Russian-occupied Abkhazia confirms first case of coronavirus
The man who is infected with the coronavirus in Abkhazia had traveled to Russia. Photo: 1TV.
Tweet 
Share
Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region confirmed its first case of the coronavirus yesterday.
The de facto authorities of the region say that the infected individual is a 57-year-old man from Gagra who travelled to Russia.
A 50-year-old woman from the region, who also travelled to Russia, is undergoing treatment on Tbilisi-controlled territory, after testing positive for the virus on March 30.
More than 40 people who had contact with the woman or have suspicious symptoms have also been transported onto Tbilisi-controlled territory and are in quarantine.
The de facto government says that 86 individuals have been tested for the virus so far in the region, while they have 400 tests in all.
Only people who show several symptoms of the virus are being tested.
Minister Tsikhelashvili says that Georgia is ready to help its people living in the occupied regions. Photo: Reconciliation Ministry press office.
A patient must have high temperature (39 or above 39) and cough to be tested for the virus at least.
As of now the region has only two doctors in one lab who carry out testing.
Responding to the issue, Georgian Reconciliation Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili reaffirmed that Georgia is ready to provide support for its citizens living in the occupied regions.
She expressed hope that the de facto authorities will be able to address the issue in line with recommendations and take steps to trace people who had contact with the infected man.
Tsikhelashvili said that there is the possibility of more people being infected with the virus in the region.
A 50-year-old woman, who was transferred from the Russian-occupied Abkhazia region into Tbilisi-controlled territory late on March 29, has tested positive for COVID-19.
A new hospital has opened in the village of Rukhi located about a kilometre from Enguri Bridge, which connects Russia-occupied Abkhazia with the rest of Georgia. Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said the new hospital will offer qualitative care to people living on both sides of the occupation line.
Thirty-seven people have been transferred from Russian-occupied territories onto Tbilisi-controlled territory due to the coronavirus.
Georgian Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili says that the two Russian-occupied regions of Georgia Abkhazia and Tskhinvali face the threat of an outbreak of COVID-19 as people have moved freely between the regions and Russia over the past several weeks.
A 15-year-old child has died in Russian-occupied Abkhazia after being admitted to the hospital on April 7 in critical condition. Abkhaz news agency Apsnypress reports that the child had been tested for coronavirus and medics are waiting for the test result.
Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region reported the second case of the coronavirus earlier today.
The Russia-occupied Georgian region of Abkhazia has reported a third case of coronavirus yesterday. One man, born in 1925, who is from the town of Gagra, is in self-isolation now and is under medical supervision.
Transparency International Georgia has sent 1,080 units of virus protection equipment including hand sanitisers, medical masks, gloves, coats, suits, remote thermometers to several medical facilities in Gali in Georgia's Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia.
A woman with COVID-19 symptoms has been transferred to Bomond Clinic in Georgia’s western city of Kutaisi from Russian-occupied Abkhazia where she gave birth to a child. The result of the laboratory tests for coronavirus is not known yet.
The International Crisis Group has published a report on the COVID-19 challenges in six ‘post-Soviet breakaway statelets’, including in Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region has reported two more cases of the coronavirus earlier today, bringing the total number of infected individuals to 12.
Doctors from the Republic of Bashkiria (a federal subject of Russia) will help doctors in Georgia’s Russia-occupied Abkhazia region to treat COVID-19 patients, reports apsnypress, the de-facto state press of Abkhazia.