YEREVAN. – As of Tuesday, 592 patients with flu and acute respiratory infections are hospitalized at Armenia’s medical centers, 94% of whom are children aged 0 to 18, thirteen patients are at the intensive care units, and most of them are children aged 0 to 5 who have a much more serious case of the illness. Romella Abovyan, head of the Epidemiology Department of Nosocomial Infections at the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health, told this to a press conference Wednesday.

According to the specialist, the respective cases decreased 1.4 times in the 52nd week of the 2021 flu season, but the situation in Armenia is not stable yet, as the cases are still twice the threshold.

In his turn, Sergey Sargsyan, a consultant on pediatrics at the Ministry of Health, said that, on the one hand, the winter break at schools in the country had a positive effect on these cases and reduced them. But on the other hand, people starting catching the flu during their New Year visits.

According to the specialist, the Influenza A H3N2 variant viruses are currently in circulation in Armenia, they are dangerous for children up to 5 years old, and the youngest respective patient who is currently hospitalized in Armenia is a 44-day-old baby.