168 Hours: It's Time to Get Serious

168 Hours newspaper writes: “In neighboring Iran, due to the spread of coronavirus, after several days of real and justified panic that emerged in Armenia, yesterday the government finally made a decision to close the border with Iran and partially suspend air and ground communication for two weeks. This decision was appropriate to the situation that has arisen, perhaps even delayed.

Let us remind you that according to yesterday's data, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Iran has reached 47, with 12 deaths recorded. Experts suggest that the actual number of infected individuals in Iran is likely higher than 47. Nevertheless, the decision has been made, and we must hope that it will prevent, on one hand, the entry of the virus into Armenia, and on the other hand, at least partially alleviate the panic that has arisen.

It is interesting, however, how this decision was made and what preceded it. For days, including the day before, when anxiety on social networks reached its maximum level, the Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan was directly mocking and ridiculing those spreading panic about the coronavirus, including experts in the field, stating that there is no reasonable cause for such fear.

In parallel, for example, the head of the National Assembly's Health Committee was expressing an opposite view, pointing out that the option of closing the border could not be ruled out. After hours of contradictory assessments and mockery from government representatives, Nikol Pashinyan announced via a Facebook post that air and ground communication with Iran would be suspended for two weeks starting February 24.

Of course, he mentioned that air communication should have non-complete restrictions, while freight transport with the Islamic Republic of Iran should be conducted without restrictions, applying a special control regime over the drivers.

This situation can have two possible explanations. One is that there is a chaotic situation in the public administration system, and different branches and representatives of the government are unaware of each other's steps; the government lacks a coordinated and comprehensive approach to the threats presented to national security. The other possibility is that this was a well-staged scenario involving the ‘good Tsar’ and ‘bad officials,’ where representatives of the government intentionally ridiculed the public and former MPs who sounded alarms on social networks, so in the end, the ‘kind prime minister’ could make a decision that serves the public interest.

By the way, Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Facebook: “Armenia has all the necessary technical and professional resources for accurate coronavirus diagnosis.” This is the case when Armenian specialists have repeatedly raised alarms to the government regarding the virus that has shocked the world, stating that diagnosis is one matter; acting in emergency situations is another. The question is, if an epidemic situation arises, how prepared are the relevant authorities for it, how prepared are our hospitals to accept and isolate such a number of people, and how well-equipped and staffed are medical institutions to handle patients with such illnesses?”

For more details, refer to today's edition of the newspaper.