Tuesday, 17 March 2020
Commandant’s Office Holds First Meeting
The Commandant’s Office today held its first meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan,.
Addressing the meeting, Tigran Avinyan stated:
“We have several important issues on the agenda. In particular, we must first discuss purely procedural issues. I would ask you to abide by a more flexible approach to all bureaucratic procedures. I see that there are some problems, and even in a state of emergency we have some delays in formalizing decision-making.
I have to ask our lawyers to offer a more specific and flexible system to move forward, because I sometimes get the impression that we are less flexible in emergency situations than usual. And I have to ask you to keep this issue in focus. Of course, I will give the floor to Mr. Torosyan to report on the overall situation and provide news.
Then we will discuss several other important issues related to restrictions on public events throughout the Republic of Armenia and how to exercise control. We talked with Mr. Sarkissian last night, and we came to a definite agreement on what needs to be done.
I think that all restrictive measures should be complemented by clear-cut guidelines so that each official cold realize what needs to be done and in what sequence. We will discuss the launch of a single hotline. We should anticipate any such question as may come to the hotline. And we need to have clear answers to these questions.
We have to discuss financial issues, ways of communication, restrictions, including for the media.”
Then the Minister of Healthcare presented the situation in the republic concerning the fight against the spread of coronavirus. The members of the Commandant’s Office emphasized the important role of civic consciousness and vigilance, as well as additional security measures.
The meeting next discussed the Commandant’s proposal to impose restrictions on public events. The important role reserved to the police in overseeing the ban on public events was emphasized. Appropriate guidelines for control measures were given. The role of Marz Governors and the Mayor of Yerevan in coordinating supervision activities involving various departments in the regions and in Yerevan was highlighted during the meeting.
The participants of the meeting discussed social and economic measures needed to activate the economy and mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on various social groups.
Reference was made to issues related to communication and visa regimes with a number of countries.
