Epress.am News from Armenia
The State of exception (emergency) declared on March 16 until May 14 in relation to the spread of COVID-19, has been extended until June 13 2020.
The Cabinet session of May 14 discussed the situation around the spread of COVID-19 with no indication to renew lockdown restrictions as long as the country’s health care capacities will allow handling severe cases of COVID-19 morbidity.
During this time, the health care system has been ramped up to meet the surge of contagion. Infectious disease specialized units have been topped with additional beds in various hospitals, rising from 300 beds to 1500 beds; thousands of medical staff have been trained and recruited to combat the contagion, hospitals have been re-equipped and supplied with additional stocks of medicaments.
“No matter how much our strategy is focused on not returning to restrictions, we may have to come back to this decision when we exhaust our capacities to treat patients with symptoms. Out of the 2000 patients currently tested positive for COVID-19, only 600 need medical treatment. If we reach the threshold of 1500 patients with symptoms, we may have to return to restrictions,” said Prime Minister Pashinyan.
The Cabinet unanimously adopted the decree to extend the State of Exception given the state of health emergency threatening the lives and health of the population and that it may serve as a direct threat to the constitutional order in Armenia.
Daily COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Armenia averaging around 150 each day. As of 11am May 14, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports of a total 3860 COVID-19 cases registered in Armenia, of which 1572 persons have been successfully treated and 2218 persons undergo treatment in hospitals if they have symptoms, and in hotels if they are asymptomatic. So far, 49 persons have died, while 21 persons infected with COVID-19 have died due to “other reasons.”