Only 7 Citizens Faced Obstacles Traveling to Russia Under 'Travel Without Covid-19' Program: Pashinyan

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, addressed the 'Travel Without Covid-19' program during today’s government session on February 4. He noted that the program has successfully launched.

“Through an electronic platform, the negative test result of citizens is confirmed, enabling their travel to Russia. The program has successfully started, and only 7 citizens faced obstacles in their departure. The issue was of a technical nature, while the number of travelers is in the thousands. It is also important to note that there is a significant influx of people coming to Armenia, which is crucial for the economy, as many compatriots have wanted to come to Armenia to see their relatives but have been unable to do so over the past nearly year,” said Pashinyan, adding that this also opens up avenues for tourism.

He also informed that from February 15, there will be four regular flights daily. Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan stated that 3,900 people have already left Armenia, and 3,400 have arrived back. “The number of citizens who left with an Armenian passport is 1,423, while the number of arrivals stands at 1,263,” he noted. He emphasized that the application is functioning properly, but testing for the coronavirus must occur in specific laboratories to ensure that online data submission is possible.

Regarding the 7 citizens who were sent back from Moscow’s airport, the deputy prime minister mentioned that preliminary information indicates they attempted to travel with a paper version of the QR code for the test.

The Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan added that the program started in two laboratories, and six more have joined since.