The Armenian government has decided to place COVID-19 patients who have mild symptoms in hotels after consultations with Commandant Tigran Avinyan and Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

“Hospitals now house patients who are receiving no treatment. These are mild cases, who have tested positive for coronavirus but require no treatment, and their stay in hospitals is unjustified,” the premier said, adding they make up the majority of coronavirus patients in hospitals.

Pashinyan stressed the need to negotiate with hotels, adding it is a mutually beneficial proposal since hotels are empty now due to the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, the PM did not rule out the possibility that some businessmen may oppose the deal, fearing that it may affect the competitiveness of their brands in the future.

In this respect, the PM recalled that hotels are obliged to routinely disinfect their rooms, arguing there may be cases in which people with various other diseases have lived or are living in hotel rooms.

“Nothing bad will happen after people with coronavirus live there, especially if the rooms are disinfected afterwards,” the PM said.

Arsen Torosyan said for his part they will issue relative instructions in this regard. He backed the PM’s proposal, citing the case of Israel, where 1,000 coronavirus patients are in hotels.

“I don’t think the competitiveness of any brand will suffer given the current situation in the tourism sector not only in Armenia, but also around the world," the minister said.