12:35,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. The reception on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the formation of the Armed Forces, originally scheduled for January 28 at the Dvin Hotel in Yerevan, is delayed due to a coronavirus outbreak among invitees, First Channel News reported.
According to the report, the Chief of the General Staff, other high ranking military officials and several invited guests tested positive for COVID-19.
13:04,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Omicron cases are sharply growing both in Armenia, in the region and all over the world, Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan said during the Cabinet meeting today, adding that this week Armenia is in the period of a progressive growth in terms of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
“As for the hospitalization percentages among the infected people, it is within 5-6%. It means that 5-6% of the infected people needs hospitalization. This is the only good news in this period, and both the already large number of vaccinated people and the certain characteristics of this strain contribute to this”, the minister said.
The minister informed that there is already the plan of expanding the hospital capacities, the beds.
“We have not fully launched it yet and will do it as required. Currently, six hospitals deal with the treatment of COVID-19. We will expand the hospital beds as needed”, she said.
Avanesyan also informed that vaccinations against coronavirus continue actively in the country. 37% are fully vaccinated. The minister assured that vaccinated citizens show mainly no symptoms or mild symptoms if infected with COVID-19.
The minister said all types of vaccines are available in Armenia, and the Pfizer vaccine will be delivered soon.
16:25,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. The Civil Contract faction has no decision yet over the nomination of a candidate for the president of Armenia, faction MP Eduard Aghajanyan told reporters at a briefing, asked whether the rumors, according to which chief of staff at the Prime Minister’s Office Arayik Harutyunyan will be nominated for the president, are true or not.
“The possibilities of different candidates are being discussed, and as I said, there is no decision at the moment. The discussions continue. The decision will be made within the set timeframes”, he said.
President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian announced his resignation on January 23.
16:57,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Face coverings and Covid passes are no longer legally required in England, after the relaxation of Plan B rules came into effect on Thursday, BBC reports.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the measures could be lifted due to the vaccine rollout's success and a better understanding of Covid treatments.
The PM's official spokesman said mask wearing would now be "a matter of personal judgment".
But some shops have said they will continue to ask people to wear them.
Rail operators also said passengers would be expected to wear face coverings. But all said they would encourage, not force, customers to comply.
Cases of coronavirus across the UK appear to be plateauing, after falling sharply from a high peak at the turn of the year.
Latest daily figures show infections remain high, with 102,292 cases reported on Wednesday.
Some 346 more people have died in the UK within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total number of deaths by this measure to 154,702.
More than 37 million people have now had their booster or third jab – 64% of the population – with another 51,097 doses given out in the latest 24-hour period.
17:02,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. The venue and timeframes of the next meeting between the Armenian and Turkish special representatives for dialogue is not clearly decided at this moment, a senior lawmaker from the ruling Civil Contract party said.
“Our public will certainly be informed as soon as there will be clarity, including on the location of the next meeting another details,” MP Eduard Aghajanyan, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of Foreign Relations told reporters.
17:16,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. There is no final decision yet about the participation of Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Vice Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan, who is Armenia’s special envoy for the dialogue process with Turkey, to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Chairman of the Armenian parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs Eduard Aghajanyan said at a briefing today.
When asked to comment on the statement of Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that Ararat Mirzoyan and Ruben Rubinayn will attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in March this year, Mr Aghajanyan said: “As of this moment there is no final decision about the participation”.
Earlier Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Armenia is also invited to take part in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, scheduled on March 11-13, 2022. The forum is attended by foreign ministers.
During a recent press conference, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said there is high probability that Armenia will accept the invitation to attend that Forum, but he added that everything depends on the situation of that moment.
17:25,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Spain are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
On this occasion, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry reaffirmed Yerevan’s readiness to develop and strengthen the relations with Spain.
“Today we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Spain. We reaffirm our firm will to continue strengthening both our bilateral relations and international cooperation, as well as the friendly ties of our nations”, the Armenian MFA tweeted.
17:40,
YEREVAN, 27 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 27 January, USD exchange rate up by 0.10 drams to 482.57 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 4.28 drams to 540.24 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.03 drams to 6.13 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 3.77 drams to 647.95 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price down by 170.15 drams to 28484.74 drams. Silver price up by 3.10 drams to 370.19 drams. Platinum price up by 515.27 drams to 16321.76 drams.
18:33,
YEREVAN, 27 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. NATO considers the possibility of sending a military contingent to Slovakia as a response to the situation related to Ukraine, ARMENPRESS reports, ''RIA Novosti'' informs Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia Ivan Korčok said on January 27, commenting on the information of Sky News that 1000 servicemen of the alliance can be deployed in the eastern part, including in Slovakia.
Sky News TV channel reported on January 27 that members of NATO consider the possibility of creating new military units consisting of one thousand servicemen in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia. It is mentioned that the new units will be similar to units present in the Baltic countries and Poland.
''NATO considers the deployment of the reinforcement forces, including in Slovakia. No decision has been made yet. This is not the request of the Slovak side, it is an inseparable part of normal defense as a response to the situation around Ukraine'', said Ivan Korčok.
19:52,
YEREVAN, 27 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The US administration is committed to continuing to work closely with the Republic of Armenia in the areas of justice, the rule of law, and the strengthening of democratic institutions, ARMENPRESS reports Ambassador of the USA to Armenia Lynne Tracy said during the meeting with President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia Arman Dilanyan.
Dilanyan received Lynne Tracy on January 27. The Ambassador was accompanied by Kelly Strickland, USAID Deputy Director, Office of Democratic and Decentralized Governance, Alexis Haftvani, Head of the U.S. Embassy's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Welcoming the American colleagues, Arman Dilanyan highly valued the US-American cooperation, the continuous work on the implementation of the bilateral agenda in the judicial sphere. Arman Dilanyan noted that the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia has an ambitious agenda of internal reforms, is determined to implement it, and the assistance of international partners, including the United States, will further promote their successful implementation.
Ambassador Tracey thanked for the opportunity of the meeting, noting that the US administration is committed to continuing close cooperation with the Republic of Armenia in the areas of justice, the rule of law, and the strengthening of democratic institutions. In this context, Ambassador Tracey highlighted the internal reform process launched in the Constitutional Court.
During the meeting, the interlocutors exchanged views on the prospects of implementing joint programs.