17 Staff Members of Gyumri Medical Center Infected with Coronavirus, Director Says

The director of the Gyumri Medical Center reports that 17 staff members have tested positive for coronavirus, with over 30 staff members currently in quarantine. At this rate, the center may soon lack medical personnel. This information was reported by Armenpress.

The issue is that the center, not being a specialized institution for treating coronavirus, is still accepting patients without confirmed cases. Many patients, who have not undergone swab testing, are being transferred to the Gyumri Medical Center. Regardless of symptoms, they cannot refuse to admit a patient.

The Gyumri Medical Center is not specialized in treating coronavirus and does not receive the appropriate funding, yet is performing these functions. “Seventeen people are infected, and more than 30 healthcare workers are isolated. Right now, we have limited all planned surgeries and minimized the operations of departments. I can recount cases where a patient arrived without having been tested but had symptoms of COVID-19. We admitted them in extremely serious condition, and hours later they died; posthumous testing confirmed the presence of the virus, and we could not conduct an autopsy. If swab testing has not been done, we cannot refuse admission. We accept patients, and we conduct testing while we wait for the results to come back. It is not our physicians' role, but in fact, we are currently admitting patients with coronavirus and treating them until they can be transferred,” said Armen Isahakyan, the director of Gyumri Medical Center.

He also stated that they have contacted the Ministry of Health and suggested legally including the medical center in the fight against the pandemic. They are currently awaiting a response.