The citizen of Armenia infected with coronavirus is isolated in a hospital, and there is no medical intervention. This is what Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan said during a press conference devoted to the first case of coronavirus recorded in Armenia.

“Yesterday, Armenia reported the first confirmed case of coronavirus after checking a citizen of Armenia who returned from the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 28. Based on the latest information, the citizen has no symptom, even though he had a fever (38^o), and this is why he went to a hospital. He is here with his wife, who also doesn’t have any symptom and who has been tested negative. As you may recall, on February 24, the government convened a special session and decided to restrict the circulation of passengers with the Islamic Republic of Iran, with certain exceptions for citizens of Armenia returning to Armenia and Iranian citizens returning to Iran. I am placing emphasis on this because I often hear people ask why Armenia didn’t close the border with Iran. In response, I say that even by the Constitution of Armenia, the entry of citizens of Armenia can’t be restricted. However, since we were told about the number of citizens wishing to return to Armenia via airplane, we organized two flights on Wednesday and Friday, and our specialist escorted the passengers from Tehran,” he said.

According to Torosyan, the specialist checked all the passengers and provided face masks to everyone on the spot.

When asked why quarantine wasn’t declared for all passengers, the minister said there is no proof that quarantine is an instrument that can be used in all cases and there is no recommendation from any health organization.

“What happened yesterday was a classic way of detecting the virus. All the passengers from Tehran were wearing face masks, and there was a special route for them in Armenia. They didn’t have any interaction with anyone.  We have isolated the passengers, and the process is drawing to an end. The Prime Minister’s Facebook post is based on the information that I provided. When I provided the information, it wasn’t complete, and the National Security Service clarified in a couple of hours. The same goes for going to the hospital (the citizen went to the hospital in an ambulance truck, and the personnel has isolated him),” he said.

Torosyan said Armenia’s actions allow to prevent local cases and that this case of coronavirus doesn’t pose a serious risk to the public.