83 kindergarteners in Ozurgeti, Guria region found to have enterovirus, investigation launched

Chkonia said that the food supplied to the kindergartens had not expired and storage conditions did not violate sanitary requirements. Photo: IPN.

Agenda.ge, 19 Oct 2020 - 13:43, Tbilisi,Georgia

Over 80 kindergarten children are exhibiting symptoms of the enterovirus in Ozurgeti municipality, Guria region.

On October 15 we started the academic year in 32 kindergartens. On Saturday at four pm [the centre] was informed that four kindergarten children  had fever, vomiting and diarrhea…Later, it was known that children had similar symptoms in 11 kindergartens out of 32 in total”, said Head of Ozurgeti Municipality Preschool Education Center Maka Chkonia, noting kindergartens have already been sanitised and laboratory tests of the food have been conducted.

Chkonia said that the food supplied to the kindergartens had not expired and storage conditions did not violate sanitary requirements.

She dismissed speculation the children may have been poisoned from meat supplied to kindergartens as a number of children have presented enterovirus symptoms who had not eaten meat in the kindergartens at all.

The National Food Agency has launched an investigation into the matter. 

Kindergartens opened throughout Georgia on October 12 except for in the Adjara region and Ozurgeti municipality, where kindergartens were still closed at that time amid a severe epidemiological situation.