Armenia to impose Covid-19 safety fines on workers, employers

PanARMENIAN.Net - Employees in Armenia will be fined in the amount of 10,000-20,000 drams ($20-40) if they fail to receive at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by October 1 or get tested every 14 days, health official Anna Harutyunyan said on Wednesday, September 22.

According to Harutyunyan, employers will be fined from 40,000 to 120,000 drams ($80-240), should they fail to follow regulations, Arka.am reports.

Under a government decision announced in late August, starting from October 1, public and private sector employees who refuse vaccination against Covid-19 will have to take coronavirus tests twice a month at their own expense. According to the ministry, the decision was prompted by a steady rise in the number of new cases of coronavirus registered daily.

Only fully vaccinated citizens or those who received the first dose, can go to work without PCR tests, with the exception of pregnant women and people with medical contraindications for vaccination.

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Armenia grew by 273 to reach 254,709 on September 22․ So far, 237,263 people have recovered, 5181 have died from the coronavirus in the country, while 1193 others carrying the virus have died from other causes.