Arsen Torosyan Meets with WHO Representatives

Health Minister Arsen Torosyan met with Egor Zaytsev, head of the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Armenia, and Michèle Tierens, special advisor to the WHO Regional Director for Europe and head of the organization’s mission to Armenia. According to the Ministry of Health, the WHO mission is in Armenia to examine the country’s strategy to combat the coronavirus disease and to provide recommendations.

The minister expressed hope that the recommendations from the WHO mission would contribute to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic once their work is concluded.

Michèle Tierens shared details and impressions from visits to the “Nork” Infectious Disease Hospital and the “Saint Gregory the Illuminator” Medical Center. The experts reviewed the treatment protocols for patients infected with the coronavirus. She noted that the distribution of patients should be carefully thought out, ensuring that individuals with other illnesses are not overlooked.

Continuing the sentiment of the mission leader, Arsen Torosyan discussed the preparedness of primary healthcare workers, who are currently under immense pressure from dealing with asymptomatic, mild, and moderate COVID-19 cases requiring home treatment and monitoring. The minister mentioned that online training sessions have been conducted with over 1000 healthcare providers to enrich their knowledge.

The guest emphasized the importance of inter-agency and local organization collaboration in the fight against the pandemic, particularly in the organization of measures directed at infection detection and management. She also spoke about the necessity of three main measures: wearing masks, maintaining social distance, and handwashing, adding that gatherings, events in closed spaces, and other crowded situations should be avoided.

Both parties expressed their readiness to meet again to exchange experiences and summarize the outcomes.