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Covid-19 cases in Armenia are set to increase further in mid-September, Gayane Sahakyan, Deputy Director General of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news conference on Monday.

The Armenian health authorities recorded 2,329 new infections over the past week, a 23% increase from the previous week.

“The coronavirus situation in Armenia is relatively stable, but since the beginning of August there has been a steady increase in new cases,” the expert said, adding the cases among children under 2 years old and adults aged 68 and over have significantly grown.

The number of hospitalized patients has also increased, however most of the confirmed cases are mild, Sahakyan said.

She attributed the Covid resurgence to high tourist flows and the re-opening of schools and universities.

"Given the start of the academic year, we expect a further increase in new infections amid a lack of any restrictions. More cases will be recorded in mid-September," Sahakyan said.

At the same time, she noted that the daily vaccination rate remains low. About 20,000-25,000 vaccinations were administered daily in Armenia last year, whereas the number has dropped to 300-500 vaccinations per day this year.

“The vaccine booster rate is quite low. Only 3.8% of elderly people have received booster shots. In general, 51% of adults have received one vaccine dose and 45% are fully vaccinated,” Sahakyan said.