On 26 May, the Armenian Ministry of Health stated that wearing face coverings in open-air public places will no longer compulsory starting 1 June.

The ministry also said that citizens who got two jabs of Covid-19 vaccine may not need to wear face masks in enclosed spaces starting from 1 July. It explained that vaccinated citizens are those who received 2 doses of the vaccine and were registered with the Armed E-Health system and provided a QR code. The country’s authorities plan to vaccinate about 700 thousand residents by the end of the year.

In the past 24 hours, Armenia reported 130 new cases of the virus and 11 deaths bringing the total tally to 222,269 cases and 4,411 deaths.

Meanwhile in Georgia, the authorities announced that the Georgian land borders would be opened starting from 1 June. Individuals will be admitted through the land borders of Georgia with evidence of full vaccination and negative PCR test results or alternatively only with a negative PCR test result taken within the last 72 hours. A follow up test three days after entry must also be taken. In addition, regulations would be eased for travellers from Canada, Japan, Kuwait, China, South Korea, Moldova, and Oman to enter the country.

Georgia’s Economy Minister Natia Turnava said that the opening of land borders for international visitors will lead to an increase in the number of tourists, as well as increased revenues from tourism. She added that the gradual opening of Georgia's land borders to international tourists would immediately affect the country's economic situation, including the stabilisation of the Georgian national currency and the exchange rate.

Turnava also emphasised that the number of airline companies that are either increasing the frequency of weekly flights or new airlines that want to enter the country was “growing very fast.” She added that according to today's data, the government has more than 350 weekly flight applications for the summer period. 

In the past 24 hours Georgia reported 1,015 new cases of the virus and 28 deaths bringing the total tally to 340,330 cases and 4,682 deaths.

An interesting development was also recorded in the Russian Federal State of Chechnya where mass vaccination refusals from the state’s residents urged the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to issue a statement. “The vaccination against Covid-19 in Chechnya is very passive” Kadyrov wrote, criticising the opposition to the vaccination campaign in social networks. “There are unfortunate experts on Covid-19 who are hindering the vaccination campaign by spreading some conspiracy theories around vaccines in social networks. What is most surprising is that many residents follow them by sending this nonsense further within their groups,” he added. At a meeting at the Chechen anti-virus headquarters, Kadyrov stated that everyone who refuses to get vaccinated should be the last to receive medical services.