Your trusted source

The Armenian Ministry of Health has responded to the Constitutional Court ruling on the mandatory testing of unvaccinated employees at their own expense.

The Armenian top court on Thursday ruled that the requirement for workers to undergo Covid-19 testing at their own expense is unconstitutional.

The matter concerns the August 20 order of Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan obliging employees to either get vaccinated against Covid-19 or take PCR tests at their own expense every 14 days.

The verdict, read out by Constitutional Court Chairman Arman Dilanyan, says that the phrase “at their own expense” in the text of the order runs counter to Parts 1 and 2 of Article 6, as well as Article 39 of the Constitution.

In a statement later on Thursday, the Ministry of Health called attention to the fact that the very requirement for PCR tests was considered constitutional by the court.

"Only the wording “at their own expense” was deemed unconstitutional," the statement said.

However, given that the state does not provide preferential or free PCR testing, workers must be tested anyway, the ministry underscored, adding all requirements remain in place.