COVID-19 pandemic in Armenia
| COVID-19 pandemic in Armenia | |
|---|---|
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Armenia |
| First outbreak | Tehran, Milan |
| Index case | Yerevan |
| Arrival date | 1 March 2020 (4 years and 9 months) |
| Confirmed cases | 37,629 |
| Recovered | 27,357 |
Deaths | 719 |
| Government website | |
| https://ncdc.am/coronavirus/confirmed-cases-by-days/ | |
The COVID-19 pandemic in Armenia is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Armenia on 1 March 2020 when its first case was reported. The disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a novel virus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread to all of the regions (marz) of Armenia and has caused 719 deaths.
Armenia has suspended visa-free travel for Chinese citizens since 1 February, shortly after it implemented a 90-day visa-free regime on 19 January. Citizens of Iran can no longer receive a visa on arrival either. Additionally, passengers who have been to most of Europe, as well as Japan and South Korea, within the past 14 days, are no longer allowed to enter Armenia.[1] The border of Armenia with the Republic of Artsakh as also been closed in order to prevent the virus from spreading to the unrecognized republic (which "de-facto" proclaimed its independence in a nationwide referendum on December 10, 1992).
Before the virus was confirmed to have arrived in Armenia, 118 tests were performed in February with negative results. To date, Armenia is reported to have performed 158,527 tests, of which 37,629 were positive.
Background
On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[2][3]
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[4][5] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[6][4]
Timeline
March 2020
On 1 March, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed the reports on his Facebook page that the COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Armenia.[7][8]
On 16 March, Government declared a state of emergency lasting until 14 April to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The emergency measures included the closure of all educational institutions, closing the borders with Georgia and Iran, banning gatherings with over 20 people, and postponing the 2020 Armenian constitutional referendum.[9]
As of 18 March, in addition to 799 people in self-isolation, there were 444 people in quarantine, gathered in the Golden Palace Hotel of Tsaghkadzor and the Monte Melkonian Military College of Dilijan.[10]
On 21 March, Armenia's Health Minister Arsen Torosyan said they have over 600 in quarantine in different regions of Armenia. He added that Armenia's capacity for quarantining people is nearing its limit, and that people should already resort to self-isolation as a preventative measure. Of the confirmed cases, 133 were linked to the clusters of cases from Ejmiatsin and a sewing factory in Yerevan.[10]
As of 24 March, there are 235 confirmed cases. 26 patients have pneumonia, 6 of whom are in intensive care, though they are not intubated (not on artificial respirators), and are under constant supervision.[10]
On 26 March, Armenia's Health Ministry announced the country's first death from COVID-19. The patient was a 72-year-old male Armenian citizen with multiple pre-existing conditions.[11]
April 2020
On 1 April, Armenia reported its 4th death.[citation needed]
On 6 April, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia would start to produce COVID-19 tests at the Institute of Molecular Biology.[12]
On 7 April, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh. The person had returned from Armenia to Mirik village of the Kashatagh Province, 39 km from Berdzor and 89 km from Stepanakert and was taken by ambulance to the Kashatagh medical center on the morning of 2 April. All 17 people who had been in contact with this person, none of whom had symptoms, had self-isolated in advance for safety reasons.[13]
May 2020
On 4 May, the national stay-at-home order was partially lifted and non-essential businesses were allowed to reopen, provided that the businesses require customers wear masks and limit the number of customers inside stores and restaurants.[14]
On 14 May, the country's state of emergency was extended until 13 June. However, preschools, shopping centres, and gyms reopened and public transport resumed starting from 18 May.[15]
June 2020
On 1 June, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19.[16]
July 2020
August 2020
Statistics
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
References
- ^ "IATA - International Travel Document News". www.iatatravelcentre.com.
- ^ Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ "First Case of Coronavirus Confirmed in Armenia". Asbarez.com. 2 March 2020. Archived from the original on 6 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ "Armenia reports first coronavirus infection". Reuters. 1 March 2020. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ "Armenia declares one-month state of emergency for coronavirus". Reuters. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "COVID-19: Updates From Armenia". EVN Report. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "PM: Armenia to start production of COVID-19 tests".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "First coronavirus case reported in Karabakh".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Elliot, Raffi (4 May 2020). "Armenia enters "new phase" of COVID-19 pandemic response as businesses reopen". The Armenian Weekly. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ "COVID-19: Armenian Government Approves Extending State Of Emergency". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "Armenian PM Pashinyan tests positive for coronavirus". Reuters. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.