YEREVAN—Amid concerns over the deadly outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced that Armenia’s lone border-crossing point with the country will be temporarily closed. The two-week travel ban, which was announced late Sunday night, has also resulted in the immediate interruption
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“Health Minister Arsen Torosyan took to Facebook Live”… Facebook? (perhaps another source of global disinformation). Why does the Health Minister (or even the Prime Minister and others in the government) use the social media for important announcements? Do we assume that everyone in Armenia is on Facebook or the like? Why not use TV (every household has TV, for sure) for such an important health and life issue? If there are reports that “Travelers from Iran may have already introduced the virus in other neighboring countries”, who can say that Armenia will not be (maybe already is) another neighboring country? Is Armenia immune? Better prepared?
P.S. I always enjoy reading your articles, Raffi Elliott
Well at the moment there are an estimated 1.4 million active Facebook accounts in Armenia (about half the population). Their statements usually ARE re-broadcast on Television and radio as well, but Facebook Live has turned into an important tool for the government to share information quickly and reach as many people as possible.
The increasing popularity of FB live for government communication has actually been pretty helpful – in comparison to the previous government which had very little daily interaction with the general public – people feel more engaged when they get these video statements directly in their feeds.
Corona virus? But, but Trump said it is just a hoax by the news media and Democrats! Thank you Raffi, we hope Armenian Americans will heed the warning, it is real!
FYI..
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/person-washington-state-first-u-181617315.html
This is a Black Swan. It needs focused coordination by all the countries to avoid what could be a catastrophic pandemic. Until a vaccine is developed which takes a long time, prevention of the spread is an imperative and common sense should prevail.
The closure of the border with Iran is a prudent and wise move. The spread of the virus, number of people inflicted (including high level government officials), number of deaths in Iran is running very high; especially when there are concerns that the numbers are understated. Iran does not have the necessary capacity to deal with the crisis and they are not transparent about the extent of the problem in Iran.
Iran has been a friend and a reliable trading partner of Armenia. But in these circumstances, the health and safety of Armenians comes first.
Finally, this is not a political issue. Undoubtedly all health organizations and agencies are doing their best to contain the virus and its spread. Hopefully they will
be able to do so. In the meantime “panic” makes the situation worse.
Follow instructions of Health authorities.
Vart Adjemian