APRIL 19 2024 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan banned vapes because it said that the e-cigarettes were bad for people’s health. Vaping in Kazakhstan has boomed, especially among young people.
ENDS
— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024
JAN. 2 2023 (The Bulletin) — Poisonous cough medicine has killed at least 19 children in Uzbekistan, officials said. The Doc-1 Max cough medicine, produced by Indian manufacturer Marion Biotech, reportedly contained excessive levels of toxins used to make antifreeze. All Doc-1 Max products have now been withdrawn from Uzbekistan and reports said that Uzbek police had arrested several officials who had approved the cough medicine. Campaigners say the authorities need to tighten up their oversight of drugs sold in Uzbekistan.
ENDS
— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2023
NOV. 3 2021 (The Bulletin) — Georgia’s President Salome Zurabishvili said that to accelerate Georgia’s flagging coronavirus vaccination rate, the government needed to take stricter measures including introducing vaccine passports and making unvaccinated people who fall ill with Covid-19 pay for their treatment. Around 60 people are dying a day in Georgia with Covid-19, fast approaching Georgia’s high of around 80.
ENDS
— This story was published in issue 506 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Nov. 4 2021
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021
NOV. 1 2021 (The Bulletin) — Armenia’s government made it mandatory once again to wear masks in public to try to dampen a rise in the coronavirus infection rate. The authorities are increasingly worried that the health service in Armenia is on the brink of collapse because of the rise in coronavirus cases. Its schools and universities have also switched to online learning.
ENDS
— This story was published in issue 506 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Nov. 4 2021
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021
NOV. 1 2021 (The Bulletin) — Turkmenistan, one of the only countries in the world to claim that it hasn’t had a single case of the coronavirus, said that it was extending its lockdown measures. A lockdown that closed shops, restaurants and bars was imposed in August and was supposed to run until the end of October. This has now been officially extended until mid-November.
ENDS
— This story was published in issue 506 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Nov. 4 2021
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021
OCT. 29 2021 (The Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan said that people working in the culture, leisure and sports sectors will need to have a full vaccination programme. Like other governments in the region, Kyrgyzstan is trying to boost its vaccination rate. Only around 12% of its population have had two doses of the coronavirus vaccination.
ENDS
— This story was published in issue 506 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Nov. 4 2021
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021
OCT. 27 2021 (The Bulletin) — Health officials in Azerbaijan said that they had detected six cases of a new variant of the coronavirus which has been described as 15 times more dangerous than the Delta variant. The AY.4.2 variant was first discovered in Britain, the US and Israel but has now spread to other countries.
–ENDS–
— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021
BISHKEK/OCT. 27 2021 (The Bulletin) — Police closed down branches of Pizza Empire in Kyrgyzstan after 300 people fell ill after eating at one of its Bishkek restaurants.
The mass poisoning, one of the biggest recorded in Central Asia, highlights concerns that some people have had with hygiene and food safety standards in Kyrgyzstan.
Media reports said that of the 300 people who had been poisoned, 40 have been hospitalised. Pizza Empire often shares a restaurant, and a kitchen, with Sushi Empire.
–ENDS–
— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021
OCT. 26 2021 (The Bulletin) — Police in Georgia raided a travel agency in Tbilisi that was producing fake coronavirus vaccination certificates for Georgians travelling abroad. Media reported that the certificates would have allowed Georgians to skip quarantine rules in Europe. Around a quarter of Georgia’s population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
–ENDS–
— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021
OCT. 26 2021 (The Bulletin) — Kazakh health officials moved Almaty and Nur Sultan out of their red risk zone for the coronavirus because the infection rates in both cities had dropped. The cities had been classified as red zone since the start of the summer when Kazakhstan faced a spike in infections. This has now eased off, thanks, Kazakh officials have said, to a relatively successful vaccination programme. Around 40% of the population have received two coronavirus vaccinations.
–ENDS–
— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021