Health Minister Reiterates Legal Basis for COVID-19 Prevention Measures

The Minister of Health of Armenia, Anahit Avanesyan, addressed the legal grounds for the COVID-19 prevention measures on her Facebook page, asserting that they are indeed in place.

"All measures aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus in Armenia have a legal basis. Considering the conflicting opinions among the population regarding the restrictions for COVID-19 prevention, I find it necessary to mention that the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia guarantees every worker's right to healthy, safe, and dignified working conditions, as well as the right to health protection for citizens.

Measures taken for the sanitary-epidemiological prevention of the coronavirus should also be viewed in the context of ensuring the same rights for others, and they do not, under any circumstances, lead to an absolute limitation of individual rights. The requirement to present a document certifying the results of PCR testing every 14 days is aimed at protecting the health rights of others, a requirement stemming from the Law on Ensuring Sanitary and Epidemiological Safety of the Population that defines necessary preventive measures and procedures.

The demand for compliance with the relevant sanitary-epidemiological safety rules established by the competent authority is specified in the Government’s decision No. 1514-N dated September 11, 2020, regarding the imposition of quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The mandatory sanitary norms aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 are established by the Minister of Health's decision No. 17-N dated August 4, 2020, which approves the sanitary rules SK N 3.1.2-001-20 applied in the Republic of Armenia for the prevention of coronavirus disease. Contraindications are determined by the draft to amend that same decree," she stated in her post.