“We expected an increase in COVID-19 cases as people became relaxed during mitigation of quarantine measures, which is observed all over the world,” she said.

“As known, the stricter the measures, the lower the incidence. The number of infections increases depending on mitigation measures. It means that the pandemic is not over. However, it is not right to put pressure on people. This problem has economic, social, psychological, and other sides. The governments, including Azerbaijan, decided to remove some restrictions, giving an important opportunity for people to get back to their everyday life,” Harmanci added.

The WHO representative noted that Azerbaijan had experienced a rapid increase in the number of infections over the past month.

“During this period, the number of new COVID-19 cases has increased ten times daily. The rate was even expressed in double digits, and now there are more than 1,000. About 10,000 diagnostic tests are performed in Azerbaijan every day. The share of positive results increased from 2% to 13%, which means coronavirus cases are growing again. Laboratory tests have confirmed the existence of a 'delta' variant of the coronavirus in the country. The number of infections is also increasing. Both situations tell us that this work is not over. If we do not take action, we will again see high daily figures from September. It is worth mentioning that the temperature does not affect the spread of the coronavirus. However, as the weather cools in the autumn, citizens will turn to enclosed spaces, doors and windows will be closed, and air circulation will decrease. As known, it leads to an increase in infections,” Harmanci added.

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