Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said on Monday, July 26 that the super-contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has now reached Armenia.

Avanesyan told reporters that health authorities have yet to sequence a single sample, but argued that the new strain has spread to the country as well, citing Armenia's open borders with both Georgia and Russia, where the variant is now thriving, Aysor.am reports.

According to her, there is a threat of a new wave of Covid infections in the first half of fall. She said the Ministry is doing everything to have 40-50% of the population vaccinated against the virus.

As of July 25, a total of 152,529 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in Armenia, the Ministry said earlier on Monday. Foreigners currently residing in Armenia and tourists too can receive the jabs free of charge. Beginning from July 15, however, travelers will need to spend at least 10 days in the country to become eligible for the shots.