Armenia reported the fifth and sixth cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, March 12.

The two people were isolated earlier when a person who tested positive for the virus confirmed to have been in close contact with them, Health Minister Arsen Torosyan said in a Facebook post.

Besides the six patients hospitalized in Nork Republican Infectious Clinical Hospital, more than 80 people have so far been quarantined in Armenia and placed in a five-star hotel in the ski resort town of Tsaghkadzor.

Also Thursday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan cut short his holiday, while the Ministry of Education decided to shut down all the educational institutions across the country.