YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Overcoming the coronavirus in Armenia in this situation is not only a healthcare problem, but also a problem of public behavior and discipline, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the special session of the Parliament convened for debating the issue on extending the state of emergency.

“The main issue is the following: what is the conceptual vision to overcome the crisis and reduce the number of infected citizens? Frankly speaking, our initial vision has not changed. Overcoming the coronavirus in this situation is a public behavior and disciplinary problem, rather than a healthcare problem. And in fact, this situation can be overcome only with changes in the public behavior”, Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan said this behavioral change is very important because according to various estimations the COVID-19 pandemic will exist in Armenia and around the globe for at least 1,5 year. He said that however during this period major actions are being taken to create a vaccine, and theoretically it can be created in 3 months or in the next three years. “And in fact I want to record that our daily cases show how we followed the anti-epidemic rules in the past 7-14 days. Moreover, when we say we, let’s do not differentiate between the citizens and the government. We all have not properly kept the anti-epidemic rules”, the PM added.

Pashinyan said the government made compulsory wearing a face mask in public places from June 3, and today is June 12, and if the rules were followed properly, today, there should have been a decline in cases. “If we don’t have a decline in cases, it means we all have not properly followed the anti-epidemic rules. Regardless of the government’s efforts, it these rules are not followed publicly, widely, overcoming the pandemic will become impossible. Our long-term strategy should be to live with the coronavirus because no one knows how long it will be with us”, Nikol Pashinyan said.

According to the latest data, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Armenia has reached 15,281, out of which 5,639 patients have already recovered. The number of active cases stands at 9,298. The death toll has risen to 258.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan