Russia

• On Thursday, August 6^th, Russia recorded 5,267 new cases of coronavirus in 85 Russian regions, raising the official number of positive results to 871,894, with 14,606 fatalities. Most of the new COVID-19 cases (684) were registered in Moscow, raising the total number of Muscovites with confirmed COVID-19 to 245,468. In the meantime, a total number of 676,357 Russian patients are known to have recovered. Moscow authorities have issued 5,000-ruble fines ($68) to over 40,000 people for not wearing a mask in the metro throughout the period from when the requirement was first introduced, a city transport official said. On Saturday, August 1^st Health Minister, Mikhail Murashko, announced the completion of clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine developed by the N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology. Murashko has indicated that mass vaccinations are planned for October.

• Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, signed an order to open the borders with Abkhazia, as of Saturday, August 1^st, according to the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers.

• From August 15^th, Russia will resume flights with Switzerland. Flights from Moscow to Geneva and back will be operated once a week. Foreigners arriving in Russia, including transit travelers, must present a negative PCR test for coronavirus. These requirements are specified in the decree by the Chief State Sanitary Doctor and have been published on the official legal information online portal.

• Montenegro’s National Coordinating Council (NKT) decided to include Russia on its “green list” of epidemiologically safe countries and citizens are allowed to enter Montenegro freely. No official reaction from the Russian side has ensued as yet, and flights to Tivat have already been announced in the Aeroflot schedule. Flights are available from August 17^th. Additionally, offers from Ural Airlines, Red Wings and Montenegro Airlines have also been published.

• Aeroflot announced the suspension of regular flights to 87 international destinations until August 31^st. The decision to adjust its flight program was made in accordance with the current epidemiological restrictions in the destination countries. Tickets will be refunded to passengers who made purchases after May 1^st. Passengers who bought tickets before May 1^st, for the period up until August 31^st, will receive a flight voucher.

• More than 42K people have been fined in Moscow since May 12^th for violating the mask regime, the operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus said on August 4^th. It is noted that checks to identify violators are now carried out in the metro lobbies, down at metro stations and on ground public transport. The fine for noncompliance with the mask regime for individuals is 5K rubles ($68). Moscow shops have also been penalized for noncompliance with the mask regime: over 6K retail outlets in the capital have been fined a total sum amounting to 300 million rubles (~$4,1 mln).

• More than 15% of Russian restaurants that closed due to coronavirus restrictions have not resumed work. Only 84,2% of catering establishments have resumed operations, according to the results of a survey by the organizing committee of the Wheretoeat restaurant award. Moscow Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin had stated in June that restaurant business should almost completely recover by the end of August. The largest percentage of closed catering establishments has been recorded in Tatarstan at 16,3%. In Moscow, 94,2% of restaurants are now operational, with these figures at 89,1% in the southern resort cities of the country.

• According to a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation, every fifth Russian (22%) wishes to travel abroad after international air services are fully resumed. The percentage of these potential tourists who assess their financial situation as very good or good, and would like to “immediately rush” abroad has been recorded at 15%. The percentage of these potential tourists who assess their level of income as average and wish to rush abroad has been recorded at 21%. Every fourth Russian (24%) who assess their financial situation as extremely modest, wishes to travel abroad as soon as it becomes possible.

Kazakhstan

• On Thursday, August 6^th, Kazakhstan recorded 1060 new cases of coronavirus, raising the official number of positive cases to 95,942, with 1058 fatalities.

• The Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan allocated funds for 1,200,000 laboratory tests from government reserves. It is noted that 225,600 tests have already been delivered in June this year. The ministry stated that all procurement procedures have been completed and an agreement has been signed for the supply of 554,000 tests. According to the agreement, delivery is planned within 1-2 weeks.

• On Saturday, August 1^st, the resolution of Chief sanitary doctor of Nur-Sultan was published: “In connection with the ongoing coronavirus infection noted among residents of Nur-Sultan, we shall extend the effect of restrictive quarantine measures for two weeks as from August 3^rd“. On Sunday, August 2^nd, the same measures were announced by the decree of Acting Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Almaty region, Askhat Charapiev.

• In the instance of a second wave of COVID-19, the SK-Pharmacia (a state-owned distribution company responsible for providing medicines to the population) is collecting a two-month stock of medicine amounting to 24 billion tenge ($57,2mln), and will supply private pharmacies with 19 scarce drugs for the quarantine period, which the market cannot cover on its own. SK-Pharmacia will deliver medicines to every pharmacy, even those located in small cities and rural areas 

Ukraine

• On Thursday, August 6^th, Ukraine recorded an all-time peak in coronavirus infection at 1,318 new cases per day for the second day in a row, raising the official number of positive cases to 76,808, with 1819 fatalities. As of Wednesday, August 5^th, 10 regions and the city of Kyiv are not yet ready to ease quarantine in Ukraine. Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine, Viktor Lyashko, predicts that about 400 thousand people may become infected with coronavirus in the country, with a possible 10% fatality rate.

• The dynamics of the coronavirus spread in Ukraine indicates that the number of fatalities could reach 4000, said Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine, Viktor Lyashko, at a briefing in Kyiv.

• As from August 1^st, the operation of children’s health camps in territories with “green” and “yellow” levels of epidemic danger has been permitted in Ukraine. This was reported by the Ministry of Health’s press service. The Ministry of Health recommends only admitting children who live within the region in which the camp is located, with a medical certificate on hand. All children need to undergo a temperature screening before being admitted into the camp, and three times a day during their stay. Children with fever are not allowed into the camp.

Georgia

• On Thursday, August 6^th, Georgia recorded 9 new cases of coronavirus, raising the official number of positive cases to 1,206, with 17 fatalities.

• On Wednesday, August 5^th, the head of the National Center for Disease Control, Amiran Gamkrelidze, announced that a large-scale study to determine the extent of the spread of coronavirus will soon begin in Georgia. Doctors explained that they will study blood serum to determine what percentage of Georgians have suffered from COVID-19. The study is planned to commence in ten days.

• Switzerland, Hungary, Germany, Latvia, France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Cyprus and a number of other countries have opened their borders to Georgian citizens. In turn, Georgia has opened its air gates to 5 countries, whose citizens are granted unconditional entry into the country. These are Germany, France, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

• Regular air traffic between Tbilisi and Paris will resume on August 8^th, the Civil Aviation Agency reported. Technical negotiations on this issue, between Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency and Air France, have already reached completion . The Council of the European Union has included Georgia on the list of safe non-EU countries, whose citizens can travel to the EU.

Sources:

https://t.me/COVID2019_official

https://ria.ru

https://www.vesti.ru

https://radiosputnik.ria.ru

https://www.tourprom.ru

https://www.rbc.ru

https://www.zakon.kz

https://tengrinews.kz

https://news.liga.net

https://regnum.ru

https://sputnik-georgia.ru

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