Health officials: no threat to academic year, elections, if Georgia maintains low infection rate
Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze has urged people to stick to hygiene recommendations. Photo: NCDC press office.
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Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze says the academic year will begin in September and the parliamentary elections will be held in October without any problems if Georgia maintains the current rate of infection.
We are keeping the situation under full control for now. However, everything is dependent on us. If we stick to the recommendations and act as we acted in previous months, there will be no sharp increase in coronavirus cases. Moreover, Georgia may avoid a second wave of the virus (which is forecasted in the autumn),” Gamkrelidze said earlier today.
He stated that if individuals act freely, attend public gatherings and fail to stick to general recommendations and rules, there might be the need for a repeated state of emergency.
Gemlrelidze said that the slight increase in the coronavirus cases over the past several days was expected as the state of emergency and many other restrictions have been lifted.
Elections in Georgia can be held either in spring or autumn, according to the Georgian constitution. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
He stated that Georgia will maintain quarantine zones ‘which are one of the best measures to prevent the spread of the virus.’
Gamkrelidze said that medical personnel will be tested for COVID-19 once every two weeks.
He stated that 25 clinics in Georgia will be able to conduct PCR tests.
Parliamentary elections in Georgia are currently stated to take place at the end of October 2020, but will not take place if another state of emergency is announced.
If the elections are conducted in December instead of October 2020, the parliament will be valid for four years and 10 months, instead of four years and the following parliamentary elections will be held in 2025 instead of 2024.
Georgia has reported 15 new cases of the coronavirus earlier today, bringing the total number of cases to 879. 704 of the 879 patients have recovered, while 14 others have died. As of today 161 people remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia. 10 of the 15 new patients are from the quarantine zone, two are medical personnel and one is from the Saburtalo cluster.
A fourteenth individual died in Georgia from coronavirus-related complications last night. The condition of the 68-year-old man, who suffered from several underlying illnesses including diabetes, had been assessed by doctors as critical.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said the country is “a green island of peace in terms of containing the coronavirus pandemic. However, to preserve this, all citizens must demonstrate even more public responsibility in their daily activities. As of June 13, Georgia has confirmed a total of 851 cases of COVID-19, including the eight new cases.
The Washington Post and CNN have spoken of Georgia’s plans to reopen its economy and boost tourism development after the coronavirus pandemic.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has hosted members of the diplomatic corps at Lopota Lake in the Kakheti region earlier today, where he spoke about the coronavirus crisis, the country’s plans to reboot the economy, how to proceed with the October elections and other intentions.Gakharia noted domestic tourism has resumed today in Georgia and that ‘Kakheti is lucky as Georgia’s best friends, foreign ambassadors, are visiting the region as tourists.’
Georgia has reported no new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours. The country has had 879 cases of the coronavirus since February 26, 2020. 724 of the 879 patients have recovered, while 14 others have died. As of today 141 people remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia. Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze stated yesterday that the academic year will begin in September and the parliamentary elections will be held in October without any problems if Georgia maintains the current rate of infection.
The US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan says that every new election in Georgia is held in a better way than previous ones, stating that the upcoming parliamentary elections in the autumn ‘are of high importance and we will observe them closely.’
Georgia has reported three new cases of the coronavirus earlier today, bringing the total number of cases to 931. 795 of the 931 patients have recovered, while 15 others have died. As of today 122 people remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia. Georgia reported its first case of the coronavirus on February 26, 2020. Since then 106, 509 individuals have been tested for the coronavirus. Georgia continues to maintain a low infection rate and has plans to hold October parliamentary elections and open schools in September in a regular manner.