A Cabinet meeting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Before discussing the agenda items, Nikol Pashinyan referred to the epidemiological situation in Armenia. “Dear colleagues, I would like to once again draw your attention to the fact that the epidemiological situation keeps improving in the country, but the incidence of infection is still high in absolute terms. Nevertheless, we have some confidence that the rate of disease identification has improved. While 25-30% of daily surveys tested positive in the not so distant past, now they are hovering around 15% within the range of 1-2%, which means that we have a significant increase in infection exposure. We are now better poised to change the tactics. Patient flows were high in the past, and in fact, we used to wait for people to apply themselves. But the Ministry of Healthcare is going to be more proactive under the new tactics. We will take the lead and carry out diagnosis in some risky places.”

The Premier advised that 68 patients are in critical condition, 300 patients are suffering some aggravations. In this connection, he reminded that we had 131 critical patients at the peak of the epidemic. “The peak came on July 9 with 572 critical cases. We see that the figures have significantly decreased. I say this once again to emphasize that our analysis has definitely shown that we managed such a drastic decline mainly due to the mandatory requirement of wearing face masks out of doors. And therefore, our message is clear: all of the prescribed safety rules need to be strictly observed: I mean wearing masks in open and closed areas, practicing social distancing and disinfecting hands on a regular basis. The police will continue to enforce the requirement of wearing masks. I wish to tell our dear compatriots who are upset about being fined for not wearing a mask: there is a very simple way not to be fined, just wear a mask, wear a mask in the prescribed manner, because if we do not go this way, we will be sure to miss this opportunity,” Nikol Pashinyan said.

The Government decided to allocate 277,618.7 thousand drams to Tavush Marz Administration with a view to dealing with the aftermath of the recent shelling and supporting the residents of border communities. 110,581.5 thousand drams shall be used to offset the damage caused to privately-owned real estate in Aygepar, Nerkin Karmiraghbyur and Chinari border communities, 84,357.2 thousand drams shall be spent to renovate school buildings and build bomb shelters in Aygepar, Movses, Nerkin Karmiraghbyur and Chinari communities. 82,680 drams will be spent to build an alley, as well as a residential house and outbuildings in Nerkin Karmiraghbyur and Chinari villages respectively.

Highlighting the decision, Nikol Pashinyan said, “According to our commitment assumed in the wake of the July events, we must support the affected border communities. Our task is as follows: we must be quick in implementing the proposed activities; quality work with a new dimension needs to be done. We should not just fill the gap, but try to give new dimension, add new color and relish to the image of border villages. We will thereby translate our strategic approaches into practice and lay the foundation for the revival of those villages.”

The Executive amended one of its previous decisions in order to rule out the instances of ill-grounded refusal to grant compulsory military service deferment to such citizens with remarkable academic achievements as are going to apply for the world’s best higher education institutions or to the citizens eligible for military service deferment on other grounds specified in the RA Law on Army Service and Military Status.

Under the proposed amendment, those citizens who have submitted the needed documents in accordance with the requirements set out in the relevant clause of the procedure during or after their studies and have received a favorable conclusion from the Commission will have the opportunity to exercise the right of deferment until the end of their studies.