First case of coronavirus in Armenia, 32 placed in quarantine

On March 1, the first case of coronavirus infection was detected in Armenia in a 29-year-old Armenian citizen who arrived from Tehran.

Since February 23, after the appearance of the first case in Iran, Armenia closed the border with this country for two weeks in order to prevent the penetration of the virus.

But it was specifically stipulated that there would be no restrictions on the return of the citizens of Iran and Armenia to their homeland.

Special flights have been organized for Armenians in Iran, as the first infected arrived.

According to the Armenian Embassy in Tehran, over 360 people have returned from Iran to Armenia over the past few days.

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Precautionary measures

The first to report the infection was Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on the night of March 1 on his Facebook page. He wrote that the infected arrived from Tehran on February 28 with his wife.

Health Minister Arsen Torosyan later announced that the infected person is not undergoing treatment yet, because he does not have any symptoms of the virus and does not even have a temperature.

His wife tested negative for the coronavirus, but she may still be in the incubation period. 32 other people arriving home have been quarantined.

Torosyan says the infected individual did not travel around the city by taxi. From the airport, he arrived home in a car of his acquaintances who have already been placed in quarantine.

He was brought by ambulance from his house to the hospital, and the team of doctors who was in contact with him has also been placed in quarantine.

Arsen Torosyan believes that all necessary precautions have been taken and that there is no reason for panic.

In another precautionary measure, a yearly procession in honor of the victims of the tragic events of March 1, 2008 was cancelled: the date marks the brutal dispersal of a demonstration protesting the outcome of presidential elections, during which 10 people were killed.