YEREVAN. – The Embassy of Armenia to China has not received any information on the number of Armenian citizens infected in China with the coronavirus at this time. Mnatsakan Safaryan, Head of the North-East Asia Division of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, stated this in an interview with RFE/RL.

Asked how many Armenian citizens were registered at the Armenian Embassy in China to move to Armenia (or are there any) and how many have recently moved to Armenia, he responded: “As of February 3, about 600 Armenian citizens responded to the information spread by the Armenian Embassy in China, whose data were registered by the Armenian Embassy.

Our citizens have raised a variety of issues, with the Embassy responding in the shortest possible time, with various means of access. Among the issues raised is the possibility of moving to Armenia.

The Embassy also provides citizens of the Republic of Armenia with officially circulated notices by China’s authorities to foreigners residing in China. One of the 11 Armenian citizens at the quarantine zone has already been evacuated from the territory of China. Another Armenian citizen who wishes to be evacuated will be evacuated within the next couple of days. The rest of the Armenian citizens in the quarantine zone have refused the opportunity to evacuate.

Let us noted that the evacuation is done on voluntary basis. At this phase, no evacuation of persons outside the quarantine zone is underway.

The Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in China and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia are currently completing the framework issues concerning RA citizens who wish to move to Armenia, but are facing difficulties related to transport and other problems that have emerged in recent days. Immediate solutions to these problems are currently being discussed in coordination with various agencies in Armenia.

According to the data of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, during the last ten days, about 200 Armenian citizens have returned to Armenia from the territory of China.”