“Please, don't panic, there are no hostages”: Armenian compatriots issues in China

Sipan Petrosyan, who has been living for three years in the Hangzhou (city and capital of Zhejiang province, China) during our interview, told MAMUL.am about the situation with the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

“The situation in our city is still extremely difficult. The virus spreads very quickly because it has undergone a mutation. To date, 69 cases of the disease have been registered in our city. 1 of the cases was cured, and 68 were hospitalized. There are very few people on the streets. They basically go out on the road to buy food. Almost all wear surgical masks. The situation in Wuhan, Hubei Province is quite tense, but in other cities there is a danger, but not so great. Office of Hangzhou Municipal Government warns us to monitor hygiene every day, to be careful with the use of meat and fish”, said Petrosyan.
According to Sipan, some of his friends are being evacuated to the United States, Japan. “ I urge you not to panic. I created group "The Armenians in China" in WeChat, and every day I am in touch with more than 500 compatriots. I am in touch the embassy and other places. Currently, Armenia does not have an evacuation program or other assistance”,he said.
What steps the Armenian departments are taking, Sipan Petrosyan said that he did not receive any letter of assistance. “I contacted the Ministry of Health, the Armenian Embassy in China. The last time they said that they had not yet made a decision on the evacuation plan, and we ourselves must decide whether to return to Armenia or not, based on the situation in our region and security considerations”, noted Petrosyan.