During a special session of the National Assembly of Armenia today, deputy of the Prosperous Armenia faction Naira Zohrabyan said the faction is against extension of the state of emergency.

According to her, the lifted restrictions that Commandant Tigran Avinyan presented to parliament could have been lifted by making only a few amendments to the Law on Protection of the Population in Emergency Situations, not by extending the state of emergency. “Our faction believes there is no ground for extending the state of emergency. The Prosperous Armenia faction will obviously vote in favor of the draft decision of our colleagues (Bright Armenia faction) to be presented shortly, that is, the decision to not extend the state of emergency. When the authorities are asked if it is not possible to open the borders with EU member states, the authorities said it is the problem of those member states. The authorities are right because if Armenia is extending the state of emergency for the fifth time, it is the legitimate right of those member states to not open the aerial border with Armenia. Closed borders entails several issues. Citizens wishing to leave for work abroad were holding a protest with the demand to open the border with Russia, but Armenia is incapable of solving the problem concerning those citizens,” she said.

Touching upon the fact that wearing face masks in open spaces is mandatory, Zohrabyan stated that just a few days ago, the World Health Organization reaffirmed its position that there is no evidence that wearing face masks in open spaces is effective for prevention of the spread of the coronavirus.