At a parliamentary session devoted to the battle against the coronavirus in Armenia, Deputy PM Tigran Avinyan, who heads the government’s State of Emergency Command, said 12% of the country’s permanent population (353,000 people) are at risk for contracting Covid-19 due to their age and regardless of their health status.

“In terms of chronic diseases, the number of people with diabetes is 77,418, the number of people with ischemic heart disease is 71,025, and the number of people with hypertension is 145,408. Moreover, these are only known, registered cases. Those who have several chronic diseases and are in the high age group are in the riskiest zone,” Avinyan said.

He told MPs that the virus cannot be eliminated before a vaccine is developed, and that it would take months if not a year for one.

 “There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for fighting the virus,” Avinyan said, adding that governments around the world are taking measures largely aimed at managing uncertainty.