Baku to reopen metro among high infection rates, many concerned

From May 9, the Baku Metro will reopen, despite high rates of infection in the country.

The metro first closed on March 22 under the quarantine regime.

It will be possible to enter the metro only by showing a certificate of employment or an SMS permission to leave the house from the authorities.

Medical masks will be necessary in the subway. The authorities promise that masks can be bought at pharmacies at stations.

They also promise that the metro will operate in an enhanced mode, and the interval between trains will be reduced to a minimum.

For a month and a half, while the subway was closed, the transportation load fell on buses. Despite the quarantine and all the restrictions that accompany it, the buses were overloaded, especially in those traveling from the center to the outskirts and to other residential areas. The news that the metro will open again many Bakuvians met with skepticism. People believe that it will not improve, but worsen the situation, because of checking permissions at the entrance, huge queues will form, and it is generally unrealistic to keep one’s distance in the Baku metro.

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In recent days, the statistics of COVID-19 infections in Azerbaijan have increased significantly, although before that it seemed to be on the decline.
Over the past day, 75 new cases of infection and 25 recoveries were recorded in the country.

Thus, the total number of infected reached 2279 people, 28 of whom died, and 1576 recovered.

At the same time, authorities regularly state that their measures to combat the spread of the virus are very effective and can serve as an example for many other countries. And the fact that there are more new infections, they blame irresponsible citizens who do not comply with quarantine rules.
The quarantine regime in Azerbaijan remains in force until May 31, but is gradually softening.