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The Armenian government on Monday approved a decision to extend the coronavirus state of emergency for a fourth time until August 12.

Armenia first declared a month-long state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 16, which was extended for three times until 13 June.

Presenting the draft decision to the cabinet members at an emergency meeting, Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan said the high number of coronavirus infections shows that the grounds for declaring a state of emergency are still maintained.

He said the draft decision had clarified the form of the self-isolation instruction, adding it’s given verbally as well as in a written form at the request of the addressee.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, in turn, the Armenian legislation does not provide the government with an effective toolkit to deal with the coronavirus crisis other than a state of emergency.

Noting that it is not possible to extend the state of emergency indefinitely, the PM said the government is expected to draft legislative amendments allowing the use of the toolkit in an emergency situation without declaring a state of emergency.

The decision will be debated at the parliament session later on Monday.