On 23 February, Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi stated that 12 people have died and up to 61 have been infected with the new coronavirus in his country, making Iran the country with the second highest prevalence of the virus after China. Most of the reported cases in Iran have been in Qom, a Shi’ite Muslim holy city 120 km  south of the capital Tehran. The geographical proximity to Iran prompted all three South Caucasus countries to apply stricter measures in order to prevent the further spread of the virus.

Armenia

The Armenian government made on 23 February an extraordinary decision to terminate communications with Iran for a period of two weeks, wrote the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his Facebook page. In particular, Pashinyan said Iran-Armenia air traffic and the entry of people into Armenia through the border crossing point in Meghri will be stopped. The Armenian embassy in Iran also reported that the functions of the consular service for registering and receiving citizens were temporarily suspended.

A day later, Armenia’s special committee, set up for coordinating measures aimed at warding off coronavirus, decided to: suspend ground communications with the Islamic Republic of Iran for two weeks; impose incomplete restrictions for air communications; freight with Iran without restrictions and apply special control regime with respect to drivers; not to impose any restrictions on citizens of Armenia and Iran for return to their homeland; be in close contact with the government of friendly Iran within two weeks and to replenish data on the spread of coronavirus in Iran to clarify further actions.

Azerbaijan

The Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev said that the Azerbaijani government is seriously studying the recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO). “Azerbaijan is taking the necessary measures in this direction. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has already warned citizens about the issue of trips to Iran,” he said.

It was also reported that necessary measures have been taken in medical institutions in the regions, situated on the border with Iran – Bilasuvar, Lankaran, Masalli, Jalilabad, and Astara.

The Economy Ministry reported on the increase in the price of medical masks, as these products were imported from foreign countries.

The press-service of Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC reported that Buta Airways currently does not plan to make changes to the current flight schedule to Iran. “In particular, low-cost airline Buta Airways that operates daily flights on the Baku-Tehran-Baku route, plans to continue the flights in accordance with the current schedule. Also, I would like to inform you that Heydar Aliyev International Airport and other airports of Azerbaijan will not impose any restrictions on flights operated by Iran Air,” AZAL President Jahangir Asgarov said.

Due to the threat of the spread of coronavirus, Turkey closed its borders not only with Iran, but also with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. According to local sources, due to the blockade of roads, prices for food products increased in Nakhchivan.

Georgia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia released a statement regarding the outbreak of the virus in Iran.

„Under the circumstances, the Government of Georgia has decided to suspend flight to and from Iran. According to the official decision, empty planes can enter Georgia in order to take Iranian tourists back to their country.For the time being, the land border will remain open for movement, though strict restrictions will be imposed and we will actively work with neighboring countries in this regard. The Georgian government is monitoring ongoing developments and carries on working with Armenia and Azerbaijan. If need be, we will not rule out imposing restrictions on the movement on the land borders as well,” read the statement.

The Georgian MFA also called all citizens to refrain from travelling to Iran.

The proportion of infected patients dying from Covid-19 appears to be between 1% and 2%, although the WHO cautions that the mortality rate is not known yet. It was reported that about 77,000 people in China have been infected and nearly 2,600 died so far.

It has also been reported that Chinese scientists have developed a vaccine, which, preliminarily, proved efficient against the coronavirus, but that it is just on a preliminary level and that it needs further checks and developments. 

The South Caucasus countries already reacted and took measures when the virus originally broke out in China (Caucasus Watch reported).