Minister: Armenia will restrict entry for Chinese citizens amid coronavirus threat

Armenia may restrict entry for Chinese citizens amid the risk of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus spreading, Armenian health minister Arsen Torosyan told reporters on Friday.

According to him, this issue was discussed during a meeting of the interagency committee created on behalf of the PM. The final decision will be made in the near future taking into account international recommendations and will be announced by the MFA.

There will not be any restrictions on the entry into the country of our compatriots coming from China, he said.

About 20 Armenians from China come to Armenia daily, and they get their temperature measured at the airport. Then they take contact information so that specialists can monitor their health condition the next 14 days to organize their treatment in time if they have some symptoms. In this case, they will be isolated to prevent the spread of infection.

However, according the minister, there is no sense to introduce quarantine for all visitors, even for citizens from countries with confirmed virus cases.

Torosyan also noted Armenia has no direct flights with China, and flights of many other countries were suspended to isolate the virus.

According to recent data, the Chinese coronavirus has already killed 213 people, and over 9600 of those infected. Cases have been reported in 18 countries outside of China. Many cities in China, including Wuhan are quarantined.