YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh are already contributing to a dramatic acceleration in COVID-19 transmission. The World Health Organization urges all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and healthcare facilities caring for the wounded and sick in line with international humanitarian law, WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement on the NK conflict.

“WHO remains concerned regarding the escalation in hostilities in the areas of and around Nagorno Karabakh.

The hostilities are already contributing to a dramatic acceleration in COVID-19 transmission. Continued cycles of violence and subsequent population displacement will exacerbate the precariousness of the health situation.

The conflict is causing a direct disruption to health care, further burdening health systems that are already stretched by the pandemic. This comes at a time when COVID-19 case numbers across the WHO European Region continue to surge.

WHO calls for no time lost nor efforts unspent in protecting lives and livelihoods from a public health threat unprecedented in our lifetimes.

WHO urges all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and healthcare facilities caring for the wounded and sick in line with international humanitarian law. In the context of COVID-19, it is especially crucial that all health workers are kept safe from violence so they can sustain the pandemic response.

An immediate cessation of hostilities is vital to preserve access to health services – a fundamental human right”, the statement says.

Editing by Aneta Harutyunyan