On 14 May, the Armenian government extended the state of emergency in the country until 13 June. 

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that this measure was needed in order to halt the rapid growing numbers of infected persons in the country. “The problem is that we have a situation where more than 70% of our positively diagnosed citizens are going through the disease asymptomatically,” he stressed. Pashinyan added that the government will not resort to imposing corresponding restrictions and will try to persuade people to follow safety rules.

Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister and commandant of the state of emergency Tigran Avinyan announced later in the day that starting from  25 May the authorities would make it mandatory for everyone to wear a face mask in the streets and other public spaces and added that sharp fines would be imposed on those who break it.  “If a store owner doesn’t have a face mask, the store may be shut down. If it is established that the particular store is a source for the spread of the virus, it will be shut down,” he said, adding that, in this case, both the owner of the store and the person without a face mask will be fined.

Avinyan also said that the government decided to lift on 18 May its ban on public transport in Yerevan and other urban centers and to reopen kindergartens, shopping malls, indoor restaurants, cafes and gyms.

The current tally of infected persons in Armenia stands at 4044, with 52 reported deaths.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, the government announced that it will end the state of emergency in the country on 22 May and continued further easing the restrictions. “We made the decision to raise the restriction on the gathering of more than three people both indoors and outdoors to a maximum of ten. However, this does not mean that the restriction on the presence of three people per car will also be lifted,” said Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia. He also announced that, starting from 18 May, beauty salons and aesthetic centers will be reopened, and the quarantine zone in Marneuli municipality would be lifted.

Gakharia also spoke about Georgia’s plans to open its borders and the arrival of the first tourists in the country. He noted that successful negotiations were underway with a number of countries on this issue, particularly with the Czech Republic, Poland, the Baltic states, Austria and Georgia’s neighboring countries. “The first such country seems to be Israel, with which we will have a safe green corridor, and which will provide an opportunity for Georgia to welcome tourists soon,“ he stated.

The current tally of infected persons in Georgia stands at 671, with 12 reported deaths.