10 more Georgian soldiers test positive for coronavirus in Afghanistan
As of today 38 Georgian soldiers have contracted the coronavirus in Afghanistan. Photo: NATO press office.
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Ten more Georgian soldiers have tested positive for the coronavirus in Afghanistan and have been transported home to Georgia by the German Air Force earlier today.
Twenty-eight other Georgian soldiers in the NATO Resolute Support Mission tested positive for the virus on July 10.
Eight of the 28 soldiers, who underwent treatment in Gori hospital of central Georgia, have already recovered.
The Georgian Defence Ministry says that all the 38 soldiers belong to one cluster that an Afghan personnel was the source of the infection.
The soldiers suffer from a mild form of the virus, doctors in Gori hospital say.
Georgia is the largest non-NATO contributor to the Resolute Support mission with 871 soldiers.
The Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan was launched in 2015 and involves more than 16,000 personnel from nearly 40 NATO member and partner countries.
The mission serves to train, advise and assist Afghan defence and security forces and support them through funding.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani have welcomed the recent agreement between the United States and the Taliban aimed to end the almost 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan.
Twenty-eight Georgian soldiers from NATO’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan have tested positive for the coronavirus and have been brought home with the help of the German Air Force earlier today, the Georgian Defence Ministry reports. The ministry says that an Afghan personnel was the source of the infection. The soldiers, who are undergoing treatment in Gori military hospital of central Georgia, suffer from a mild form of the virus, doctors say.
Georgian peacekeeping troops are undergoing their final exercises before deploying to NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Georgia for the first time, with the Mission Readiness Exercise testing their preparedness for serving in the next round of tours in Afghanistan.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says that Afghanistan is no longer a shelter for terrorists and that the achievement of this goal would have been unimaginable without Georgia.
Georgia's health authorities reported eight new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday, with 108 active cases of infection in the country.
Georgia has reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 infections on Sunday, with the number of active cases sitting at 114.
A company-sized unit of the Georgian Defence Forces is on its way to get involved in NATO's Resolute Support peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, marking the latest rotational deployment of troops from Georgia in the effort.
The inhabitants of Karajala and Karataklia villages in Gardabani municipality will undergo mandatory PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing for the coronavirus, as 23 inhabitants of the villages have tested positive for the virus over the last 24 hours.
Georgia has reported 24 new cases of the coronavirus earlier today which is the highest figure since June. The source of infection in 22 cases of the 24 new cases has been identified. Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze said that 10 new cases are from Gardabani municipality of eastern Georgia, five new patients had contact with infected individuals, while seven new cases are imported (five are truck drivers). “The state agencies are trying to identify the source of infection in the remaining two patients. The figure gives no reason to panic. However, we should act very cautiously,” Gamkrelidze said.