Tag Archives: Coronavirus

Georgia to lift ban on international flights from Feb. 1

JAN. 22 2021 (The Bulletin) — Georgia will lift a ban on international flights, imposed to try to reduce the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, from Feb. 1, media quoted Georgian economy minister Natia Turnava as saying. Tourism has become a major part of the Georgian economy over the decade and the banning of flights into Georgia for a year has hit it hard. Georgia has started to slowly lift its strict coronavirus restrictions.

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— This story was first published in issue 469 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Georgia to reopen shops from Feb. 1

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JAN. 22 2021 (The Bulletin) –Georgia’s government said that after a compulsory coronavirus lockdown, shops will be allowed to reopen from Feb. 1 and that a month later, on March 1, schools and public transport will restart operations. Georgia had been praised for its tough initial lockdown but had to redouble efforts in the autumn after a far worse-than-expected second wave.

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— This story was first published in issue 469 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Coronavirus pandemic supresses inflation in Uzbekistan

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JAN. 21 2021 (The Bulletin) — The annual rate of inflation in Uzbekistan slowed to 11.1% in 2020 from 15.2% in 2019 because of a drop in demand linked to the coronavirus pandemic, Uzbekistan’s Central Bank said in a statement explaining why it kept interest rates steady at 14%. The exception to this drop in inflation was food prices which continued to rise. The Central Bank said, for example, that eggs rose in price by 42%.

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— This story was first published in issue 469 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Coronavirus hits Georgian banks

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TBILISI/JAN. 21 2021 (The Bulletin) — Profit at Georgia’s 15 commercial banks fell by nearly 90% last year, the Central Bank said, reflecting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its economy.

It said that it expected profits at the banks to be 100m lari ($30.3m) in 2020 compared to 950m lari in 2019.

Medical experts praised Georgia for its initial hard and fast response to the coronavirus, although economists also said that this had a tough impact on its economy.

And the assessment of banks’ profit drop was given only a couple of days before Fitch, the ratings agency, downgraded the so-called support ratings of TBC Bank, Bank of Georgia and Liberty Bank to 5 from 4 because their liabilities are now larger than the Central Bank’s reserves.

The support rating is a measure of the ability of the Central Bank to prop up commercial banks, if needed.

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— This story was first published in issue 469 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Coronavirus forces closure of Kazatomprom mines

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JAN. 20 2021 (The Bulletin) — Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s majority state-owned uranium miner, suspended operations at two of its mines in the south of the country after workers tested positive for the coronavirus. Kazatomprom didn’t say how many workers had contracted the coronavirus at its sites in the Turkestan region, nor for how long they will be closed for. Kazatomprom also didn’t say what effect the closures would have on output.

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— This story was first published in issue 469 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Armenian president discharged from London hospital

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JAN. 18 2021 (The Bulletin) — Armenian President Armen Sarkisyan was discharged from a London hospital where he had been receiving treatment for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Armenian officials said that Mr Sarkisyan had travelled to London to receive treatment on a foot injury when he caught the virus.

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— This story was first published in issue 469 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Azerbaijan says to start Covid-19 vaccinations on Feb. 1

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JAN. 18 2021 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan will start vaccinating its population against Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, from Feb. 1 using China’s Sinovac vaccine. The country’s health ministry said that it would vaccinate medical workers and the over 65s first. Kazakhstan also said that it would start its own vaccination plan from Feb. 1 using Russia’s Sputnik-V.

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— This story was first published in issue 469 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Coronavirus deathtoll in Kyrgyzstan is higher than officials say –Deptuy PM

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JAN. 15 2021 (The Bulletin) –Kyrgyz deputy PM Elvira Surabaldiyeva said that the actual number of people who have died from Covid-19 in Kyrgyzstan may be several times higher than the official death toll of 1,400. Analysts and medical experts said for much of 2020 that Kyrgyzstan was downplaying the impact of the coronavirus.

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— This story was first published in issue 469 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Tashkent-Dushanbe flight starts up again

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JAN. 5 2021 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan Airways flew the first charter flight between Tashkent and Dushanbe since March when flights were suspended because of the intensifying coronavirus pandemic. The return of the Tashkent – Dushanbe route is an important signifier that internal routes in Central Asia are beginning to return to normal.

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— This story was first published in issue 467 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Kyrgyzstan is near herd immunity, says health minister

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JAN. 5 2021 (The Bulletin) — Alymkadyr Beishenaliev, Kyrgyzstan’s health minister, said that the coronavirus has already ripped through the Kyrgyz population and that something close to herd immunity has been reached. Kyrgyzstan has imposed only a handful of restrictions on people entering the country. People have also mainly ignored facemask wearing and social distancing campaigns.

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— This story was first published in issue 467 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin