Azerbaijan extends coronavirus restrictions until Aug. 31

Reuters
·1 min read
An Azeri law enforcement officer checks the resident's permission to leave home received in a text message in Baku

BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan has extended coronavirus lockdown restrictions, including the closure of its borders, until Aug. 31 after a further rise in the number of infections, the government said on Friday.

It said people in big cities including the capital Baku would be allowed to leave their homes only with special permission from July 20 until Aug. 5.

Shopping malls, cinemas, restaurants, cafes and museums in those cities remained closed, while beauty salons will be reopened.

Azerbaijan introduced measures to stem the coronavirus on March 24 and has extended them several times, most recently until Aug. 1.

The South Caucasus country of about 10 million people had registered 26,636 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 341 deaths as of Friday.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Mark Heinrich)