On 1 March, following the reports of the first positive case for the new coronavirus in Georgia (Caucasus Watch reported), the two other South Caucasus countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan also reported their first cases as well. 

Armenia

On 1 March, Armenia reported its first and currently only coronavirus case. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the infected man and his wife were among the Armenian nationals evacuated from neighbouring Iran on a special Tehran-Yerevan flight on 27 February. “His condition is good,” Pashinyan wrote on Facebook. “He had a fever when he went to hospital. He does not have a fever right now … Incidentally, the patient’s wife was tested negative.”

Pashinyan also stated that Armenia would begin the process of reinstating the temporary visa regime with Iran, which will be reinstated within 5 days.

Armenia’s Health Minister Arsen Torosyan told the reporters afterwards that 32 persons have been taken to a disused hotel in the resort town of Tsaghkadzor and placed under quarantine there. They include passengers of the Tehran-Yerevan flight who sat close to the infected man and the ambulance crew that transported him to a Yerevan hospital, he said. Torosyan said it makes no sense to quarantine all Armenians who have returned to Armenia from Iran since the recent outbreak of coronavirus there. The country also closed its schools, universities and kindergartens until 8 March. 

Azerbaijan

The first case of coronavirus in Azerbaijan was reported on 28 February. According to the reports, it was a Russian citizen travelling from Iran. Meanwhile, the symptoms were observed in two Azerbaijani citizens who also traveled from Iran, raising the tally of the current coronavirus cases in the country to three.

The Azerbaijani government made the decision to close the state border under a restrictive regime between Azerbaijan and Iran due to the risk of further spreading the coronavirus. The Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) also suspended its flights to Iran. 

Azerbaijan’s Prime Minister Ali Asadov signed an order on allocating 10 million AZN for the purchase of medicines and medical equipment. Azerbaijan Railways, the Baku Transport Agency and the Ministry of Education established their working task forces in order to prevent the spread of the virus. The activities of all educational institutions in the country were also suspended until 9 March. 

Georgia

Georgia has reported two more cases of the virus. The first of them is a 31-year-old woman, who had been travelling to Italy, while the second is a Georgian citizen who travelled from Iran and was in contact with the person who was reported as the first coronavirus case in the country. Head of the Georgian National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze said that the health conditions of the three infected Georgian citizens who remain under quarantine at the Tbilisi infectious disease hospital were “satisfactory”, adding that 119 persons have been placed under quarantine so far.

As for the measures taken, the Georgian Land Transport Agency suspended goods traffic with Iran and Italy, a two week spring holidays  have been announced across the country, special devices have been installed in Tbilisi airport which thermo-screens all passengers, and public transport in Tbilisi is being disinfected on a daily basis. Gamkrelidze also recommended that the Georgian citizens temporarily avoid travelling to China, Iran, South Korea and Italy amid the coronavirus outbreak.