The National Assembly’s standing committee on state and legal affairs will on September 4 discuss the package of legislative changes submitted by the government, which makes it possible both not to extend the state of emergency that has been in force in Armenia for nearly 7 months and to continue carrying out anti-epidemic measures against the “Corona” virus.
The government proposes to introduce quarantine and apply restrictions if necessary. If parliament adopts the package proposed by the government, then in the event of imposing quarantine it will be possible to prohibit or restrict gatherings and other events, as well as the operation of educational institutions. Other anti-epidemic measures provided for by law may also be applied.
According to the chairman of the National Assembly’s committee on state and legal affairs, Vladimir Vardanyan, the government did not invent these proposals on a whim. According to Vardanyan, such arrangements exist in almost all countries: “The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers and generally many other international partners had in essence called in due time for a transition from the state of emergency regime to a softer regime, provided that the health and epidemiological situation permits such a transition. Now it seems that we are seeing a decrease in cases. I hope that this decrease will continue, and that we will not collide with a second wave.”
The defined measures are applied for the purposes of preventing the spread of infectious diseases dangerous to the public and eliminating their consequences, which serve as the basis for imposing quarantine. The restrictions must be proportionate to those purposes. The free movement of persons may also be restricted, and it may be possible to close state borders. The requirement of isolation and self-isolation will continue to operate.
