The Government is Truly Concerned about the Spread of Omicron and Sees Significant Risks, but Does Not Clearly Understand Its Actions: Elinar Vardanyan

Elinar Vardanyan, a member of the 'Alternative Projects' group, has addressed the government's actions regarding the spread of Omicron in her latest article. She notably wrote:

“From today’s government meeting, it appears that the government is indeed concerned about the spread of Omicron and sees significant risks, but at the same time, it does not have a clear understanding of its actions under the new conditions. The Omicron wave is indeed dictating new circumstances. Considering the characteristics of this strain, states are moving towards large-scale free testing on a massive scale. The population is being provided with rapid tests in large quantities. This way, the government can document the actual state of the infection.

In Armenia, tests average 10,000 drams. The number of people getting tested is, in fact, very limited. This is too few to get a real picture of the spread of Omicron. Most of those being tested are individuals traveling out of Armenia. And again, the death toll continues to rise. An infected person with Omicron often shows no symptoms; thus, they do not voluntarily go for a 10,000 dram test, instead going to work, continuing their life normally, and interacting with others, including the elderly. This means new patients and new deaths. Unfortunately, in large numbers.

One of the main requirements in the fight against Omicron is mass, accessible, and free testing. The government and employers must implement this; otherwise, tens of thousands of citizens will not do this at their own expense, and it will be impossible to control the spread of the infection with known measures. We have little time left; think in this direction.”