Rapid antigen testing for COVID-19 to begin in Georgia today
The number of daily coronavirus tests being conducted in Georgia is 12,000, which is 60 times more than at the onset period of the pandemic. Photo: The Ministry of Health.
Tweet 
Share
Rapid antigen testing for Covid-19 will be launched in Georgia today.
The rapid antigen test gives results in less than 30 minutes.
This method relies on the direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins in nasal swabs and other respiratory secretions.
Deputy Head of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Paata Imadze says there are 150,000 raid antigen tests in stock in Georgia as of now and another half a million have been ordered.
Imnadze also mentioned that this type of test is authorised by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the World Health Organisation.
While explaining the importance of using facemasks and keeping distance from one another, Imnadze said studies show if over 90 per cent of the population uses face masks properly, the number of expected new cases of infection will be reduced by 70 per cent.
Imnadze said 3,000-4,000 new cases of infection are expected in the coming days in Georgia.
The government of Georgia said yesterday that wearing face masks in open areas in the three main cities of Georgia - Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi - is strongly recommended to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.
People will be fined for not wearing face masks in closed public areas and public transport.
The government of Georgia says that wearing facemasks in open areas in the three main cities of Georgia - Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi - is strongly recommended to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus. Georgia has reported 1,759 new cases of coronavirus earlier today and five deaths which is a record number since the country confirmed its first case of the virus at the end of February 2020. The majority of the new cases were recorded in the capital Tbilisi, Adjara and Imereti regions.
The number of daily coronavirus tests being conducted in Georgia is 12,000, which is 60 times more than at the onset period of the pandemic.
Restaurants will close at 10 pm in Georgia's ancient capital city of Mtskheta located just north of Tbilisi.
Georgian epidemiologists say that daily coronavirus cases in Georgia may peak in the middle of November.
A total of 1,928 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in Georgia over the last 24 hours, increasing the number of total confirmed cases to 28,431. Meanwhile, 604 people have recovered and eight more have died.
Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze says the biggest challenge for the Georgian healthcare system is the lack of inpatient beds and medics during the coronavirus pandemic.