By the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated March 16, 2026, the special quarantine regime in Azerbaijan has been extended until July 1. The regime was supposed to end on April 1.
Medianews.az reminds that the special quarantine regime was implemented on March 31, 2020, amid the wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
The new coronavirus infection, which emerged in China in December 2019 and spread worldwide, recorded its first infection in Azerbaijan on February 28, 2020. According to the latest official report published in March 2024, 835,144 people have been infected, and 10,428 of them have died.
On May 5, 2023, the World Health Organization declared the pandemic over.
During the coronavirus pandemic period and for nearly a year afterwards, the special quarantine regime in Azerbaijan has frequently changed depending on the epidemiological situation. In the initial stages, there were strict restrictions. For example, wedding and mourning ceremonies were banned, leaving home was tied to a permit system, completely prohibited on some days, travel between cities and regions was restricted, trade, public catering, cultural institutions, and public transportation operated under strict control, conditions for the use of medical masks and vaccination were introduced, educational institutions switched to distance learning...
As the epidemiological situation improved, the restrictions were reduced and eased.
For a long time now, the special quarantine regime in Azerbaijan consists of only one restriction: entry and exit to the country’s territory by land transport is prohibited, except for cargo transportation.
Violation of this ban results in administrative and criminal liability.
The Azerbaijani authorities do not deny that the special quarantine regime, or rather, the non-opening of land borders is not based solely on coronavirus reasons. It has also been declared at the state leadership level that keeping the land borders closed is more related to security issues. Addressing the parliament on March 13, Prime Minister Ali Asadov touched upon the situation created in the Middle East by the US/Israel-Iran war, saying: “Recent events in the region show how justified and necessary the decision to keep Azerbaijan’s land borders closed is, and at the same time, it is another confirmation of the farsighted and wise state policy of the President.”