13:20, 1 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is not constrained in imposing travel restrictions over the novel coronavirus outbreak, Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan told a news conference when asked if the government is considering suspending flights from Italy amid the outbreak in the country.

“The outbreak in Italy is in two areas and it is very localized. In big cities, where even many cases are confirmed, these are localized. As of today, we do not see the necessity to suspend flights with Italy, however this doesn’t mean that any other decision can’t take place later. By the way, these restrictions don’t only concern external processes, but also domestic. They concern public events, schools, kindergartens and others. What matters for us is public health,” he said.

Torosyan noted that the decisions must be substantiated and proven, and not demanded.

“We are not constrained in making decisions around restrictions, as we did it regarding the visa-free regime with China and in case of Iran,” he said, referring to Armenia’s partial closure of the border with Iran and the suspension of the visa waiver with China in an effort to prevent the COVID-2019 from entering Armenia.

At the same time, Torosyan noted that he doesn’t think shutting down schools is necessary at this time.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan