Armenia

On 18 August, Armenia's Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan, who is the commandant for the state of emergency, posted on his Facebook page key changes in the state of emergency which has been extended until 11 September.

According to the changes, schools in the country would open from 15 September. Universities will be partially opened: from 1 September - for full-time undergraduate students, the rest will be offered a hybrid educational process (distance theoretical and full-time practical classes).

Libraries, museums, cultural institutions will be re-opened. Theatre and concert events are also allowed, and film screenings are permitted and must be held exclusively in the open air. Concessions have been introduced regarding the mandatory wearing of masks. Masks now do not need to be worn by TV presenters if there are no other people in the TV pavilion.

The commandant's office made some changes to the list of requirements for public catering facilities. Live music is allowed, but only outdoors. Up to 8 people are allowed to sit at one table, instead of the previous 5. The entry of foreign citizens in the country is also allowed.

Speaking on the opening of schools, the country's Education Minister Arayik Harutunyan said that wearing face masks in classes will be mandatory and that no more than 20 students will be allowed in one classroom. To reduce the number of students on a given day, classes will be organized in two shifts. He also said that that instead of five days a week, students will attend schools six days a week, which will make it possible to reduce the hours they spend inside schools. “Students’ spending less time at schools will make it possible not to open school canteens,” added the minister.

Harutunyan also recommended that two weeks before the start of the classes children and their parents voluntarily self-isolate and limit their contacts. This is “in order not to bring the virus to schools and universities on the very first day of the new academic year and break a possible large chain of the infection spread.”

The current tally of infected persons in the country stands at 42,056 with 833 reported deaths.

Georgia

As for Georgia, the country will remain closed to regular international flights until 1 October. The restrictions on regular international air services do not apply to direct international flights between Tbilisi International Airport and the airports in Munich (Germany), Paris (France) and Riga (Latvia). “The decision on renewal/restoration of other scheduled flights will be taken on the basis of the epidemiologic situation in Georgia and worldwide. Taking into consideration that the situation in the field of aviation cannot be predicted and that decisions concerning global border and traffic limitations are periodically reviewed, we request citizens and passengers refrain from buying tickets on flights in either direction until the dates of restoration of scheduled flights and flight timetables are published by official sources,” read the official statement of Georgia’s Civil Aviation agency.

The villages in Mestia municipality which have been under lockdown will open starting 21 August, except the village of Lenjeri and the small town of Mestia – the administrative centre of the municipality. In these two areas, coronavirus tests will be conducted intensively and the decision to open these areas will be made based on the epidemiological situation.

The current tally of infected persons in Georgia stands at 1361 with 17 reported deaths.