Armenia has observed a downward trend in the number of acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI), said Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan.

"We need to consistently follow our recommendations: wash your hands, dress appropriately for the weather, take other precautions if symptoms appear, and if they do, contact your family doctor or therapist," she said at a press conference on Friday.

When asked whether there were any plans to move schools to distance learning, she replied that if schools were closed every year based solely on the increase in cases, they would have to be shut down for the entire winter season.

"Rest assured, we are monitoring daily both school absenteeism and visits to clinics, as well as all patients in somatic and intensive care units of hospitals. We have clear criteria for transitioning to stricter measures to prevent an epidemic," the minister said, adding that schools themselves are free to decide whether to switch to distance learning if more than 25% of students miss classes.

In response to a request to comment on reports that some schools refuse to accept doctors' certificates, Avanesyan acknowledged being aware of some parents' concerns about absences and asked Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andriasyan to address the issue in the future.

According to the latest data from the National Center for Disease Prevention of the Ministry of Health, 10,739 people with ARVI sought treatment at polyclinics from February 10-16, 2025, a figure 1.2 times higher than the same period last year, with no significant changes compared to the previous week. Of all cases, 75.2% were among children, adolescents, and young people aged 0-18 years. During this period, 863 patients with ARVI were hospitalized, with 92.4% of them being aged 0-18 years.