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| - Azerbaijan on Thursday introduced new restrictive measures on public transport to curb the spread of the coronavirus as cases soared in the wake of the war over Nagorno-Karabakh. The World Health Organization (WHO) last month predicted that the outbreak would surge in both Azerbaijan and Armenia as their war over the disputed region led to the mobilisation of troops and displacement of civilians. Health authorities in Azerbaijan on Thursday reported 2,597 new cases of Covid-19, the highest number of daily infections since the start of the pandemic this spring. Total infections stood at 83,994 while deaths reached 1,053 in the country of 10 million. When the fighting over Karabakh erupted at the turn of October, the number of daily cases in Azerbaijan was hovering around one hundred. According to the new measures announced Thursday by Azerbaijani authorities, the metro in the capital Baku will be closed until December 28, while the country's public transport will not operate on weekends. Masks will also become mandatory in public places both indoors and outdoors. Businesses will be closed on weekends, with an exception for grocery stores and pharmacies. The WHO in October raised concerns over the impact of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Azerbaijani forces and Armenian separatists clashed for six weeks, on the spread of the virus. "Covid-19 does not respect borders or front lines," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said. "The mobilisation of troops for conflict, the displacement of populations because of it all, adds to the ability of the virus to take hold," he added. eg-tbm-acl/emg/pma
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