On 9 March, teh RA Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan chaired the sitting of the Committee on Coordination of Prevention of Coronavirus in Armenia.

The session discussed the latest developments in the situation with the coronavirus, and the steps to be taken by the state agencies.

Health Minister Arsen Torosyan presented the latest statistics on the spread of coronavirus in Armenia and around the world. He also noted that so far 211 laboratory tests  have been conducted in Armenia, of which only one has been found to have coronavirus.

Special attention was paid to the economic impact of the coronavirus, issues related to trade, freight and tourism flows.

Summing up the results of the session, Tigran Avinyan said:

“Dear Colleagues,

Let us note a few important points from the results of our consultation today.

First, we require address cards for all citizens entering the Republic of Armenia, which will also include information on the countries visited during the last 14 days. That is, by having and analyzing these cards we can understand whether there were citizens in the zone of danger.

Second, in the case of some cargoes related to Iran, both imported and exported, the Ministry of Economy creates a window as a result of a week of discussions with our partners from the State Revenue Committee, the Inspectorate, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This enables the transportation of certain cargoes to both Armenia and Iran. And these cargoes are processed through our controlled process.

Third, we urge all citizens of the Republic of Armenia to refrain from leaving to the risk zones, particularly the Lombardy region of Italy, in particular Milan, for at least the next two weeks.

And, finally, those of our citizens who remain in the Islamic Republic of Iran, who have families and family members who are not RA citizens and are not RA residents, also create an opportunity for these families to return to the Republic of Armenia.”