Temporary Urgent Measures Needed to Prevent Virus Infiltration into Armenia: Arman Abovyan

Arman Abovyan, a member of the "Prosperous Armenia" faction in the National Assembly, made a post on his Facebook page regarding the spread of coronavirus in Iran. He particularly stated that temporary urgent measures must be taken and extensive actions should be initiated immediately to prevent the virus from infiltrating Armenia.

“They say don’t spread panic regarding the coronavirus. Of course, I partially agree that we shouldn’t hit each other against the walls and falling into terrifying shocks is unnecessary, but it’s equally unnecessary to insist with a 'serious' face that 'the situation is stable and there is nothing to fear.' I assure you, considering the number of patients with respiratory diseases in hospitals at this moment (and I am currently in one of the hospitals in the capital), I believe that immediate and broader actions must be taken to prevent the penetration of the coronavirus.

Yes, I know that control has been tightened at the Armenian-Iranian border for incoming travelers from Iran, but considering that the incubation period for the coronavirus is quite large (2-3 weeks), I believe that tightening at the border posts will not fully resolve the issue. It is clear that temporary urgent measures must be taken, for example, to further tighten the entry of people coming from Iran into our territory. I am confident that our Iranian brothers will perceive this step as adequate, especially since the Armenian Embassy in Iran has already temporarily halted consular services (despite the fact that we have an 'open border' agreement with Iran).

In any case, Iran itself is initiating very drastic measures against the spread of the coronavirus, for example, schools in Iran have been temporarily closed. In short, without falling into panic, we should still take more drastic preventive measures.