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

Chechnya plans to ‘remove 90% of restrictions’ after 20 June

‘On 20-21 [June], if not 100%, then almost 90% [restrictions] will be removed. We have every opportunity for this’, Chechnya head Ramzan Kadyrov announced today. He said that ‘restaurants and cafes on the street’, as well as parks and playgrounds, will open soon.

‘Everything we do shows effectiveness. We have fewer morbidity than in other regions, there are more dead and recovered’, Kadyrov was quoted as saying by TASS.

Ambulance crew protest in Azerbaijan

A group of ambulance crews from the Absheron District Central Hospital in eastern Azerbaijan have held a protest against poor working conditions and unpaid bonuses.

During the protest on Wednesday, protesters complained that despite working with patients who are running a fever, they have not received the promised bonuses to their salaries.

Read the full story: Ambulance crews protest in Azerbaijan’s Absheron.

Georgian Dream says no reason for elections to be postponed

Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party has reiterated that they do not expect the epidemiological situation to deteriorate, something that could lead to delayed parliamentary elections. However, they’re also not ruling out the possibility of moving them from October to December.

The Georgian government is yet to come up with specific regulations minimising the risks for COVID-19 transmission during the vote. According to Georgia's Constitution, elections should be held no earlier than 45 days after the lifting of a state of emergency nationwide. 

The makeup of the tenth convocation of Georgian Parliament is to be decided on last Saturday of October, a period that could hypothetically coincide with a possible 'second wave' of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Georgia.

Stranded Azerbaijanis clash with Daghestani police at border

Dozens of Azerbaijanis stranded in Daghestan have clashed with police and border guards near the Russian–Azerbaijani border. Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the violence.

The brawl took place on Monday evening near a temporary camp set up outside the village of Kullar to house hundreds of Azerbaijani citizens who the Azerbaijani authorities have refused to allow to return home.

After closing their borders due to COVID-19 on 5 April, Azerbaijani authorities have allowed only a limited number of their citizens to enter through the border with Russia.

Read the full story: Stranded Azerbaijanis clash with Daghestani police at border.

Carrying identification mandatory in Armenia

In Armenia, starting today members of the public will be required to carry identification with them at all times when outside of the home.

According to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, this will help police with filing reports on violations of safety regulations.

Those citizens who do not have identification documents will be fined ֏10,000 ($21). Citizens may also be fined ֏10,000 ($21) for not wearing a mask.

Two employees of Azerbaijani parliament infected with COVID-19

Two employees of Azerbaijan’s parliament Milli Majlis tested positive for Covid-19, APA reported.

Nagorno-Karabakh registers 12 new cases

Today, authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have reported 12 new cases of the novel coronavirus, identified within the last 24 hours. 

According to them, all of them are from southeastern Province of Hadrut. 

A state of emergency, declared on 12 April, remains in place in Nagorno-Karabakh until 11 July.

 For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.

Summary

Welcome to OC Media’s coronavirus live updates for Wednesday, 16 June. We will be bringing you the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic from around the Caucasus.

The biggest developments from yesterday:

Azerbaijan passed 10,000 confirmed cases, registering 367 new infections.

The Norwegian Human Rights House Foundation accused the Azerbaijani authorities of continuing to clamp down on critics under the ‘guise of protecting public health’. 

Georgia meanwhile reported no new cases in the previous 24 hours.

The Georgian Health Ministry also announced that their mobile tracking application Stop COVID helped them to identify 10 cases of infection, the latest being on 7 June. 

Read the latest stories:

• Colony 13: Coronavirus in an Azerbaijani prison
• Azerbaijan’s total lockdown weekend marked by police violence 
• Pashinyan fires top security officials after wedding party
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Georgia plans corona-safe ‘tourist zones’
• Critical shortages‘ of protective equipment reported in Daghestan’s hospitals
• Voice | The women on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic