From fashion designers to restauranteurs - how coronavirus has changed life in Abkhazia
Abkhazia reported its first case of coronavirus on March 30. A resident of the Gal district of Abkhazia returned home from Russia, and the next day she was hospitalized in a Georgian clinic.
That evening, the whole area was cordoned off by police. The rest of Abkhazia is still subject to the same restrictions that were introduced on March 28 in an attempt to prevent the coronavirus from spreading to the area.
The border with Russia has been closed since March 28, and with Georgia – since March 12. Students switched over to distance learning, and public transport shut down.
All tourist agencies and organizations are closed, and tours are prohibited. All restaurants and stores are also closed, excluding grocery stores and pharmacies.
Residents of Abkhazia on life during a state of emergency
For the restaurant Loft, the busiest time of day was always the lunch rush. from 1-3 pm, it’s impossible to find an empty table, as the restaurant is packed full of government officials, bank employees, and office workers.
After all catering facilities were temporarily closed due to the epidemic threat, the restaurant’s owner Fatima Khetagurova sent part of the cooks and waiters on unpaid leave until April 7th, which is when the current ban ceases to be in effect.
But the restaurant continued to work delivering food, and this is how Fatima hopes to keep her business running.
It is hard to say how successful she has been After all, most of the people ordering lunches were office workers, but most offices were shut down in the quarantine.
Forty fashion designers in Sukhumi who work for the Modateks fashion agency were suddenly forced to change occupations. They set all their current orders aside and started sewing medical masks.
There are eight different workshops, with five people to each assembly line. One irons the fabric, the second folds it, the third sews stitches on a machine, the fourth sews on rubber loops, the fifth irons the finished product again, thus sterilizing it.
Famous Abkhazian bloggers posted videos about how they are spending their time at home. Natalia Bojgua on Instagram warns people of the consequences of breaking quarantine and leaving the house unnecessarily.
But retirees and mothers with children are still taking strolls through the parks.
For example, Marina Kobakhia goes to the playground with her three-year-old grandson every day from 11-1 pm.
“We don’t go to indoor play places where children are jumping on the same trampoline,” the woman says, while her grandson slides down a metal slide, a neighbor boy in his lap.
