2020 coronavirus pandemic in Armenia
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The COVID-19 pandemic in Armenia is part of the worldwide pandemic of
coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
() caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Armenia on 1 March 2020 when its first case was reported. It has spread to all of the regions (
marz Marz may refer to: People * Marz (surname), notable people surnamed either Marz or März * Marz (rapper), American rapper * Marz Lovejoy, American hip hop musician and rapper Places * Marz, Austria, a town in the district of Mattersburg, Burgen ...
) of Armenia and has caused 4,400 deaths (not including 1,077 more deaths as a result of "other reasons"). Armenia has suspended visa-free travel for
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
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 South Korea and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, within the past 14 days, are no longer allowed to enter Armenia. The border of Armenia with the Republic of Artsakh has 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 10 December 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 1,065,211 tests, of which 222,139 were positive. __TOC__


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. The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the
transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...
has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.


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. 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 A constitutional amendment took place on 22 June 2020 in Armenia. A referendum was initially scheduled for 5 April 2020, but on 16 March 2020 was indefinitely postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the absence of a referendum, the par ...
. 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 Officially, Military and Sports College named after Monte Melkonian ( hy, Մոնթե Մելքոնյանի անվան ռազմամարզական վարժարան), is a high school and military educational institution operated by the Ministry of Def ...
of
Dilijan Dilijan ( hy, Դիլիջան) is a spa town and urban municipal community in the Tavush Province of Armenia. The town is one of the most important resorts in Armenia, situated within the Dilijan National Park. The forested town is home to numer ...
. 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. 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 Intubation (sometimes entubation) is a medical procedure involving the insertion of a tube into the body. Patients are generally anesthetized beforehand. Examples include tracheal intubation, and the balloon tamponade with a Sengstaken-Blakemo ...
(not on artificial respirators), and are under constant supervision. 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.


April 2020

On 1 April, Armenia reported its 4th death. On 6 April, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia would start to produce COVID-19 tests at the Institute of Molecular Biology. 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 Lachin ( az, Laçın, , ; hy, Բերձոր, translit=Berdzor; ku, Laçîn) is a town in Azerbaijan and the administrative center of the Lachin District. It is located within the strategic Lachin corridor, which links the disputed region of Nag ...
and 89 km from
Stepanakert / az, Xankəndi, italic=no , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = File:StepanakertCollage.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = From top left: Holy Mother ...
and was taken by ambulance to the
Kashatagh Kashatagh Province ( hy, Քաշաթաղի շրջան) was a province of the Republic of Artsakh. It was the largest province by area (3,376.60 km2). The population as of 2013 was 9,656. Its capital was Berdzor. Territorial entities Kashatag ...
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.


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. 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.


June 2020

On 1 June, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19.


July to December 2020

Model-based simulations suggest that the 95%
confidence interval In frequentist statistics, a confidence interval (CI) is a range of estimates for an unknown parameter. A confidence interval is computed at a designated ''confidence level''; the 95% confidence level is most common, but other levels, such as 9 ...
for the time-varying reproduction number ''R t'' was lower than 1.0 in July and August, above 1.0 in September and October, and around 1.0 in November. In September, the Armenian Government decided to impose a covid related quarantine, which is still in place.


July 2021

In July 2021, the Armenian Health Minister
Anahit Avanesian Anahit Avanesian (born 21 March 1981) is an Armenian jurist and the current Armenian Minister of Health. Before, she has been a jurist in the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the pharmaceutical industry. Education She enrolled in the ...
announced Armenia would be able to purchase 300'000 doses of the Novavax and 50'000 doses of the Janssen vaccine. Armenia used to provide vaccines to the people for free, Armenians and non Armenians alike. This encouraged many Iranians to cross to Armenia to get vaccinated, following which Armenia imposed restrictions on vaccines for non-residents.


Statistics


New cases per day


Deaths per day


Recoveries per day


Aid


International aid

The countries and international organizations that have sent aid and funds to the Government of Armenia, to help fight the pandemic, includes: * : Canada provided Armenia with a $260,000 funding package to assist with COVID-19. * : On 8 April 2020, a batch of humanitarian aid including disposable surgical masks, protection suits, and ventilators from China arrived in Armenia. * : The EU has provided 92 million euros in aid to Armenia. In addition, the EU has supplied Armenia with 6,000 gloves, 2,300 medical masks, and provided over 3000 vulnerable citizens with care packages. * : In April 2020, the Russian military sent a team of medics and special equipment to Armenia to help authorities detect and prevent coronavirus cases among Armenian and Russian military personnel serving in the country. The equipment included a coronavirus testing lab and a sample collection system. * : On 18 and 19 June, Serbia sent two planes with medical aid to Armenia, containing 10 artificial respiration devices, 10 monitors monitoring the patient's condition, 500,000
surgical mask A surgical mask, also known by other names such as a medical face mask or procedure mask, is a personal protective equipment used by healthcare professionals that serves as a mechanical barrier that interferes with direct airflow in and out of re ...
s, 100,000 breathing masks, 25,000 protective glasses, 25,000 medical protective clothing and other necessary items. * : The United States has provided 2.7 million dollars to help strengthen laboratory capacity, improve management of severe cases, and support community level preparedness planning in Armenia. The US has also provided 1.2 million dollars to address the economic impacts of COVID-19, 1.8 million dollars for community-based social work, and an additional $200,000 to civil society and independent media organizations.


References

{{COVID-19 pandemic Armenia Armenia Armenia Disease outbreaks in Armenia 2020 in Armenia 2021 in Armenia