Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has strongly urged citizens to abide by anti-epidemic rules to help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Speaking live through Facebook today, the Prime Minister said “any of should take up personal responsibility by strongly following the recommendations.”

“Unfortunately, I see people shaking hands and chatting to each other without keeping the social distance and wearing masks,” he said, adding that “this can lead us to a serious problem.”

The Prime Minister stressed that any of us has a chance not to get infected and not to infect other by following three main rules: keep social distancing, avoid touching the face without disinfecting the hands and use only disinfected and clean tableware.

The call comes in the wake of growth in the number of coronavirus cases in the past week.  

“Since coronavirus is going to be with us for at least a year, we have to learn to live side by side with the virus,” PM Pashinyan said. Therefore, he said the restrictions have been eased to allow the economy to recover, which will, in turn, leaded to improved social conditions.

He warned, however, that there could be a return to stricter measures should the growth rate be maintained.

The Prime Minister noted that a total of 73 billion AMD has been distributed as part of the government’s rescue package, benefiting  1.1 million people.

Armenia has so far confirmed 3,718 cases of Covid-19, 1,500 people have recovered, 48 deaths have been reported.