YEREVAN, January 5. /TASS/. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian who is spending the New Year holidays in London with his family has tested positive for COVID-19, the president’s Executive Office informed the Hraparak newspaper on Tuesday.

"President Armen Sarkissian saw the New Year in in London with his family and grandchildren. On January 3, Sarkissian successfully underwent surgery on his leg in London. However, the president also developed symptoms of the novel coronavirus. His test was positive. President Sarkissian is self-isolating and will temporarily continue his activities remotely," the Executive Office said.

Before being elected Armenia’s President in 2018, Armen Sarkissian served as Armenian Ambassador to the UK. Part of his family still lives there.

Armenia’s coronavirus cases grew by 324 in the past 24 hours reaching 160,544. Fourteen COVID-19 patients died in hospitals, with a total of 2,878 fatalities reported so far. About 5.5% of Armenia’s population, which equals 2.9 million people, contracted the disease.