Possible New Wave of Coronavirus with School Openings and Cold Season, Minister Says

A second wave or a resurgence of the coronavirus may be expected due to increased mobility of people, the reopening of schools, and the onset of the cold season, said Armenia's Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan in an interview with Azatutyun. He noted that decisions were made with this understanding and calculation.

“We understand that without the resumption of classes, we will have hundreds of thousands of children deprived of their right to education, and as we understood from the previous semester, distance learning cannot replace in-person education in any way. But at the same time, we must adapt to the rules of going to class, as the alternative is not attending classes,” the minister emphasized.

Torosyan provided an example: if there is one student in a classroom who is infected but asymptomatic, and if the others do not wear masks, do not maintain social distance, and interact in the same way, they will have a 100 percent rate of transmission to their families, where there may already be more vulnerable individuals, although children should also be protected.

The minister stressed that if we have even 1,000 new cases daily in autumn, the healthcare system is prepared to serve all patients.