Armenia

On 30 December, Armenia’s Health Minister Arsen Torosyan warned that a third wave of Covid-19 would be coming to the country in the second half of January 2021.

He said that the exacerbation of the second wave was associated with the Nagorno-Karabakh war, but even before that there was a slight increase in indicators. This was due to the return to active work and schools and during the war it was impossible to comply with sanitary standards, leading to thousands of Covid-19 infection cases a day. In his words, the highest incidence rates in Armenia were during the war, and in the post-war period there is a certain softening of the situation and many hospitals were returning to normal work but are getting ready for the third wave.

Torosyan added that an increase in morbidity is possible in the second half of January, due to active contacts of people on holidays. However, according to him, the indicator should not be as high as during the second wave, since the country maintained the same anti-epidemiological regime - there was no lockdown, closure of enterprises and transport, which showed that many had already been ill.

In general, Torosyan noted that the coronavirus in Armenia is receding, and as for the virus mutation in the United Kingdom, it appeared in September and the only data on it is that the virus is spreading more quickly, but there is no data on the course of the disease.

Speaking about the fact that the number of cases in Armenia is decreasing, but there are no deaths, the minister explained that this is due to the longer course of the disease - such patients spend about 10 days in intensive care, and were recorded during the period of an increase in the number of cases. In general, according to him, the mortality rate in Armenia is about 1.2-1.5% of the total number of cases. He also noted that vaccinations and the emergence of immunity will lead to the seasonality of the virus, as in the case of other diseases.

In the past 24 hours, Armenia reported 582 new cases and 10 deaths, bringing the total tally to 158,878 cases and 2,807 deaths.

Azerbaijan

The Chairman of Azerbaijan’s Association for the Management of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) Ramin Bayramli stated that Azerbaijan plans to start Covid-19 vaccination at the beginning of January 2021. He noted that Azerbaijan has chosen the same vaccine as Turkey and all arrangements have already been reached.

Earlier Bayramli underlined that the vaccination will be voluntary and carried out at the expense of the state. Initially, it is planned to vaccinate healthcare workers and people over the age of 65. In addition, the vaccination itself will be done in two stages. After the first vaccination, citizens will be warned through an electronic system about the need to repeat the procedure. It should be noted that Azerbaijan has already developed a Covid-19 passport with a barcode that will be issued to those citizens who have been vaccinated, in case any foreign countries request such a document. It was also reported that the Azerbaijani parliament amended the tax code regarding vaccines and respective syringes. These items arriving Azerbaijan due to the Covid-19 pandemic will not be charged the value-added tax (VAT) for two years.

At the recent meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Cooperation (GUAM), Azerbaijan’s FM Jeyhun Bayramov underlined his country’s efforts in the international arena to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.  “Azerbaijan has so far signed 2 donor agreements to provide voluntary financial assistance to the Covid-19 Appeal Fund of the World Health Organization ($10 million in total). Recently, we joined Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX) with a committed amount of $21 million. We hope that the safe and effective vaccines will soon be available, and that they will be considered as global public goods ensuring their universal distribution at affordable prices for all,” he stated.

In the past 24 hours, Azerbaijan reported 1,052 new cases and 34 deaths, bringing the total tally to 217,636 and 2,609 deaths.

Georgia

Following the announcement to increase electricity tariffs in the country as result of the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic (Caucasus Watch reported), the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC) decided to increase water tariffs in Rustavi, Mtskheta and Tbilisi. GNERC explained that the revision of the tariffs was necessary in order for the companies to continue working without interruption.

Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia responded to the increasing water and electricity prices in the country by offering state help for those who would be most affected by it. Gakharia stated that the government would cover increased electricity fees for households which consume less than 300 kWh of electricity per month in 2021. “There are a total of 1.7 million consumers in Georgia, of which 1.6 million consume less than 300 kWh of electricity per month. This means that for 95 per cent of the Georgian households, the increased price of electricity will be fully subsidised. As our citizens and their families will face rather serious economic challenges in 2021, the increase in electricity tariffs should not become an additional challenge for them,” Gakharia stressed. He also added that 50% of the electricity tariffs would be subsidised by the government for the local food companies. In terms of the increased water fees, Gakharia emphasised that the government would cover increased water supply fees for families in need living in the cities of Tbilisi, Mtskheta and Rustavi.

It was also reported that additional verification mechanisms at Georgian border checkpoints for Georgian citizens travelling to Schengen countries will be introduced starting from January 2021. “Visa free travel is one of the most visible successes in EU-Georgia relations, and it is crucial we prevent abuses and ensure it functions as well as possible. These are not new restrictions or new conditions. The only difference is that the checks will be conducted already before departure from Georgia, not only when arriving in EU/Schengen. We are communicating with the Georgian and EU authorities to ensure that these checks will be implemented as smoothly as possible and in line with international standards and regulations,” stated the EU ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell following the decision.

In the past 24 hours, Georgia reported 1,738 new cases of Covid-19 and 38 deaths, bringing the total tally to 225,893 cases and 2,481 deaths.