Armenia Declares 30-Day State of Emergency Over Coronavirus

(Bloomberg) --

Armenia declared a 30-day state of emergency over the coronavirus and imposed border restrictions that included a ban on citizens leaving the tiny Caucasus republic.

The measures that took effect Monday until April 14 include barring entry to Armenia by people from a list of countries affected by coronavirus outbreaks, Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan told an emergency government meeting. Schools, universities and other educational institutions will remain closed during this period, he said.

Gatherings in Armenia of more than 20 people are banned as of Tuesday, including at concerts, theaters, exhibitions, and events such as weddings, birthday parties and funerals, Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan wrote on Facebook.

Armenia has 52 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Tuesday, up from 30 the previous day, the Health Ministry reported on Twitter.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin agreed Monday to halt flights between their countries for two weeks to help fight the spread of the virus, according to a website statement from the Armenian premier’s office, which didn’t state when the measure will take effect.

(An earlier version of this story corrected the date in paragraph two after Armenian officials said the initial government order contained the wrong date)

To contact the reporter on this story: Sara Khojoyan in Yerevan at skhojoyan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin, Karl Maier

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