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

Stavropol Krai medical workers  report missing COVID-19 bonuses

Laboratory assistants at the Petrovsky District Hospital in the city of Svetlograd, in Stavropol Krai, report that they have not received promised bonuses for working with COVID-19 patients, local outlet Bloknot-Stavropol reports.

According to the report, an employee of the X-ray laboratory said that she and her colleagues work directly in the infectious diseases department, where patients with COVID-19 are placed.

Azerbaijan to provide financial assistance to unemployed from hardest-hit regions

The Azerbaijani government has announced they will provide ₼190 ($110) in assistance to unemployed citizens living in the regions of the country hardest hit by COVID-19.

The measure will cover residents of the cities of Baku, Sumgayit, Ganja, and Lankaran, and the Absheron, Yevlakh, Jalilabad, and Masalli districts.

According to the document adopted by the government, the payment will be provided after a re-evaluation of their employment status.

Karachay-Cherkessia starts lifting restrictions

Karachay-Cherkessia has begun the first stage of lifting anti-COVID-19 restrictions, the head of the republic Rashid Temrezov has announced.

Starting today, non-food stores with a floor space of ​​up to 400 square metres, hairdressers, household services companies, dental clinics, and car services and repair shops are opening.

Inter-municipal passenger transport will also resume.

‘It’s the fourth day since the number of discharged patients has been greater than the number hospitalised,’ Temrezov said.

He said that 1,200 people were being tested per day and that a reserve hospital had been set aside which had still not admitted patients, which he said he hoped would not be needed.

Mariam Nikuradze gives interview with Media Checker

OC Media co-founder and co-director Mariam Nikuradze recently sat down with Georgian media watchdog Media Checker to speak about how the pandemic has affected the organisation’s work.

She spoke about the changes to the team’s workflow under the State of Emergency, and the increased pressure the pandemic has put the team under.

She also addressed the unique challenges of working in the North Caucasus, Azerbaijan, and conflict regions, including the difficulty in verifying information. 

Nikuradze also discussed OC Media’s newly launched reader-funding revenue model, which you can find out more about at: oc-media.org/support_us

You can read the whole interview (in Georgian) on mediachecker.ge.

Pashinyan: no patients left waiting for hospitalisation

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has said there are no coronavirus patients waiting at home to be hospitalised. In his statement on Facebook on Tuesday, he also warned that the healthcare system did have limitations. 

‘Remember, 15 out of 100 new infected people will inevitably be hospitalised, five of whom will inevitably end up in the intensive care unit, two of whom will unfortunately die despite all efforts’, said Pashinyan.

He called on the public to wear face masks, keep social distancing, and regularly wash hands. 

As of 23 June, 20,588 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Armenia; 9,131 patients have recovered and 477 have died. 

Summary

Welcome to OC Media’s coronavirus live updates for Monday, 22 June. We will be bringing you the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic from around the Caucasus.

Read the latest stories:

• Stranded Azerbaijanis clash with Daghestani police at border
• 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