Visitations with Documentation Required: Anahit Avanesyan Signs Another Order

The Minister of Health, Anahit Avanesyan, has signed yet another absurd order, according to which visitations in medical institutions are prohibited due to measles. Specifically, individuals can only visit patients if they provide documentation confirming vaccination against measles or proof of previous infection. This was reported by the newspaper "Hayots Ashkharh".

According to the newspaper, hospital staff must now request documents from individuals wanting to visit in order to allow the visitation. Effectively, the Ministry has once again resorted to an old and proven method that was discredited during the coronavirus pandemic due to its ineffectiveness and senselessness; after all, visitations were also prohibited back then, but the coronavirus continued to spread unabated.

A question arises: does prohibiting visitation to a patient’s relative genuinely reduce the spread of measles? Why are there no preventive and anti-epidemic measures on public transport or at mass events?

It is worth noting that earlier, the Minister of Health signed an order regarding the vaccination of healthcare workers, stating that regardless of whether an individual has been in contact with a measles patient or not, they must receive one dose of the vaccine if they have not yet been vaccinated or have not had measles. "Hayots Ashkharh" has contacted the Armenian Ministry of Health for comments on these issues, but they declined to provide any response.