YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. Young people who are heavy smokers are facing a potentially fatal outcome in the event of contracting the novel coronavirus, Armenia’s healthcare minister Arsen Torosyan has warned.

He was speaking at the Cabinet meeting in response to PM Nikol Pashinyan’s question on the global death rate from the virus and if rumors on young fatalties are true.

Torosyan said the statistics varies from country to country, depending on the given country’s lifestyle. “For example, if we were to have a 30-year-old patient who smokes 3 packs of cigarettes a day, then we will potentially be unable to save this patient, and we will have a young fatality,” he said.

Speaking about the statistics in neighboring countries, Torosyan that they have unconfirmed reports that in one of the neighboring countries there are a large number of patients below the age of 40 who are on ventilation devices. “We must clarify the health condition of these patients. If it’s what I was talking about, meaning they lead an unhealthy lifestyle, then they are potentially at-risk,” Torosyan said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan