We want to hear from you! You can send us your stories, photos, and videos about the coronavirus via Facebook, Twitter, or email at [email protected].

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

New outbreak in Adygea attributed to funeral

The head of the Adygean Federal Service for Human Wellbeing, Sergey Zavgorodniy, has attributed a recent spike in new cases to local residents not observing safety guidelines. 

Zavgorodniy cited a funeral held on 1 May in northern Adygea’s Krasnogvardeysky District as a case in point.

As of today, officials have confirmed 151 cases in the district — almost 29% the total in the region. 

Local press earlier reported that the funeral in the village of Bzhedugkhabl was attended by around 500. 

Mandatory safety measures in force in Adygea since 12 May include wearing face masks and gloves and keeping social distance in public facilities. 

The 64 new confirmed cases reported this morning was the highest daily rise in numbers in Adygea so far. 

Officials said they had put several settlements in Krasnogvardeysky under lockdown.

Patients and doctors quarantined in Stavropol Krai hospital after two patients test positive 

Patients and doctors in four departments of the Pyatigorsk City Hospital will be quarantined inside the hospital for the next 2 weeks after two patients were diagnosed with COVID-19.

The two patients, who sought emergency cardiological care several days ago, later developed symptoms of a respiratory illness. 

At the time of their hospitalisation, they were showing no signs of COVID-19 infection, but later they tested positive. They have been transferred to other medical facilities.

At least three Muftis in North Caucasus have contracted coronavirus

The Spiritual Administration of North Ossetia’s Muslims have confirmed today that the region’s Mufti, Khadzhimurat Gatsalov, has been hospitalised with the novel coronavirus.

Yesterday, Mufti of Daghestan Akhmad Abdulayev, who has already recovered from the virus, urged fellow Muslims to remain indoors and send each other videos instead of visiting each for Eid al-Fitr.

Last Sunday, Ismail Berdiyev, the Mufti of Karachay-Cherkessia and of all the North Caucasus, was also hospitalised with suspected COVID-19. 

On 11 April, Mufti of Ingushetia Abdurakhman Martazanov died due to COVID-19 complications, two days after he was hospitalised with bilateral pneumonia.

Mufti’s are the traditional spiritual leaders of Muslims in the North Caucasus.

Almost 17% of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Georgia were asymptomatic as of April

A study published yesterday by Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed that 16.6% of the 511 cases confirmed by 28 April were asymptomatic before their hospitalisation. 

The top three clinical symptoms reported were fever, generalised weakness, and a cough, according to the study. 

The NCNC also indicated that in early March, each person who contracted the virus in Georgia infected an average of 3.88 other people. They said that by 11 May this number had dropped to 0.47.

Summary

Welcome to OC Media’s coronavirus live updates for Wednesday, 20 May. We will be bringing you the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic from around the Caucasus.

The biggest developments from yesterday: 

Georgia’s government has lifted the quarantine in eight villages in the southern Bolnisi Municipality. The decision came four days after the government put another village, Geta, and kept the village of Mushevani village under a strict lockdown following 15 new cases being confirmed between them. 

In addition to the few villages under stricter control, a state of emergency remains in force in Bolnisi Municipality but is due to expire along with the rest of the country on 22 May.

UFC champion and resident of Daghestan Khabib Nurmagomedov has called on his fellow Daghestanis to observe shelter-at-home rules during Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan (23-24 May). In a video address posted to Instagram on Monday, Nurmagomedov revealed that ‘over 20’ of his close relatives, including his father, have been infected with COVID-19 and hospitalised, with 'many of them' succumbing to complications caused by the virus. 

Several Russian news outlets have reported that North Ossetia – Alania’s  Minister of Health, Tamerlan Gogichayev, who is also a Deputy Head of Republic, has gone ‘on a sick leave’ starting on Tuesday.

The agency has not confirmed nor denied if Gogichayev contracted COVID-19.

Read the latest stories:

• 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’
• South Ossetia confirms first three coronavirus cases
• Protests in Azerbaijan over job losses and unpaid leave
• 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
• Farmers in Georgia’s Marneuli protest inability to sell crops 
• Police clash with anti-stay-at-home protesters in North Ossetia 
• In pictures | Life under quarantine in Gyumri
• Georgian social workers forced to pay for taxis to visit domestic abuse victims