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The citizen of Armenia is not a “material to die from coronavirus”, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told a cabinet meeting on Thursday, reiterating his government’s strategy on the fight against the pandemic.

The PM stressed his government will be consistent in its efforts to have citizens abide by the anti-epidemiological rules, adding tougher measures could be imposed, if necessary, to motivate people to wear face masks in order to avoid getting fined.

The premier called attention to the global statistics, according to which 100,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported worldwide in the past 24 hours, with the total number of cases now surging past 12 million. He states those countries which have claimed to have defeated the disease are now returning to strict coronavirus measures.

Citing a statement of the World Health Organization on Wednesday that the airborne transmission of coronavirus could not be ruled out, the PM said Armenia’s health authorities announced about it last week, defending the decision to make face masks compulsory.

Pashinyan stressed Armenia’s anti-epidemiological strategy remains the same – to learn living by the new rules to bring the number of new infections close to zero.

Also, he addressed the commandant’s decision to exempt people with some respiratory diseases from wearing face masks in public places, voicing some concerns that it could lead to mass rejection of face masks. In the meantime, the PM stressed, those patients are required to carry with them a medical certificate confirming the disease, otherwise they will be fined.

Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan said, in turn, no patients are waiting for hospitalization at home at the moment, while 13 others are waiting for their transfer to a hospital specializing in coronavirus treatment.

The minister said the healthcare system remains overloaded, adding the situation is serious but stable.

The premier added, in turn, they cannot rule out that the situation will not abruptly get worse in the near future.