Coronavirus: 4 main cities to be put under lockdown in Georgia, state of emergency to be prolonged
Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has urged people to stick to the restrictions. Photo: government of Georgia press office.
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Starting tomorrow at 9 p.m. people will not be able to enter or leave the four main cities of Georgia - Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi and Rustavi for 10 days at least and the state of emergency will be prolonged until May 10 to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated earlier today at a special briefing.
He said that people inside the four main cities will be able to use their vehicles per the state of emergency restrictions (only three people are allowed to sit in a car). However, they will not be able to leave the cities.
Gakharia stated that there will be exceptions and the people will be able to learn about the exceptions through phoning 144.
Gakharia mentioned no special measures for the Easter holiday and stated that the government and the church will act together during this time.
Georgian PM says that if people stick to the restrictions the government will be able to gradually remove the restrictions starting from mid-May. Photo: Interior Ministry press office.
He stated that the church is well aware of the situation and ‘we will act together to protect our citizens.’
The situation is changing very fast and we will make decisions based on the situation. We might be forced to close cemeteries for the Easter holiday to prevent gatherings there (which is a tradition in Georgia for Easter when people visit the graves of their loved ones),” Gakharia said.
Gakharia said that Georgia has managed to have a relatively low number of cases of the coronavirus due to imposing restrictions in a timely manner.
Today we have 30 news cases of the coronavirus for the first time (since February of the year). We must stick to the regulations and restrictions to help the country overcome the challenge and gradually remove all the restrictions from mid-May,” Gakharia said.
Gakharia said that the government will address the president to prolong the state of emergency.
As of today Georgia has 296 cases of the coronavirus. 69 of the 296 have recovered, while three have died.
A total of 92 Georgian citizens have been infected with coronavirus abroad and nine have died, Deputy Georgian Foreign Ministry Mikheil Ninua reported earlier today. He said, the majority of infected individuals have mild or less severe forms of the virus.
The Tbilisi TV tower has lit up with the colours of the British flag as a sign of support and solidarity with the United Kingdom in the fight against the new coronavirus. Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani wrote on Twitter that Tbilisi stands “together and united” with the UK “in this difficult time”.
One cleric and a guard of the Georgian patriarchate have tested positive for the coronavirus in Georgia, the patriarchate has confirmed.
Georgia has reported a total of 296 cases of the new coronavirus as of today. 68 of the 296 patients have recovered and three have died.There are also three Georgian citizens in the country who tested positive for the virus abroad and are undergoing treatment in Georgia. 223 patients remain infected with the virus in Georgia. A resident of Kaspi municipality in eastern Georgia has tested positive for the virus.
Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze has urged people, parishioners, to stay home and pray to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. “As clerics frequently say and I also believe in this, God is omnipresent. We have the opportunity to stay home and pray and clerics will pray for us from churches”, Tikaradze said earlier today. Deputy Head of the National Disease Control Centre Paata Imnadze also urged parishioners to stay home and through doing so “protect the church and the whole country.”
Coronavirus cases stand at 306 in Georgia as of today. 69 of the 306 people have recovered, while three other patients, elderly people with several underlying illnesses, have died. As of today Georgia has 232 active cases of the virus. The four main cities of Georgia - Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi and Rustavi - will be put under lockdown starting 9 p.m. today, for at least ten days, per a statement made by Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia yesterday to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.
Starting 9 p.m. today the four main cities of Georgia - Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi and Rustavi - will be placed under lockdown, preventing people from leaving or entering the cities for ten days at least. Coronavirus cases stand at 306 in Georgia as of today. 69 of the 306 people have recovered, while three other patients, elderly people with several underlying illnesses, have died.
The Georgian government and the patriarchate have reached a long-awaited deal that the traditional Easter service on Saturday night will be held with police supervision despite the curfew.However, the Georgian government calls on worshippers to stay home and follow the state of emergency regulations amid the coronavirus pandemic.
If people don’t stay home, the collapse of the healthcare system will be inevitable in Georgia, the Head of the Georgian National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze said in an interview with Rustavi 2 earlier today.