On 15 March, 2020, the Director of the Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia held a consultation on the organization of measures to prevent coronavirus. The meeting was attended by the deputies of the Rescue Service and the heads of the structural units.

The process of implementation of the recommendations of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia was discussed; priorities for the solution of urgent issues, according to the structural and territorial units were discussed as well. Issues related to the provision and disinfection of special equipment involved in quarantine and preventive measures were also discussed.

During the consultation, it was instructed to carry out double instruction with the medical and psychological support staff of the 911 service in order to carry out the work with the population more effectively and efficiently. It was instructed to provide the population with the necessary advice and, if necessary, refer them to specialized medical centers.

Regional and Yerevan rescue departments were instructed to discuss and introduce during emergency sessions of the Standing Committees of Emergency Situations in Yerevan and Marzes on the basis of the “Country-Based Emergency Response Plan for Case/Cases of Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19)” at the Prime Minister’s recommendation and issuing from it Action Plan for the Regional (Yerevan City) Level of Epidemic as prescribed by the Service Director.

The regional and Yerevan rescue departments and the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant’s special fire and rescue squad have been assigned to set up 5-10 rescue special decontamination teams in their units, in addition to five specialized radiation, chemical and biological monitoring units already in place. It was also instructed to establish strict control in all the firefighting and rescue units on the health and sanitary standards of the personnel.