Author: Christine Harutyunian

 09:39,

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, ARMENPRESS. A magnitude 5,3 earthquake that hit northwestern Iran on March 24 was felt in several Armenian provinces.

The Armenian Regional Seismic Protection Service said the quake hit some 23 km south-east from the city of Khoy in Iran early on Friday morning. The quake had a depth of 10km and an intensity of 7 on the MSK scale in the epicenter.  It was felt in Armenia’s Syunik Province at an intensity of 3-4 MSK, in Vayots Dzor and Ararat at 3 MSK and in Kotayk at 2 MSK.  

No damages were reported by Armenian authorities.

 10:14, 9 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS. The Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir accepted Armenia’s invitation to participate in the Women’s Role in Promoting Democracy, Peace and Security conference which is scheduled to take place in October 2023.

The invitation was conveyed to PM Jakobsdóttir by the Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan during a meeting in New York City.

The Women’s Role in Promoting Democracy, Peace and Security conference is a joint initiative by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s wife Anna Hakobyan and the Women Political Leaders organization.

During the meeting with PM Jakobsdóttir in New York, Minister Mkrtchyan expressed gratitude for the support by Icelandic companies during the 2020 war in Artsakh, the cooperation and the visit by a group of Members of Parliament from Iceland to Artsakh, the ministry said in a read-out. 

They also discussed possibilities for cooperation in labor and social protection, as well as exchange of experience.

Speaking about the protection of women’s rights and the necessity for increasing the role of women, Minister Mkrtchyan presented details on the Women’s Role in Promoting Democracy, Peace and Security conference organized jointly by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s wife Anna Hakobyan and the Women Political Leaders organization.

The Prime Minister of Iceland welcomed the initiative and accepted the invitation to visit Armenia in October to participate in the conference.

 17:30,

YEREVAN, 10 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 10 March, USD exchange rate down by 0.31 drams to 388.18 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.44 drams to 411.00 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 5.11 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 3.04 drams to 464.88 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 170.35 drams to 22856.38 drams. Silver price down by 0.02 drams to 251.10 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

 14:45, 6 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. The ‘patient zero’ in the ongoing measles outbreak is someone who’s arrived in Armenia from abroad, the healthcare minister revealed on Monday without elaborating.

20 people tested positive for measles as of Monday. Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan said that 15 of them are children and 5 are adults. All patients are either citizens of Armenia or residency card holders.

Avanesyan called on the public to seek medical attention immediately after displaying any of the measles symptoms.

“Our research showed that the first case of measles [in this outbreak] infiltrated from abroad. The patient is a child, and others have been infected since then,” Avanesyan said.

“Early detection, identification of direct contacts, preventative vaccination within 72 hours and their isolation is highly important while dealing with measles,” she added.

Healthcare authorities recommend children get two doses of the measles vaccine, starting with the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age, and the second dose at 4 through 6 years of age. The Armenian healthcare ministry advised parents to get their children vaccinated if they’ve missed the immunization schedule.

At the same time, unvaccinated direct contacts of confirmed cases should also get vaccinated, healthcare authorities said.

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases. It is spread by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions.

The virus remains active and contagious in the air or on infected surfaces for up to 2 hours. It can be transmitted by an infected person from 4 days prior to the onset of the rash to 4 days after the rash erupts, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 

Unvaccinated young children are at highest risk of measles and its complications. Unvaccinated pregnant women are also at risk. Any non-immune person (who has not been vaccinated or was vaccinated but did not develop immunity) can become infected.

The first sign of measles is usually a high fever, which begins about 10 to 12 days after exposure to the virus, and lasts 4 to 7 days. A runny nose, a cough, red and watery eyes, and small white spots inside the cheeks can develop in the initial stage. After several days, a rash erupts, usually on the face and upper neck. Over about 3 days, the rash spreads, eventually reaching the hands and feet. 

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament Arsen Torosyan, a former healthcare minister, issued a statement on the outbreak and said that he has information indicating that the imported case was locally spread from within the hospital. Furthermore, he blamed an unvaccinated health worker. “We had imported cases [before] that remained local and did not spread. But now we are factually having local spreads and I have information that it spread from within the hospital, from the sick child to others. There is also another information indicating that an unvaccinated health worker had a role in the circle of spread, which in itself is regrettable,” Torosyan said.

He lambasted doctors who believe in conspiracy theories rejecting vaccines, and are furthermore calling on others to do so.  He nevertheless acknowledged the high vaccination rate in the country (90-95%), but still called on all unvaccinated persons to get the shot.

“You have a duty to save lives, not to endanger these lives,” Torosyan said, addressing health workers.

 15:03, 22 February 2023

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. During the Munich Security Conference, held on 18 February 2023, the President of Azerbaijan made a number of statements aimed at disguising the criminal policy of Azerbaijan towards the people of Artsakh, and distorting the essence of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict by violating causal relationships, the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) said in a statement.

Below is the full statement.

“During the Munich Security Conference, held on 18 February 2023, the President of Azerbaijan made a number of statements aimed at disguising the criminal policy of Azerbaijan towards the people of Artsakh, and distorting the essence of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict by violating causal relationships.

In particular, the President of Azerbaijan once again tried to refute the obvious fact of the blockade of Artsakh, which has been recognized by the international community, with the exception of Azerbaijan itself. To prove their claims, the Azerbaijani president cited data on the passage for the entire period of the blockade of 2,500 vehicles of the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the evacuation of 100 patients to hospitals in Armenia through the ICRC. However, these data prove exactly the opposite of what Baku claims. During the 73 days of the blockade, fewer cars passed through the Lachin Corridor than during three usual days in the pre-blockade period. All vehicles passing through the Lachin Corridor belonged to either the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent or the ICRC. Other vehicles belonging to citizens of the Republic of Artsakh, state structures or carrying out commercial transportation are not able to pass through the Lachin Corridor. Seriously ill patients can only be evacuated to Yerevan through the ICRC, which once again indicates the lack of free passage through the Lachin Corridor. Moreover, at the beginning of the blockade, at least one seriously ill patient died due to the impossibility of his urgent transportation to Yerevan for further treatment. The fact that many citizens of the Republic cannot return to Artsakh, and hundreds of separated families are deprived of the opportunity to reunite, is another confirmation of the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan.

It should also be noted that during a conversation with Azerbaijani journalists following a trilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the Azerbaijani president stated about Baku’s proposal to set up a checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor. It becomes obvious from his words that Baku had been hatching these plans long before the blockade was imposed. All these facts clearly prove that in addition to creating unbearable living conditions for the people of Artsakh, the blockade is also aimed at revising the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020. Thus, Azerbaijan is clearly seeking to legitimize its intention to revise the provisions of the Trilateral Statement. These attempts must be resolutely rejected by all actors involved in the normalization of relations in the region. Full functioning of the Lachin Corridor should be restored in accordance with the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020, and without any preconditions.

Azerbaijan’s attempts to interfere in the internal political life of Artsakh, as well as its vision of a dialogue between Stepanakert and Baku, are also absolutely unacceptable for the official Stepanakert. In this regard, we reiterate that a comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict must be achieved through negotiations that will ensure equal footing for the parties and will not contain conditions that prejudge the outcome of the negotiations. In this context, we consider it necessary to restore the international mediation format as an additional guarantee of the irreversibility of the peace process. We once again emphasize that the results of the illegal use or threat of force by Azerbaijan cannot serve as a starting point on the path to peace, stability and security.”