The latest stories:

• Opinion | The conflict between Church and state during a pandemic endangers us all
• In pictures | Tbilisi’s first night under curfew
• Georgia introduces curfew
• Analysis | Air pollution in Tbilisi nearly halved by COVID-19 measures
• Azerbaijani students ‘beaten’ after complaining about quarantine conditions
• South Ossetia goes into quarantine
• Abkhazia to enter state of emergency from Saturday
• In pictures | Tbilisi in a state of emergency
• Azerbaijan arrests opposition activists during Covid-19 outbreak
• Azerbaijan declares ‘special quarantine regime’
• Georgia declares state of emergency

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That’s it for today, join us again tomorrow for more Coronavirus live updates.

Up to 100 medical workers in western Georgia placed in isolation after doctor diagnosed with COVID-19

Up to 100 medical workers were isolated in Sachkhere, western Georgia, after a doctor was discovered to have been infected with the novel coronavirus. 

The director of Sachkhere clinic told Formula News that they are currently treating three novel coronavirus patients, one of their doctors among them. 

He added that doctors were fully equipped when in contact with COVID-19 patients and it is unknown exactly how the doctor caught the virus. 

As of 5 April, 170 cases of COVID-19 were reported in Georgia. Thirty six have recovered, 5067 are in quarantine, and 330 are under doctor observation.

New computers and tablets for Armenia’s Kotayk province

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports announced that on 6 April, in collaboration with the SMART Foundation and telecom network operator Ucom, 30 computers will be given to 10+ families with two or more children in Kotayk province.

Also, 50 new tablets will be provided to schools in 15 villages in the province to be redistributed to families in need so that their children can take part in the online distance learning programmes launched throughout the country.

Armenia’s COVID-19 infections doubling weekly

Armenia’s Health Minister Arsen Torosyan has announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country doubles every week, a trend that he said state authorities had calculated on 31 March.

The graphs show that in the last week, Armenia’s coronavirus numbers doubled from 424 on 28 March, to 822 today, 5 April.

Based on this dynamic, by 7 April Armenia may have as many as 1000 confirmed cases, and 2000 confirmed cases by 15 April. 

Torosyan has said that the state’s immediate goal is to bring the numbers of new infections down so that the number of patients who have recovered is equivalent to that of new cases, before having recoveries overtake new cases. 

[Caption: Graph showing increase in COVID-19 cases in Armenia. Screenshot of Arsen Torosyan’s Facebook page.] 

Armenian engineers refurbish ventilators

Armenia’s Ministry of High-Tech Industries has announced that engineers have refurbished seven ventilators and they are ready to be used by COVID-19 patients. 

As of 2 April, the country has 55 ventilators, five of which are currently in use. The country is currently seeking to manufacture new ventilators domestically.

Azerbaijan adopts new measures to support economy 

Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov has approved an action plan on a number of new measures to reduce the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government will partially cover the salaries of 300,000 workers in the areas affected by the pandemic, and provide financial support to 300,000 individual entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic.

Entrepreneurs will receive partial exemptions from property and land taxes, as well as VAT exemptions on the import of food and medical products. Sixty percent of new loans will be guaranteed by the government,  and it will also subsidize half of the interest.

In the agricultural sector, a new mechanism for issuing unsecured microloans will be created. 

From 10 March, 10% of the interest payments on existing loans owed by entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic will be subsidised.

Vusal Gasimli, Executive Director of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications, told Trend that, in addition to the ₼2.5 billion ($1.5 billion) allocated by the Presidential Decree for mitigating the impact of COVID-19  the unemployment insurance fund and the State Social Protection Fund will also allocate ₼340 million ($200 million).

The total sum allocated to fight the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan currently totals ₼3 billion ($1.8 billion).

Pre-trial detention extended for Ingushetia protestors, despite COVID-19 risks

The Stavropol Krai Court has extended the length of pre-trial detention for Ingushetia protestors Musa Malsagov, Barakh Chemurziyev, Ismail Nalgiyev, Akhmed Barakhoyev and Malsag Uzhakhov until 25 June, the Russian human rights group Memorial reports.

The men were arrested over allegedly inciting violence during last year’s protests in Magas, Ingushetia, against a land transfer deal that transferred 9% of Ingushetia’s territory to neighbouring Chechnya. 

[Read more on OC Media: One year since Ingushetia’s protests]

Two of them, Barakhoyev and Uzhakhov, are over 65 and are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Uzhakhov also suffers from diabetes and arterial hypertension, which creates a further serious risk to his health.

Lawyers for the other two detainees report that in March their clients were placed in a pre-trial detention centre in the city of Pyatigorsk in the same room as people under COVID-19 quarantine, from whom they could have contracted the virus.

The terms of legal custody for all five expire in April and early May, and the investigation into their cases has been completed. 

238 fined in Georgia over past 24 hours for violating state of emergency rules

According to the Interior Ministry, in the past 24 hours, 238 people were fined in Georgia for violating the rules of the state of emergency. Among them, 113 were fined for violating the curfew, which bans citizens from venturing outside of the home from 21:00 to 06:00.

Twenty-one individuals were fined for violating not remaining at a minimum two-metre distance from others in public or for being a part of a gathering of 3+ people. 

The fine for violating the state of emergency rules is ₾3000 ($950) for individuals and ₾15 000 ($4,750) for legal entities.

Second coronavirus patient dies in Georgia

The second novel coronavirus patient has died in Georgia, health officials reported on Sunday. 

The deceased was an 81-year-old woman, who had suffered from a number of other conditions including Myocardial infarction, heart failure, and arterial hypertension

According to Levan Ratiani, the head of the First University Clinic, the patient was so vulnerable, any disease could have aggravated her condition.

As of 5 April, 170 cases of coronavirus infection were reported in Georgia. Thirty-six have recovered, 5067 people are in quarantine, and 330 are under doctor observation.

Summary

Welcome to OC Media’s coronavirus live updates for Sunday, 5 April. We will be bringing you the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic from around the Caucasus.

The biggest developments from yesterday:

In South Ossetia, the authorities announced they would ‘fully close’ the Roki-Nizhny Zaramag crossing with Russia’s North Ossetia starting from today until a ‘special border regime’ can be established, no later than 12 April. 

Georgia registered the first fatality of a person who had tested positive for COVID-19 — a 79-year-old woman who was hospitalised on 31 March with preexisting medical conditions. 

Police in Azerbaijan said they had fined over 2,000 people in a day for leaving their homes unnecessarily. 

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Read more from yesterday as well as the latest stories:

• Opinion | The conflict between Church and state during a pandemic endangers us all
• In pictures | Tbilisi’s first night under curfew
• Georgia introduces curfew
• Analysis | Air pollution in Tbilisi nearly halved by COVID-19 measures
• Azerbaijani students ‘beaten’ after complaining about quarantine conditions
• South Ossetia goes into quarantine
• Abkhazia to enter state of emergency from Saturday
• In pictures | Tbilisi in a state of emergency
• Azerbaijan arrests opposition activists during COVID-19 outbreak
• Azerbaijan declares ‘special quarantine regime’
• Georgia quarantines Marneuli and Bolnisi