Batumi will not be put under lockdown despite micro-epidemic
22 new patients contracted the virus from the cluster which originated in candy shop Dona in Batumi. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Despite the micro-epidemic in the Georgian Black Sea resort city of Batumi, where 22 new cases of coronavirus have been reported during the last 24 hours, the city will not be put under lockdown.
Georgia has reported 38 new cases of the coronavirus earlier today, which is a record high number since April 16 when 42 cases of coronavirus were detected. 22 new patients contracted the virus from the cluster which originated in candy shop Dona in Batumi.
Head of the Georgian National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze said that "so far, we don't have information about the reach of the infection outside the candy shop". He said that the ‘Dona cluster’ mainly includes employees of the candy shop.
In order to control the spread of the coronavirus and manage the epidemic, five medical facilities in Batumi will offer free PCR testing to locals as well as tourists. In addition, a third tent will be placed on Batumi Boulevard where tourists and locals will be able to undergo voluntary coronavirus testing.
Locals and tourists in Batumi will be able to take PCR tests from 10 am to 17 pm at N1 and N4 polyclinics, Family Medicine Center, Family Medicine Center of Tamar Settlement and Evex Clinic.
As for the third tent, it is placed near the Alphabet Tower. In all three tents PCR testing will be available from 11 am to 23 pm. There is also one tent placed in the town of Kobuleti in Adjara region.
Gamkrelidze said that closing clubs and cafe-bars in Batumi is not being considered, but it is necessary the recommendations and anti-epidemic measures be taken seriously.
The quarantine restrictions have been lifted today in the Mestia municipality in western Georgia, one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country, which was under lockdown after 17 people tested positive for the coronavirus on August 10.
Georgia has reported 38 new cases of the coronavirus earlier today, which is a record high number since April 16 when 42 cases of coronavirus were detected. 22 new patients contracted the virus from the cluster of confectionery Dona in Georgia's Black Sea resort town of Batumi, seven cases from contact from infected individuals, four cases were ‘imported’ of which two are truck drivers and the source of infections has not been identified in the remaining five cases.
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.
Tents will be set up on the Batumi Boulevard where tourists and locals will be able to undergo voluntary coronavirus testing, announces Head of the National Disease Control Centre (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze.
The Georgian government’s key goal today is to manage the coronavirus pandemic with minimal risks as a new academic year is around the corner which will further increase mobility, especially in big cities, Georgian PM Gakharia said earlier today.
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.
Dreamland Oasis Chakvi hotel in Adjara region will be placed on temporary lockdown as a doctor attending a conference along with 400 other doctors has tested positive for coronavirus.
Georgia has reported 569 new cases of coronavirus, 329 recoveries and nine deaths in the past 24 hours. The majority of the cases were reported in the coastal Adjara region of Georgia and in the capital Tbilisi. Georgia has had 12,841 cases of the coronavirus since February 26, 2020. Since then 6,867 patients have recovered, while 102 others have died. As of today 5,872 individuals remain infected with Covid-19 in Georgia. More than 50 of the 5,872 patients are in critical condition.