Azerbaijan has eased COVID-19 lockdown while extending the nationwide special quarantine regime until August 1. The Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers announced on May 25 the easing of the COVID-19 lockdown starting from May 31.
Under the new rules, as of May 31, residents will no longer be required to wear face masks in public places. Presently, citizens are fined to the tune of up to $235 for the failure to wear masks in public places. Baku metro that had been closed since October 2020, will also resume its work on May 31. The work of public transport, however, will continue to be restricted during weekends.
The next stage of easing lockdown rules enters force on June 10 and implies opening of gyms, recreational centers, beaches, shopping malls and places of worship.
COVID-19 passports
The Operational Headquarters also announced about the use of COVID-19 passports in the country. As of June 10, visitors of gyms and recreational centers as well as employees of these facilities will be required to have COVID-19 passports. In the future, COVID-19 passports will be required for visiting concert halls, wedding ceremonies.
The COVID-19 passports consist of two certifications (one about receiving vaccine jabs and another about recovering from the disease) and have a QR code. Addressing the briefing, assistant to the President Shahmar Movsumov said that 10 percent of the Azerbaijani population has been vaccinated so far.
Azerbaijan started nationwide and free vaccination on January 18, being the first country in the South Caucasus and Central Asia to do so. Over 2 million vaccine jabs have been administered in the country since then. The Head of the Department of Prevention and Control of Diseases of the Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) Yagut Garayeva said that Azerbaijan has a sufficient volume of vaccines and that citizens are free to choose the kind of vaccine they want. Baku and Abheron peninsula account for over 54 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the country with Binagad, Khatai being top Baku districts for Covid-19 cases, Garayeva said.
Azerbaijan registered its first COVID-19 case in February 2020 and introduced a special quarantine regime on March 25. The Azerbaijani government allocated $1.1bn from the 2020 budget to fight the coronavirus infection.
