Armenia is temporarily banning people from entering Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, police spokesman Ashot Aharonyan said in a Facebook post on Thursday, March 26.

Aharonyan said the police will immediately establish checkpoints on roads connecting to Artsakh.

Only persons registered in Artsakh, cargo trucks, and election observers and and journalists will be allowed to enter the territory of Artsakh.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Armenia reached 290 on Thursday. A total of 18 patients have recovered from the disease so far, while one has died.

No cases have been identified in Artsakh.