“At doctors’ urging, the president is continuing treatment in Yerevan too,” Sarkissian’s office said in a short statement issued on Monday. It gave no details.
Sarkissian reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus days after travelling to the United Kingdom in late December to spend New Year’s Eve with his sons and grandchildren living in London.
The presidential office announced on January 13 that the 67-year-old head of state was hospitalized there after developing double pneumonia and showing other symptoms of COVID-19. It said on January 26 that he has been discharged from hospital but has not yet fully recovered from the disease.
During his absence from Armenia, Sarkissian has performed his largely ceremonial duties remotely, signing decrees, issuing statements and sending letters to foreign leaders.
It remains unclear whether the president was infected with COVID-19 in Armenia or Britain. Both countries have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Armenian health authorities have confirmed more than 169,000 coronavirus cases in the country of about 3 million. The real number of cases is believed to be much higher.
The daily number of new COVID-19 infections registered by the authorities has fallen sharply over the last three months.
The Ministry of Health reported on Monday that six more Armenians have died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 3,147.