Azerbaijan decides to allow holding wedding, engagement ceremonies

Azerbaijan will allow holding events on wedding ceremonies, engagements and birthdays from July 1, according to the Cabinet of Ministers. 

In this regard, amendments were made to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers ‘On measures to extend the special quarantine regime and remove some restrictions.’

Reportedly, the significant decrease in the number of cases of COVID-19 infection and the change in the general COVID-19 pandemic situation in a positive direction in recent months are results of the effective measures being taken. The observed positive trend, as well as the successful continuation of the vaccination process, which has been underway since early 2021, create additional opportunities for removing a number of restrictions introduced under the special quarantine regime.

Therefore, the Operational Headquarters under Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers, taking into account the following conditions, has established the procedure for holding festive events (weddings, engagements, birthdays, etc.) from July 1, 2021:

- in respect of celebrations organized with the participation of 50 to 150 persons:

participation of all persons over 18 years old is allowed only if there is a document (COVID-19 passport) confirming full vaccination against COVID-19 or immunity after recovery from COVID-19 and for guests participating in ceremonies, the requirement for the mandatory use of respiratory protection equipment;

according to the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan No. 151 dated May 26, 2021, from July 1, 2021, at least 80 percent of employees (including temporarily hired workers) working in places where the COVID-19 passport requirement applies must have a COVID-19 passport themselves (until August 1, the allowed vaccination certificate may only indicate the first dose). The use of medical masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment by service personnel (with the exception of musicians) at the solemn ceremony is mandatory;

- information about the conference halls functioning within this facility, their capacity and working personnel (including temporarily hired employees) must be entered by the owner of the facility where the ceremony is held on the appropriate portal (icaze.e-gov.az). The portal will be activated from June 26, 2021 to enter the relevant information;

- information on the date of the event, the start and end time of the event (no later than 00:00), the number of guests must be entered on the portal no later than 5 days before the upcoming event. Holding festive ceremonies that are not registered on the portal and do not include relevant information is prohibited;

- during the organization and holding of festive events, an agreement on joint responsibility for observing the rules of the quarantine regime must be signed between the organizer of the celebration and the owner of the premises. The owner of the premises and the host of the celebration will both be held responsible for any violations;

- in order to comply with sanitary and epidemiological requirements, guidelines will be approved containing the above issues and other requirements that will guide the organization and conduct of festive events;

it is allowed to organize festive events with the participation of up to 50 people in accordance with the requirements established in the ‘Methodological guidelines for the prevention of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in catering establishments’ (subject to the requirement for the use of personal respiratory protection), and for participation in these celebrations do not require a COVID-19 passport.

Celebration of ceremonies involving more than 150 people is prohibited until a decision is made on the next softening of quarantine requirements.

Along with the monitoring of catering facilities, regular inspections will be carried out in order to ensure compliance with the requirements on the coronavirus infection at the ceremonies with the participation of 50 to 150 people. Monitoring groups will be organized by representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Food Safety Agency and the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy.

According to the Code of Administrative Offenses of Azerbaijan, for violation of the anti-pandemic regime, sanitary-hygienic and quarantine regimes, individuals will be fined from 200-400 manat ($117.6-235.2), officials – 4,000-5,000 manat ($2,353-2,941), or according to the circumstances of the case, taking into account the identity of the culprit, administrative arrest is imposed for up to one month, legal entities - from 5,000 to 11,000 manat ($2,941-6,470). In case of repeated violations by legal entities, a decision may be made to suspend the activities of the enterprise in which the ceremonies are held.

News.Az  

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