YEREVAN, June 4. /ARKA/. More than 550,000 individuals and 17,400 legal entities in Armenia have been awarded the so-called credit holidays, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting on Thursday.
Due to the new coronavirus and the state of emergency declared on March 16 to contain its spread and also the government’s ban on some types of economic activity, many citizens are having problems with servicing their loans. Individuals were given the opportunity to defer mortgage payments for 6 months.
According to Pashinyan, during the coronavirus period, banks and credit organizations revised loan obligations of 550 thousand individuals worth a total of 682 billion drams and provided credit holidays in the amount of 45 billion drams.
“As for legal entities, during this period, banks and credit organizations revised loan obligations of 17.4 thousand legal entities for a total of 640 billion drams and provided credit holidays in the amount of 57 billion drams,” Pashinyan said.
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.
However, despite the extension, public transport, preschools, trading centers, restaurants and gyms have reopened starting from May 18, and wearing of masks has become mandatory in public spaces.
According to official data, the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has risen to 11,221. The Ministry of Health said that the death toll has risen to 176. Health authorities also said that a total of 3,468 patients have recovered from the disease. -0-
