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

The Gօvernment will allocate 875,473.6 thousand AMD to the regional administrations of Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Gegharkunik, Lori, Kotayk, Shirak, Syunik and Tavush Provinces for subsidy programs. According to Gnel Sanosyan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, it is planned to co-finance 44 subsidy programs in 38 communities. In this context, Nikol Pashinyan stressed the need for conducting proper quality control of the work done. Gnel Sanosyan noted that there were completed projects that had quality problems, the works were not accepted. The minister also informed that a total of 461 applications were received this year, for a total of 79.5 billion AMD, of which the government's share was 43.5 billion AMD.

Due to the need to bring into force the contracts for the construction and reconstruction of health organizations, the Government has made a relevant decision. In particular, it is envisaged to construct a new building of forensic medical examination of the National Center for Mental Health Care and for mental health of convicts in the territory of the National Center for Mental Health Care of the Ministry of Health of Armenia. According to Deputy Minister of Health Lena Nanushyan, 3.8 billion AMD will be allocated from the state budget for that purpose.

"As you know, the Government of Armenia has undertaken to renovate, reconstruct and build 50 healthcare organizations during a period of 5 years. It is defined by the five-year Action Plan of the Government of Armenia. As part of this commitment, the Ministry of Health had started the implementation of this work in 2021. Renovation, reconstruction and construction works have been carried out and continue to be carried out in a number of healthcare organizations. Today's project includes 6 healthcare organizations,"the Deputy Minister said. Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the adopted decision and emphasized that the commitment to build, reconstruct or renovate 50 medical centers is their pre-election promise.

The Government approved the results of Srbuhi Gorgyan's election as rector of the Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan. Srbuhi Gorgyan thanked for the trust and assured that the Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan well comprehends the scope of its responsibilities under modern challenges in the field of higher pedagogical education and is ready for very specific qualitative processes.

Nikol Pashinyan wished success to the newly elected rector, noting that the training of personnel is the cornerstone for serious reforms in the field of education.

The Government adopted a decision aimed at maintaining the stable situation of coronavirus disease in Armenia and reducing the entry of infected persons into the country. Accordingly, it is envisaged to set the isolation period at 10 calendar days instead of the previous 14 days for the citizens of Armenia, as well as their family members who are not Armenian citizens after they enter the territory of the Republic of Armenia. At the same time, it is stipulated that during the isolation period, on the 7th day from the date of the PCR tersting, the isolated persons may, on their own initiative, undergo another PCR examination, and in case of a negative result, they quit the isolation. Upon entering the territory of the Republic of Armenia through air or land border crossing points, it is envisaged to submit a maximum 24-hour old certeficate confirming the negative result of the rapid diagnostic test for the antigen of the coronavirus pathogen. At the same time, the PCR examinations of Armenian citizens or Armenians by nationality entering the territory of the Republic of Armenia through air or land border crossing points from the Republic of Ukraine will be carried out free of charge.

Conditioned by the need to review the current procedure for admission to the higher education institutions of the Republic of Armenia, the Government made a decision. The decision stipulates that the applicant can take the unified entrance exam twice in the given academic year, in January and June-July of the given year. The applicant who has passed two unified exams in the same subject participates in the competition of the corresponding specialty r with free or paid education with the highest score obtained from the exams. The right to take the unified exam twice is intended to give the applicant the opportunity to try again, taking into account the applicant's excitement and the high stress factor.