YEREVAN, April 15. /ARKA/. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last week that around $280 million will be available in financial assistance for Armenia immediately after its Board meeting, Deputy Economy Minister Avag Avanesyan told a news conference today.

According to an IMF last week statement, Armenian authorities requested an increase in financial support provided by for Armenia and, pending Executive Board approval, around $280 million will be available immediately after the Board meeting.

The IMF said that higher access to IMF financing will help the Armenian authorities contain short-term risks and will provide resources to meet urgent medical and socio-economic needs during the peak of the virus outbreak.

Avanesyan said also that the authorities are working to improve the business atmosphere, to protect investments and reform the social and economic spheres in cooperation with international partners.
He said international organizations do not doubt that their assistance will be direct at mitigating the aftereffects of coronavirus outbreak and use them in a targeted way - primarily to strengthen the health care system and mitigate social and economic shocks.

Armenia declared a 30-day state of emergency on March 16 to curb the spread of coronavirus. The government also imposed stringent restrictions on the movement of people and banned also some types of businesses. On April 13, the government extended the state of emergency for another month, reopening also some businesses.

To date, 1,111 confirmed cases of coronavirus were recorded in Armenia; 297 people have recovered and 17 patients died. -0-