Armenia’s Daily COVID-19 Cases Set Record High

YEREVAN — Armenia’s Ministry Health reports the number of positive COVID-19 cases to date in Armenia increased by 771 new cases to total 22,488.

This is the largest one day increase in registered COVID-19 cases in Armenia. Health Minister Arsen Torosian insisted on Thursday that the authorities are still able to cope with the continuing COVID-19 epidemic.

According to the data posted on the Ministry’s official website, as of June 25, the total number of registered deaths due to COVID-19 is 397, and the total number of recoveries stands at 11,335.

The number of patients currently undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in Armenia is 10,625.

According to official data, 131 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 have died for other reasons.

In total, 102,736 COVID-19 tests have been administered in Armenia.

Torosian noted the record daily number of new cases when he spoke during a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan. He said that the epidemiological situation in Armenia remains “stable” despite the continuing spread of the disease.

“The virus is now everywhere but we have no big outbreaks,” said the minister. “Infection rates among young people are not increasing … but we have the opposite trend among elderly people: the higher the age the higher the infection rate.”

“Since last Sunday … the situation has been fairly good in terms of the hospitalization,” he went on. “As of nine o’clock in the morning there were only 51 citizens who needed to be transferred to hospitals dealing the coronavirus.”

Torosian added that there are now “several” vacant intensive-care beds at those hospitals.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian again indicated that despite the high infection numbers his government has no plans to re-impose lockdown restrictions and will continue instead to put the emphasis on getting more Armenians to practice social distancing and wear face masks in public.

The national police chief, Vahe Ghazarian, said in this regard that on Wednesday alone more than 1,700 people were fined for not wearing masks.

The Armenian government issued stay-at-home orders and shut down schools, universities and most nonessential businesses in late March shortly after recording the first COVID-19 cases. But it began easing those restrictions already in mid-April and all but lifted the lockdown by the beginning of May. The number of coronavirus cases has risen substantially since then.