Head of NCDC: epidemiological situation under control though virus remains
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The epidemiological situation is under control but the coronavirus has not yet been defeated, said Head of the National Disease Control Centre Amiran Gamkrelidze, urging citizens to observe all the recommendations of the Georgian Health Ministry.
The situation in the world and in the region is not good. Restrictions have been lifted [in Georgia], mobility has increased and there is an increased risk of the [virus] spreading,” said Gamkrelidze.
He urged citizens to wear facemasks in closed buildings and even outside if many people gather together. He also said that social distancing should be observed.
Gamkrelidze said that in Kobuleti and Batumi, western Georgia about 220 PCR tests for coronavirus had been conducted in the last three days, noting that all the results were negative.
As of now, 571 citizens have left quarantine in Mestia municipality, but for dozens of people who are still under quarantine, the quarantine will come to an end on August 27,” noted Gamkrelidze.
He said that tests are being conducted in Mestia municipality very actively and noted that in the last three days, a total of 1,216 people have been tested in the municipality.
Gamkrelidze said that seven new cases have been identified during repeat coronavirus tests in the village of Lenjeri, while another four cases were identified outside of Lenjeri.
Georgia reported 10 new cases of the coronavirus earlier today.
A total of 1,421 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the country since the beginning of the pandemic.
Georgia has reported 10 new cases of the coronavirus earlier today. Medical Director of Tbilisi Infectious Disease Hospital Marina Ezugbaia said that two new patients contracted the virus from the Lenjeri village of Mestia municipality, two from contact from infected individual, five cases were ‘imported’ and the source of infections has not been identified in the remaining one case.
Villages in Mestia municipality which have been under lockdown will open starting August 21, except the village of Lenjeri and the small town of Mestia – the administrative center of the municipality.
Georgian PrimeMinister Giorgi Gakharia has dismissed media reports that the government has plans to impose coronavirus restrictions in Kazbegi municipality of eastern Georgia, as seven border guards in Larsi checkpoint, at Russia-Georgia border, have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Mestia municipality in western Georgia, one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country, has been placed on lockdown as 16 people have tested positive in the past two days in the municipality for the coronavirus. People will not be able to enter or leave the municipality without the police’s consent. Tourists who are now in the municipality will be placed under quarantine in hotels where they are currently located (if the hotels meet the recommendations of Georgia’s Health Ministry) or will be transported to other quarantine zones.
An eighteenth person has died from coronavirus in Georgia, reports StopCov.ge, the state-run website created in March 2020 to inform the public about the coronavirus situation in the country. A total of 1,421 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the country. 1,137 people have recovered. 7,005 people are in quarantine and 255 are under medical supervision at hospitals.
A nineteenth person has died from coronavirus in Georgia, while eight more people have tested positive for COVID-19 and the number of recoveries has increased by 13. One new patient contracted the virus from the Lenjeri village of Mestia municipality, two from contact from infected individuals, four cases were ‘imported’ of which three are truck drivers and one is a medical worker.
Georgia’s Black Sea region of Adjara has increased testing in the region following several infections in a night club in Kobuleti on August 15.
Once a vaccine for the coronavirus is approved, it will be available to the Georgian population, at first primarily to risk groups, said Head of the National Disease Control Centre Amiran Gamkrelidze earlier today.