Baku to allow access to capital following entry/exit ban – but not by bus

On 8 September, the next steps in loosening quarantine restrictions in Azerbaijan will come into force. Residents of the capital region will be allowed to travel throughout the country, although intercity buses and trains will still be forbidden to run.

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The Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers took the decision as part of the loosening of quarantine restrictions. 

Starting midnight on Tuesday, 8 September, 2020, the following lesser restrictions will come into effect:

— Dining establishments will be allowed to work until midnight, if they follow specific quarantine regulations

— There will be no restrictions on traveling into and out of Baku and the Sumgait and Absheron districts (barring intercity and interdistrict passenger travel)

Thanks to these new regulations, students who didn’t have the right to travel through populated areas can return to schools in the capital by using personal transportation or taxis. After in-person studies were halted in March of 2020, many of these students had left for various regions of the country and could no longer return due to the restrictions on entering and exiting Baku.

Since 4 July, 2020 the metro has not run in Baku, nor have buses been running on weekends or holidays. 

In the past 24 hours 137 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Azerbaijan. Three people have died, and 140 people have recovered and been released from hospital. Since the start of the pandemic in the country 37,329 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed, with 548 deaths.