Interior ministry drones monitoring Marneuli quarantine zone

Drones are being used by state services to monitor compliance to quarantine in Marneuli in Georgia's east. Photo: MIKI Yoshihito on Flickr.

Agenda.ge, 24 Mar 2020 - 17:31, Tbilisi,Georgia

Drones from the Emergency Management Service are being used by agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia to monitor the Marneuli quarantined zone in country's east.

The EMS, the service responding to fires and rescue calls, has said its drones were now used to monitor the municipality where lockdown is in force after a 62-year-old woman tested positive for the new coronavirus and was in contact with over 80 people on Sunday.

The service said its drones were providing "complete" monitoring of the area to ensure compliance with quarantine rules, particularly after some of the locals clashed with police on Monday due to their refusal to maintain social distancing.

A field hospital for 100 patients has also been set up within the quarantine zone by the EMS and equipped with necessary infrastructure for dealing with the virus outbreak.