RA Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan clarifies on coronavirus.

“We have undertaken extensive medical preventive work to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection in the armed forces, creating the necessary conditions for the military to remain free of the infection. However, it is not possible to prevent the penetration of the infection into the army, as a large number of servicemen are in daily contact with the civilian population.

On 25 March, three soldiers from the military unit not involved in combat were sampled. Coronavirus was diagnosed in three servicemen as a result of a COVID-19 test. A coronavirus had been confirmed earlier at a family member of one of the servicemen. The confirmed cases of three servicemen are interconnected and related to one of the focal points in the country. According to epidemiological studies, these servicemen were previously isolated, which significantly reduced the risk of further spread of the infection.

The military are now hospitalized, their health is satisfactory and no pneumonia has been reported. One soldier has a slight increase in temperature, and the other two have no temperature and other symptoms characteristic of the disease.

I assure you that soldiers with the symptoms of coronavirus disease receive high quality and effective medical care, and their lives are not at risk.

At the same time, the whole range of contacts of servicemen is revealed. Those in close contact and potential contacts are isolated in predetermined designated areas. They are also subject to strict day-to-day supervision and are provided with the necessary conditions.

Another 32 soldiers were sampled to test for the presence of the virus.

In this military unit, which is located a considerable distance from the front line, the state of the barracks is declared, the strictest anti-epidemic measures are taken, and medical monitoring is carried out.

At the same time, I would like to stress once again that no cases of coronavirus disease have been reported in the Defense Army to date.

Large-scale preventive measures continue in the RA Armed Forces. Strict restrictions are applied in all military units to prevent penetration of the infection, and daily monitoring of the health of military personnel is established. As a result of complex anti-epidemic measures and strict restrictions applied in the armed forces in the last month, the number of other non-dangerous infectious diseases has dramatically decreased, which is a clear indication of the effectiveness of these measures.

Particularly, compared to the same period of the previous years, “acute respiratory diseases”, “chickenpox”, “tonsillitis” have decreased 4 times, and there are no patients with intestinal infections at present in the Armed Forces.

It is noteworthy that the number of “pneumonia” cases has decreased 5 times in recent years, and the number of heavy “pneumonia” has decreased 10 times in the recent years, with no “pneumonia” in the armed forces.

I am confident that we will succeed on this front as well.”