On 6 May, citing the ongoing vaccination of population against Covid-19, the Armenian government decided to amend the quarantine procedure, allowing foreign citizens with “green passports” (Covid-19 certificates) to arrive in Armenia without taking PCR test. A day earlier, the country’s Ministry of Health created an electronic platform for providing “green passports” for their citizens who were vaccinated against the virus.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that according to the latest data, the infection incidence is decreasing in the country. “I think that from the first day we have been adequately confronting the pandemic, but today the content of our task must gradually change: our task should be large-scale vaccination,” he stated, adding that 5 thousand people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 so far and that he expects a sharp increase in these numbers in the coming time.

In the past 24 hours, Armenia reported 425 new cases of the virus and 14 deaths, bringing the total tally to 218,325 cases and 4,192 deaths. 

Meanwhile in Azerbaijan, the country’s acting Minister of Health Teymur Musayev announced that Azerbaijan’s citizens aged over 18 years would begin to receive vaccines starting from 10 May. He mentioned that 600,000 citizens have already received two doses of Covid-19 vaccines so far and that all Covid-19 vaccines presently used in Azerbaijan are safe and effective.

The Head of Azerbaijan’s Department of Prevention and Control of Diseases of the Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) Yagut Garayeva said that the number of people who recovered from the virus in the country has doubled the number of new infection cases. “There is a positive trend. The epidemiological situation in Azerbaijan is stable,” Garayeva said, adding that the infection rate of Covid-19 in the country is within 10%. Speaking about strains of Covid-19, Garayeva noted that no new strain of the virus had been detected in Azerbaijan, except the British strain. However, she expressed her worries over the Indian strain of the virus. 

In the past 24 hours, Azerbaijan reported 844 new cases of the virus and 18 deaths, bringing the total tally to 324,685 cases and 4,635 deaths.

As for Georgia, the country received 43,200 doses of the British AstraZeneca vaccine through the Covax international platform, which are intended for those Georgian citizens who received the first doses of the vaccine. The country’s Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze announced that Georgia would secure additional 600,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine after starting the Sinopharm vaccination a day earlier. “Additional 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine are available now, 250,000 more will arrive in June, and talks over extra 250,000 doses are underway,” she announced. Tikaradze’s Deputy Tamar Gabunia stated that the Georgian authorities were in communication with Johnson & Johnson and Novavax to receive their vaccines in summer. 

The epidemiological situation in the country has significantly deteriorated in recent days, recording 1500-2100 new Covid-19 cases daily on average. In connection with the pandemic, May 4-11 were declared a holiday in Georgia, aiming to reduce public mobility. Municipal transport was stopped in cities, but intercity transport and taxis are still running. 

In the past 24 hours, Georgia reported 1,806 new cases and 20 deaths, bringing the total tally to 317,719 cases and 4,227 deaths.