On 23 March, the Azerbaijani government decided to close all shopping centers and malls in the country in order to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. The only open stores in the country are now pharmacies and grocery stores. 

The country’s state administration also adopted certain changes. The staff of most state structures of Azerbaijan will be sent on paid leave for a period of one month - from 29 March to 29 April. This was stated by the order of the country’s Prime Minister Ali Asadov and covers about 100 state institutions. The Absheron Hotel Group temporarily transferred the Bulvar Hotel in Baku to the Operational Headquarters under the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers in support of the measures undertaken to combat the spread of the virus. 

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) decided that their workers would stay offshore on the oil platforms for over a month’s time in order to halt the spread of the virus. The Formula 1 Grand Prix in Baku has also been postponed.

Many public and private institutions in the country donated to the Fund to Support the Fight Against Coronavirus in order to combat the pandemic. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry donated 215,000 manat, the Ministry of Defense transferred 50% of its monetary allowance to the fund, and all the senior officials, personnel of the committees, the administrative office and the executive secretariat of the Azerbaijani Parliament announced their plan to donate to the fund.

Private actors in the country also decided to donate to the fund. Azerbaijan’s telecommunication company Bakcell donated 1,5 million manats to the fund. The company is also arranging an online fund-raising marathon in order to gather more funding. The mobile operator Nar donated 500,000 manat to the fund, the company also distributed payment cards of 50 manat in the medical centers and quarantine hospitals in the country. 

The current tally of infected people in the country is 61.