Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of top news as of 25.03.2020:
· Seventeen new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Armenia.
Thus the total number has reached 266. In the meantime, 18 people have already recovered [UPDATE]
According to the Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, there are currently cases of coronavirus both in Yerevan and other provinces.
Meanwhile, a charter flight operated by Ukrainian SkyUp airlines has left for Yerevan with 62 people on board, most of them being Armenian nationals, Armenian ambassador to Ukraine Tigran Seiranian wrote on Facebook.
· Deputy PM, Commandant Tigran Avinyan has made a new decision to restrict the right of persons to move freely in the whole territory of Armenia until March 31, 2020, and to establish compulsory self-isolation of persons in their residence.
People who leave their homes are required to have their IDs and the form of the sheet that citizens must fill out.
By the way, in case of going out to make purchases or leaving for the workplace, transport of a maximum of two persons (including the driver) shall be permitted in personal cars.
· Armenian MFA issued a statement on Wednesday on the Russian government’s new decision.
Thus citizens of the CIS member states, including Armenia, who are abroad and want to return, can use the territory of Russia as a transit country.
The MFA has recalled that citizens who wish to return from Russia to Armenia can use exclusively air transport due to the ban on foreigners entering Georgia.
· The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his concerns about a package of amendments to the criminal and administrative codes, introduced in Armenia on March 23, in the context of the fight against disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus, during the current state of emergency, any organization that carries out journalistic activities” would only be allowed to publish information about the coronavirus crisis that has been released by official sources.
According to him, “publishing only information provided by the authorities is a very restrictive measure which would limit freedom of the media and access to information disproportionately.”
· There are over 436 thousand coronavirus cases confirmed globally. The death toll nears 20 thousand. And there are over 111 thousand people recovered.
According to The Guardian quoting a statement by Clarence House, Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus and is displaying mild symptoms. The Duchess of Cornwall had also been tested but does not have the virus, the spokesperson said. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland.