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Village in Karachay-Cherkessia protests lack of treatment

Residents of Uchkeken, a village in the north-east of Karachay-Cherkessia, have held a spontaneous rally demanding treatment for COVID-19 and pneumonia. 

According to Kavkaz.Realii, residents of Uchkeken have for several days reported that people with COVID-19 are not being tested for the virus or receiving treatment. They have also reportedly complained of a lack of medicine and medical equipment.

‘We need help, we need military hospitals’, one protester said.

Azerbaijanis stranded in Daghestan ‘on hunger strike’ 

According to local media, a group of Azerbaijani citizens remaining in a makeshift tent in Kullar settlement of Derbent District of Daghestan are on hunger strike demanding a return to their homeland. 

Russian news agency Ria Derbet reported yesterday that of the 60 Azerbaijanis on hunger strike, most had been in Daghestan waiting to cross the border for the last two months. 

After closing their borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic on 5 April, the Azerbaijani government allowed in only a gradual intake of their own citizens, reportedly several hundred, through the Daghestan portion of Russian-Azerbaijani border. Many others remained stuck in Russia, with media reporting at least 800, but likely more. 

The local medical authorities have grown worried about Daghestan’s Magaramkentski and Derbentski districts potentially becoming hotbeds of COVID-19 outbreak. Most of the stranded Azerbaijani nationals are currently housed in temporary camps in these districts.  

Rail travel returns in Georgia from 15 June

The ban on transportation via trains in Georgia will be lifted on 15 June.

According to Georgian Railway, Georgia’s national rail company, they are ready to safely transport passengers and will be following the recommendations of health officials. 

Wearing face masks will be mandatory for passengers and, according to the Georgian Railway, passengers will also have their temperature checked and will be provided hand sanitiser.

Pashinyan and his family recover from coronavirus 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he and his family members have recovered from COVID-19. 

He posted on Facebook on Monday that they had each taken two tests and all the results were negative. 

‘Of course, we need to reconsider the timing and circumstances of our infection. But at the moment, it's important that we're all healthy and immune. Thank you for all the good wishes to us during this time. I'm fully back to work’, the Armenian Prime Minister said.

10 ventilators to be sent to Armenia from Georgia

Director of Aliq Media Pavel Oganezov has helped purchase 10 ventilators through a donation of a close friend. These ventilators will be sent to Armenia and donated to the All-Armenia Fund. There are plans to purchase an additional 17 ventilators soon. 

Through the support of the Armenian Embassy in Georgia, the ventilators will be able to pass through the Armenian-Georgian border which is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is only open for cargo transportation. 

According to Aliq Media, other aid projects are also being planned.

Currently, Oganezov and other Georgian-Armenians have also started the ‘One Mask, One Life’ campaign which aims to purchase and send face masks to Armenia for socially vulnerable groups. Wearing face masks is mandatory in Armenia in all outdoor and indoor spaces.

The campaign has called on the Armenian community in Georgia to make donations. Today, an Armenian businessman from Tbilisi purchased and donated 3,000 masks to the campaign. 

Those who want to make a donation can do so by transferring funds to the following bank account: GE03BG0000000345892183 (Bank of Georgia, Badaliani Arshak). 

Georgian students demand to do exams through mobile phones

A group of students at Tsereteli State University in Kutaisi, Georgia's third-largest city, held a rally today demanding the right to be tested through their mobile phones. 

The local news outlet Kutaisipost quoted one student saying that 40% of them don't have access to computers.

Students also claimed that due to lack of computer access several hundred of them, who hail from outside of Kutaisi, were unable to pass the end of year exams.

While the University recently promised to provide enough computers on their premises from 5 July onward, students also insisted on remote testing through their mobile phones to avoid sitting in a hot enclosed space while also wearing protective face masks. 

So far, Georgian authorities have maintained a ban on air conditioning in public facilities. They consider AC to be a vector for virus transmission. 

‘First stage’ of lifting lockdown begins in Ingushetia

Today, as part of the ‘first stage’ of lifting COVID-19 restrictions, the head of  Ingushetia Makhmud Ali Kalimatov has allowed non-food retail shops, beauty salons, dry cleaners, medical centres, and offices providing legal services to begin operating again.

From today, the Ingushetian government also reopened intercity and interregional transport hubs.

A mandatory stay-in-place order for persons above 65 remains in force. Wearing a face mask outside of the home also remains mandatory.

Ban on inter-city transport and other restrictions partially lifted in Georgia

Today, Georgian authorities have allowed currency exchange booths, hotels, and food establishments to reopen provided they follow specific safety instructions. Restaurants, cafes, and bars are now allowed to host patrons inside.

As of today, inter-city connections are also back while passengers are required to wear protective face masks all times while travelling. This excludes air and rail travel. The latter is expected to be back on 15 June but the date has not yet been confirmed.

The Georgian government banned public transport on 23 March.

A ban on sport and recreational facilities remains in place.

Summary

Welcome to OC Media’s coronavirus live updates for Monday, 8 June. We will be bringing you the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic from around the Caucasus.

The biggest developments over the weekend:

On Sunday, Armenia registered 766 new COVID-19 cases, the latest record in daily increase since 4 June. On Friday, PM Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia was ‘going through hell’. 

The muftiate of Ingushetia, the local Muslim religious authority, announced the reopening mosques for worshippers this Friday, provided that the situation does not deteriorate in the North Caucasus republic. 

On Saturday, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko named three Russian regions with ‘concerning’ epidemiological situation which included two North Caucasus republics — North Ossetia and Daghestan.

Read the latest stories:

• Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and family test positive for COVID-19
• Armenian COVID-19 ‘fake news’ site was funded by US
• ‘A lost year’ — How the global pandemic has hit Azerbaijan’s economy
• COVID-19 outbreak in Daghestan ‘significantly understated’
• Armenia continues to reopen despite steady growth in new cases of COVID-19
• Chechens ‘beaten and detained’ by security forces for leaving home on Eid al-Fitr
• New law allows Georgian government to restrict rights without declaring state of emergency
• WHO recommendations ‘widely disregarded’ in South Ossetia’s Akhalgori
• Man disappears in Grozny after returning to be with family during pandemic
• Georgian Health Ministry cancels contract for ‘Dutch-made’ tests that were made in China
• Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh ‘vulnerable to COVID-19 pandemic’
• Georgia plans corona-safe ‘tourist zones’
• Critical shortages‘ of protective equipment reported in Daghestan’s hospitals
• Transgender woman sets herself on fire in Tbilisi
• Voice | The women on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic

Police clash with anti-stay-at-home protesters in North Ossetia