Epidemic outbreaks expected in Azerbaijan in October-December

In all air-droplet infections, epidemic outbreaks are observed with the same regularity in autumn and winter, Tayyar Eyvazov, specialist-expert of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Health, infectious disease specialist, told Report.

"This situation will probably be observed in Azerbaijan in October-December,” he said.

Eyvazov said that currently, the epidemiological situation with the coronavirus in Azerbaijan is stabilizing at a certain high level, and on some days, the number of people who have recovered from the infection even exceeds the number of new cases.

“The same trend is observed in the world. At the same time, if we look at the number of active cases, we can see that hospitals are not overloaded. This is due to the lighter course of the Omicron strain currently in circulation. The World Health Organization predicts that there will be significant increases in incidence during periods of cold weather. This is natural. In such times, it is considered even more critical for the population to follow sanitary rules strictly, such as wearing a mask in closed spaces, frequent ventilation of rooms, spending less time in crowded places and following hygiene rules.”

The ministry official added that it is not expected that the increase in the number of infections will result in the tightening of quarantine measures:

“However, the pandemic lifestyle, that is, the voluntary and conscious observance of certain rules by the population without any binding regulations, can make a very positive contribution to the general situation. At the same time, it is desirable that the unvaccinated and those who have not received a booster dose voluntarily participate in the vaccination process,” he added.

To date, 815,523 people have contracted the novel coronavirus at least once in Azerbaijan.