Georgia suspends direct flights with China
The suspension of flights will be in place until March 29 of 2020. Photo: airlinequality.com
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Georgia temporarily suspends direct flights with China to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Georgia, the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency (GCAA) reports.
The suspension of flights will be in place until March 29 of 2020.
Chinese aviation authorities and the airline company China Southern have already been notified about the flight suspension.
Chinese airline company China Southern used to carry out direct flights on the route Beijing-Urumqi-Tbilisi three times a week.
Direct flights between Georgia and China was also cancelled on January 25-27.
That time the Head of the GCAA Levan Karanadze stated that cancelling of flights were connected with Chinese New Year celebrations to avoid the threats of spreading the virus.
- What is the new coronavirus?
The virus, which first emerged in Wuhan, China in late 2019, causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms mostly start with a fever, followed by a dry cough.
The virus has already caused more than 100 deaths, spreading across China and to at least 16 other countries.
The new coronavirus, which is thought to have emerged from illegally traded wildlife at a seafood market in Wuhan, can spread between people.
The incubation period can range from two to 10 days.
Import of live animals from China have been banned to prevent transmission and spread of the China-born coronavirus on the territory of Georgia, reports the Georgian Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture.
Georgia has plans to evacuate at least five of its citizens from Wuhan, Hubei province of China - the epicenter of the outbreak of the new coronavirus, and ‘temporary suspend’ direct flights from the country as the death toll in China already stands at 106. Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze says that a special meeting will take place later today to decide how to evacuate the Georgian citizens from Wuhan, a city of 11 million people, which is now in a lockdown with strict transport restrictions in and out of the area.
Georgia's National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has launched preventive measures against the China-born coronavirus in places populated by Chinese all over the country.
Passengers travelling from China to Georgia are being examined for a new strain of the coronavirus that originates in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Georgian doctors are examining passengers as well as providing them with information on the symptoms of the virus upon arrival.
Two Chinese sailors in Georgia’s seaside city of Batumi will be observed by medics of the National Disease Control Centre (NCDC) to avoid the threats of spreading coronavirus, said the head of the NCDC, Amiran Gamkrelidze today.
Turkey will evacuate seven Georgian citizens, together with its 34, seven Azerbaijani and one Albanian citizens from Wuhan, Hubei province of China - the epicentre of the outbreak of the new coronavirus, Turkish media outlets report. Georgia has already suspended direct flights with China and stated earlier this week that it would find ways how to evacuate it citizens from Wuhan.
Two Chinese and two Georgian citizens remain in the Tbilisi infectious disease hospital, with one of the two Georgian citizens having been in the Wuhan province of China two weeks ago, which is the epicenter of the outbreak of the new coronavirus.The Chinese citizens are minors, with Georgian health officials saying that they tested positive for the A type virus, excluding the nCOV-2019, which is the new coronavirus which has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday.
Two Georgian citizens who have come from China will be tested in Germany for the presence of the new coronavirus - 2019-nCov.A 24-year-old man who worked in China and a woman who came from Wuhan, China, which is the epicenter of the new virus outbreak, have no signs of pneumonia [which is the major symptom of the new coronavirus] and have a low temperature. However, they have none of the viruses Georgia can test individuals for inside the country.
Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze has confirmed that Turkey will evacuate Georgian citizens from Wuhan, Hubei province of China, which is the epicenter of the outbreak of the new coronavirus – 2019-nCOV.
Georgia still remains in the low-risk zone for the spread of the coronavirus, though the National Disease Control Centre has begun strengthening efforts in order to efficiently respond to the recent China-born coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, Amiran Gamkrelidze, the head of the National Disease Control Centre (NCDC) has announced today.