Laura Meliksetyan. “The number one task is to overcome the pandemic, with minimal lossesand  as soon as possible”

“I think from the beginning we should have taken the coronavirus more seriously and been more prepared to look at it from the experience of other countries, but, unfortunately, today we are ahead of many countries in the numbers we have registered, ”said Laura Meliksetyan, a member of the Alaverdi community council, in a conversation with WomenNet.am.

Laura Meliksetyan believes that the members of the Council of Elders have a lot to do in this situation, especially in rural areas, but they do not always know what needs to be done, first of all, which steps are more efficient and which will be more effective. She is convinced that in this case, the members of the Council of Elders need training that will teach them how to act in such an emergency. “Council members often come up with ideas, but they don’t know how to implement them, and they often wait to see what the municipalities will propose  to do,” she said.

According to Laura Meliksetyan, disinfection measures are very important, especially in places where people often use them. For example, it has taken control of the disinfection of Alaverdi bus stops, as they can be places conducive to the transmission of the infection. She says she personally monitors that the disinfection is done on time and properly.

– At the recent meeting of the Council of Elders, a decision was made to provide assistance to 60 socially vulnerable families, this time with food aid, there were also gloves, masks and alcohol in the packages. Last time we provided financial assistance to 40 families, and before that to 20 families in very difficult social conditions, “she said, adding that she personally visited everyone’s houses, kept a social distance, talked to people and urged them to apply to the city hall again.

Laura Meliksetyan is also the president of the “Coast of Hope” NGO, the organization supports single elderly people, by the way, she mentioned that only 2 out of 56 beneficiaries are men. These days, they were especially in need of support, and with his own means and with the help of family members she helped the needy to the best of her ability.

The member of the Council of Elders assures that in recent days, when it has become mandatory to wear gloves and masks in closed places and their presence in open air areas, very consistently work together with the police, ensuring that everyone wears a glove and mask.

According to her, everyone has started wearing masks and gloves only after the recent tightening of the government, even people who complain that it is very difficult to wear and that  mask or gloves cause fungal diseases. She mentions that it is especially the elderly who cannot wear masks and complain that they cannot breathe, besides, it is especially difficult to wear a mask in transport.

Laura Meliksetyan has been the principal of the Stepan Shahumyan School No. 5 in Alaverdi for 16 years. She is sure that if we imagine the worst case scenario, schools will not be reopened in September and classes will be held online again, education will collapse.

Following the lively movement of people in the capital in recent days, she is worried.

According to the member of the Council of Elders, specialists from China, Russia, Germany and Germany who have succeeded in fighting the pandemic should be invited to Armenia and use their experience here.

• I think it is worth inviting foreign specialists, because from time to time it is announced that there is a lack of this or that doctor. But at the same time we should praise and thank our doctors who, As Tumanyan would say, they work “diligently” with every patient, with every person.