Starting tomorrow, all cafes and restaurants will cease operations: Prime Minister

Out of 235 confirmed coronavirus cases, 26 individuals are experiencing pneumonia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced this during a live broadcast on his Facebook page.

“Their conditions are manageable. As before, the majority do not have a fever,” he said, noting that only one person has a fever higher than 39 degrees.

In light of this, the Prime Minister deemed it necessary to impose strict restrictions for one week and to adopt a stricter approach to prohibitions. “Starting tomorrow, for a week, all types of restaurant and cafe services will be prohibited, with exceptions made for delivery services. Construction activities, textile production enterprises, and certain sectors of light industry will temporarily halt. However, food production will continue, and grocery stores will operate as usual,” he stated, adding that tomorrow the commandant's office would announce the sectors allowed to continue their activities.

He mentioned that the production of food, beverages, tobacco products, and sanitary and household paper products will continue. “Tomorrow we also expect good news, as the 14-day isolation period for more than 70 individuals will have elapsed, and they will be tested tomorrow. There are grounds to believe that many of them will test negative,” he remarked.

The Prime Minister urged citizens to stay home as much as possible, to go out only for shopping, to avoid large gatherings, and to maintain personal hygiene practices, avoiding dangerous contact. “Despite these difficulties, we must keep our spirits up and not be discouraged, because this is an infection, a pandemic, and there is no doubt that we will overcome this trial,” he added.