Armenia to reopen schools

On 1 December, the Armenian government decided to fully reopen schools that were shut down on 15 October due to a sharp rise in Covid-19 infections.

The country's Ministry of Health stated that the country’s average number of daily infections dropped in the past two weeks (around 1500 cases daily) which eased the burden on hospitals struggling to cope with the pandemic. However, it was also highlighted that the number of Covid-19 patients who are in a critical or serious condition has not yet started falling. 

Armenia’s Education Ministry announced that all secondary and high schools must reopen their doors to students on 7 December, following the reopening of primary schools on 13 November. The rules stipulate that there can be no more than 20 schoolchildren in a classroom at a time and all of them must be seated apart and wear face masks during classes. School administrations have to provide students with hand sanitizers and regularly disinfect classrooms. Also, teachers who are aged 65 and older or suffer from chronic diseases will still be allowed to continue working online. In addition, the rules mandate the closure of schools experience coronavirus outbreaks affecting at least 10 percent of their students and staff. 

In the past 24 hours, Armenia reported 1,264 new infection cases and 35 deaths bringing the total tally to 137,231 cases and 2,228 deaths.

Concerns raised in Azerbaijan 

Meanwhile in Azerbaijan concerns were raised by the medical experts in the country following a further rise of cases. “We should definitely resort to strict measures in Azerbaijan. If it does not happen, then there will be no room in the hospitals. There is not a place to accommodate patients in Turkey, a country with powerful healthcare. Such a result will be in Azerbaijan too, without the implementation of strict measures,” stated the Director of Azerbaijan’s Scientific Research Institute of Medical Prevention Adil Allahverdiyev. 

Of specific focus within the medical community in Azerbaijan was the development of a potential Covid-19 vaccine. “Fighting against viruses is different from the fight against other bacteria. Virus lives in a cell. We should destroy the cell in order to destroy the virus. All claimed that they found something until now. But there is not a specific drug against the virus yet. The issue of vaccines is the same. Preparations of vaccine against the virus have been started in many laboratories of the world in a very short period of time. The US Food and Drug Administration has been appealed on preparation of 11 kinds of vaccines now. Some of the 11 vaccines may be confirmed. But currently, we do not have a normal vaccine on hand. It is also unknown how effective the vaccine will be. Figures, written by the media, show the result of trials, conducted on volunteers. It is not clear how effective it will be on people after the start of vaccination. The information we have says that an antibody against coronavirus is established for 4-5 months. We cannot be comfortable, even after discovery of the vaccine,” added Allahverdiyev.

The country’s Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) also showed scepticism in acquiring the trial vaccines. “Azerbaijan will not purchase a coronavirus vaccine that is not approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). It does not matter if the vaccine is made in the United States, Turkey or any other country. If there is an approved vaccine, it will be clear when it will be used,” it emphasised. The TABIB also noted that a re-imposing of strict rules in the country would also be possible.

Azerbaijan reported in the past 24 hours 3,942 new cases of the virus and 37 deaths bringing the total tally to 129,544 cases and 1,470 deaths.

Georgia: deep economic impact following lockdown

The Georgian government presented the final version of its state budget for the year 2021. According to the budget, the government is going to borrow 5.3 billion lari from multilateral and bilateral donors and partners in external debt for the coming year. Based on the final version of the state budget for 2021, government debt is forecasted at 60.1% of GDP by the end of 2021. By the end of 2021 the state debt is forecasted to stand at 33.68 billion lari, consisting of external debt of 27.73 bln lari and domestic debt of 5.95 bln lari. The budget for state agencies was envisaged at 18 bln lari with the Ministry of IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs being the largest receiver at 5.56 billion lari. It was also reported that the Georgian state-owned enterprises have lost about 130 million lari in revenue since the start of the pandemic.

The gas supply company, Tbilisi Energy, raised the cost of natural gas for commercial consumption, except for bakeries, from from current 0.86 tetris to 1.10 tetris. The Georgian Restaurateurs Association responded to this measure, saying that the decision was “sadism when business is on the verge of collapse” and that such a move would lead to higher product prices in the country.

The association also presented to the government a 5-point plan in order to save the hospitality sector in the country. The points of the plan included: 1) reimbursement of 50% of the salaries of employees in industry by the state over the course of the next two months; 2) the state to guarantee the issuance of loans from financial institutions operating in Georgia for both legal entities and individuals working in the hospitality field; 3) reducing the VAT rate for the hospitality industry for one year; 4) establish a grace period for all types of utility bills for legal entities working in hospitality sector; and 5) to extend the income tax subsidy programme for one year.

In the past 24 hours, Georgia reported 4,033 new cases of the virus and 39 deaths, bringing the total tally to 143,376 cases and 1,342 deaths.