YEREVAN, May 14. /ARKA/. Over 470,000 individuals and 15,500 legal entities in Armenia have been awarded credit holidays because of the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday during a government meeting.

He recalled that the government had been pressed by the parliamentary opposition to provide benefits and concessions to creditors, but the authorities refused.

“Statistics show that banks work very well with their beneficiaries. In fact, it’s very correct that we did not take any administrative decisions in this direction. Banks independently, taking into account the appeal of the government, parliament and the Central Bank, made correct decisions, which is very positive,” said Pashinyan.

As of May 5, some 768,015 individuals and 16,875 corporate loans were restructured.

A 30-day state of emergency to curb the spread of coronavirus was declared in Armenia on March 16 and restrictions were imposed on free movement of citizens. The government banned also some types of economic activity. On April 13, the government extended the state of emergency for another month and on May 4 it lifted the ban on almost all types of economic activity and the free movement of citizens, except for public transport. On May 14, the government has again extended the state of emergency for another 30 days.

According to the latest official data, Armenia's confirmed cases of coronavirus have risen to 3,860; 49 people have died from it and 1,572 patients have recovered. ($ 1 - 487.66 drams). –0-