State of Emergency Will Not Be Extended, New Restrictions to Be Implemented. Mayors and Governors Will Have Authority to Declare Quarantine - R. Badasyan

The situation may arise where the reduction of the growth rate of the infection will be a legitimate goal—namely, to fight the pandemic and preserve the lives and health of citizens—without extending the state of emergency. With this in mind, we have developed this package of projects.

This was stated by Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan during a government meeting, addressing measures to be implemented after the end of the state of emergency.

"In such cases, if the package of laws is adopted in due time, the extended state of emergency in Armenia will not be prolonged beyond September 11, and afterward, the restrictions and measures proposed in the projects will begin to take effect," he said, noting that the project was developed by the Ministry of Justice, the legal department of the Ministry of Health, and the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the project, after the end of the state of emergency, the Government, governors, and the Mayor of Yerevan will have the authority to declare a quarantine.

"In cases where the quarantine is declared by a governor or the Mayor of Yerevan, the following measures may be applied: specific entry and exit modes in the pandemic zone, temporary suspension or limitation of communication across state borders, restrictions on the freedom of movement of individuals and vehicles, isolation, and self-isolation," the minister stated, then presented possible measures for quarantine set by the Government.

"In cases where the quarantine is declared by the Government due to an epidemic constituting an emergency situation, the following stricter rules may be imposed: restrictions on organizing, holding, or participating in gatherings or public events, establishing sanitary-epidemiological safety rules for legal entities, restrictions on the transportation of goods, limitations on the operations of educational institutions, restrictions in state and local self-government bodies and other institutions," Badasyan said.

According to Badasyan, after the state of emergency, the electronic monitoring system for locating individuals and cases of prohibiting economic activity will no longer be in effect.

The Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan noted that the package of projects was sent to them only on August 25, and they had one day to examine it, but nevertheless, they presented their suggestions. "When examining the proposed restrictions, the possibilities and powers of state bodies, there are certain concerns regarding their practical applicability and proportionality," he said, adding that their monitoring during the state of emergency has shown that problems arise not only for people but also for state bodies themselves.

"We have observations related to issues of self-isolation, isolation, the review of appeals for dispute, and also a fundamental issue is the correlation between quarantine and emergency regime statuses," he said.

The Prime Minister responded: "I want to understand when this practice will come to an end; when it is reported to the Government meeting that the opinion was sent last night, how long will this continue?" The head of the Prime Minister's office, Edward Aghajanyan, said that it was the responsibility of the Justice Ministry to send it to the interested parties, while Rustam Badasyan mentioned that until the last moment, it was unclear which agency would be the reporter on the issue.

The Prime Minister declared: "Until all interested parties discuss with each other and notify me in writing that it has been discussed with everyone, do not bring it for signature," he added that considering the urgency of the issue, they may adopt it by voting, but it must be discussed before signing. Thus, the project was adopted but will be discussed further.