16:50,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government is considering the possibility of introducing a COVID-19 testing location at the Yerevan airport in order to facilitate the arrivals of foreign travelers.

On August 12, Armenia extended the coronavirus state of emergency but announced about fewer restrictions.

Armenia is now open for foreign travelers as the ban on entry of non-citizens was lifted.

At the same time, it is envisaged that upon entering Armenia, if the traveler isn’t hospitalized they must self-quarantine for 14 days, however there is one innovation, they can get tested during these 14 days and in case of a negative result the self-quarantine regime is changed.

“Now we are discussing to create the opportunity to test the arrivals at the airport. We are working in this direction,” Deputy PM Tigran Avinyan’s spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan told ARMENPRESS.

Hunanyan said that under the current regulation the arriving person must immediately head to their self-quarantine location and doesn’t have the right to leave it, even for testing. In order to be tested, the person must invite lab medics to their self-quarantine location, and in the event of the results coming back negative, the person is entitled to exit self-quarantine.

This new rule is retroactive and is covering travelers who have arrived to Armenia in the two weeks proceeding August 12.

Reporting by Norayr Shoghikyan; Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan