Armenia received a score of 90 points on a site which determines how prepared countries are to combat an epidemic. The current situation involves the coronavirus
Armenia received a high score of 90 points in epidemic prevention, putting the country in the “green” (safe) zone. This information comes from a report published by international experts on preventepidemics.org. The site determines the world readiness index for countering epidemics using the Joint External Assessment (JEE) scale, which has approved by the World Health Organization.
So far, only one case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Armenia. The infected man arrived in the country from Iran on March 1st. The border between Armenia and Iran has been closed since Febuary 23rd. The 29-year-old Armenian citizen arrived on one of the special flights allowing Armenian and Iranian citizens to return to their home countries. All people who came in contact with him are in quarantine and feel fine, as does the infected man himself. He is not receiving treatment, as he is showing no signs of illness.
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The report on preventepidemics.org states:
“[Armenia has] functioning systems to find, stop and prevent health threats, but they must work to maintain this level of protection for their people.».
Armenia is included in the list of those countries that have a high level of protection and therefore are marked in green on the interactive site map.
It also says that Armenia’s strengths in preventing epidemics are coordination, communication, advocacy and food safety.
Meanwhile, the country continues to take measures to prevent the spread of the virus, in particular, in the country’s armed forces. Now, before permitting family members to visit soldiers receiving treatment in military hospitals, their temperature is measured and they are supplied with medical masks.
Routine medical care in military hospitals is also being limited.
Classes are likely to resume in Armenian schools and universities on March 9. This was announced on March 5 by the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Araik Harutyunyan:
“We have no special instructions to stop conducting classes. If this continues to be the case, then they will resume on Monday.”
A week-long quarantine which prevented educational institutions from holding classes began on the second of March. Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan will decide whether it should be extended.
He says that sanitary and medical measures to combat the virus were fairly well-organized, and that new cases are being reported much less frequently.
The situation remains tense in South Korea, Iran and Italy, but Torosyan says that in Georgia and Russia, things are relatively calm.
“I am in constant contact with my colleagues in these countries, and I think that after the peak in the incidence rate, we will see the frequency of reported cases fall. After that, we will be able to review the forced restrictions on movement.”