The fight against the coronavirus is entering a new phase. Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) President Arayik Haroutyunyan stated this live on his Facebook page today, referring to the mechanisms in Artsakh for preventing this disease.

"For the first time, we had 8 infected people in the republic. (…). Basically, during this time we were able to prevent the spread of the virus. But as time goes by, it becomes harder because the situation here is conditioned by the situation in Armenia," he said.

According to Haroutyunyan, it is impossible to close Artsakh’s border with Armenia, as supplies are being made, and people have to move around based on various needs. Instead, he said, they were discussing the option of switching to stricter methods. "We will try to tighten the entrance and exit, the requirements set at the border. Yesterday we were discussing the possibility of having a rapid testing lab at the border," Arayik Haroutyunyan added.

But he admitted that mistakes were also made, as a result of which an employee at the checkpoint became infected.