TODAY.AZ / Politics

President Aliyev allocates over $5.8m for coronavirus prevention

04 March 2020 [17:00] - TODAY.AZ

By Ofeliya Afandiyeva

President Ilham Aliyev has said that he has allocated 10 million manats ($5.8m) for fight against the spread of coronavirus in the country, adding that the situation around the disease is under control and there are no reasons for concern.

The president made the remarks while inaugurating Goranboy District Central Hospital on March 3 as part of his visit to the western part of the country.

“The situation is under control and a special operative headquarters has been created under the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers upon my instruction. At the same time, I have instructed to allocate additional 10 million manats ($ 5,894,514) to ensure that the necessary measures will be taken more quickly,” the head of the state said.

“I want to reassure the Azerbaijani community that the Azerbaijani government is taking all the necessary measures… There is no serious cause for concern. Most of the quarantined citizens have not yet been diagnosed with the disease. If their health is normal, they will be sent home after a certain period,” the president stressed.

The president also said that work is underway to evacuate Azerbaijani citizens remaining in Iran.

“They will be provided both onshore and air transport to Azerbaijan. However, everyone must understand that they should be put in quarantine for a certain period in order to prevent spreading of the disease in Azerbaijan.”

Aliyev further said that Azerbaijan, like any other country, has not restricted cross-border cargo transportation. “As you know, Azerbaijan is a transit country and we have been working for many years to expand our transit potential and we have succeeded in it. There are no restrictions on any transit goods.”

However, he said that there is police control of the cargoes crossing the border.

“There is an organized work on the delivery of the necessary goods, especially for the consumers in Azerbaijan and the neighboring countries, which come from the south. Special convoys consisting of relevant trucks are being formed and police escort is provided. At the same time, I have instructed to provide foreign drivers with meals so that they will not often get out of their cars and not go to public places. In other words, comprehensive step are being taken to protect the citizens from this disease. So far, all our steps have been successful. We are constantly in contact with the World Health Organization and work is being carried out to acquire tests to detect the disease and this issue is being addressed,” Aliyev underlined.

The president also noted that kindergartens, schools, universities have been temporarily suspended to protect children and teenagers from the disease.

“All necessary steps are being taken. According to current data, the probability of the disease spreading in Azerbaijan is not very high,” Aliyev noted.

Aliyev also touched upon the concerns over shortage of masks in the country.

“As I was informed, there has been a shortage of masks in pharmacies lately. There is no explanation for this since we have enough mask resources. It seems that some profiteers want to exploit this situation to increase their illegal income. All law enforcement agencies have been instructed that, if such cases are revealed, most severe penalties will be imposed on citizens who commit such violations. Because, those people, who intend to maximize their profit by exploiting this situation, must be given serious penalties,” he said.

Azerbaijan closed its border with Iran after three cases of coronavirus were registered in the country. 











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