79 Georgian school students return to Georgia from US amid coronavirus pandemic
All of the students will spend a mandatory 14-day quarantine in Tbilisi and Kakheti. Photo: Government press office
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A total of 79 Georgian school students have arrived home from the United States amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The students were first brought from the US to Qatar and afterwards they were flown from Doha to Tbilisi.
Photo: Government press office
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced yesterday that the governments of Georgia and the US made a joint decission to bring the Georgian school students back to their homes.
PM Gakharia has therefore thanked the US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan and her embassy:
As a result of the joint effort between the United States Government and @GovernmentGeo, we are bringing 79 Georgian high school students back to their families. #Georgia is grateful to Ambassador Degnan and @usingeo for their extraordinary help to make this happen. pic.twitter.com/xkStaDgUkp
— Giorgi Gakharia (@GakhariaGiorgi) April 10, 2020
Following the thermal screening at the Tbilisi International Airport and other necessary procedures, the Georgian students will now spend a mandatory 14-day quarantine in hotels in Tbilisi and Kakheti.
Photo: Government press office
35 Armenian students who arrived on the same flight were flown to their homeland upon arrival in Tbilisi.
The Interior Ministry again calls on everyone to follow the regulations of the state of emergency, otherwise individuals will face a fine of 3,000 GEL, while legal entities will face a fine of 15,000 GEL; repeat offence is punishable by three years in prison.
The head and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, has transferred 100 million GEL (about 32 million USD) to the StopCov Fund which was created on March 23 in Georgia to cope with challenges sparked by the coronavirus.
Georgia has helped 2,425 of its citizens in more than 40 foreign countries amid the coronavirus outbreak, said Minister of Foreign Affairs David Zalkaliani earlier today. The aid included accommodation, food, transport, medicines and online medical consultations and emergency service.
Georgia ranks 109th worldwide and 50th in Europe in terms of the spread of COVID-19 and mortalities caused by the coronavirus, which is the one of the best results across the globe, head of Tbilisi Hospital of Infectious Diseases Tengiz Tsertsvadze said. Georgia has had 195 cases of the coronavirus since February 2020. 39 of the 195 have recovered. Two of the 195 have died of the virus so far, while two others were foreign citizens who left the country last month.
Four more individuals have recovered from the coronavirus in Georgia increasing the total number of recoveries to 60. As of now, there are a total of 242 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, including three deaths. 174 infected individuals remain in various hospitals.
Four administrative units in Kobuleti municipality in the Georgian Black Sea region of Adjara will be placed under “strict quarantine” after several locals tested positive for the coronavirus. The administrative units of Gvara, Mukhaestate, Leghva and Tskavroka will be placed under “strict quarantine” as the infected individuals had contact with a large group of people.
Police have fined 5 individuals for violating rules of quarantine and self-isolation, 19 individuals for violating rules of transportation and driving, 94 individuals for violating the curfew regulations and 60 individuals for public gathering.
The Georgian government brought back 151 citizens from Tel Aviv, Israel last night, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, foreigners who were unable to leave Georgia due to restrictions following the coronavirus outbreak, will not face penalties for overstaying visas up until June 30.
The Georgian government has brought back a total of 12,477 citizens from different coronavirus-hit areas in the world since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani announced yesterday that the prime minister’s interagency coordination council has spared no efforts to bring back all fellow citizens who wanted to return to Georgia.
Blind and visually impaired students from four to six grades will have audio textbooks for the first time, says the Ministry of Education, noting that this will give them the opportunity to gain full education even in the conditions of the pandemic.