NCDC warns phone calls ‘on behalf of Lugar Lab’ offering COVID-19 medications are fake
Tbilisi-based Lugar Lab, named after former American Senator Richard Lugar, became operational in 2013. Photo: NCDC/Facebook
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The National Centre for the Disease Control (NCDC) announced yesterday that phone calls on behalf of its Richard G. Lugar Center for Public Health Research, also known as lugar Lab, allegedly offering coronavirus medications are fake.
In particular, the NCDC said that in recent times people are receiving phone calls on behalf of the Tbilisi-based Lugar Lab about the medication for prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
Stressing that they do not recommend any medication at all, the NCDC urged everyone to inform the Interior Ministry if they receive such phone calls in future.
The US-founded Lugar Lab, which is capable of identifying the origin of certain cases of COVID-19 per its genetic sequence, has been the subject of continuous Russian attacks during the coronavirus pandemic.
Named after former American Senator Richard Lugar, it became operational in 2013.
The Lugar Laboratory in Tbilisi will have a new test to diagnose the new China-born coronavirus 2019-nCOV starting February 4, said the head of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health Amiran Gamkrelidze.
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.
The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi says it is “appalled by reports of a cyberattack carried out on September 1 against the computer system of the Georgian Ministry of Health”, which resulted in several documents being stolen from the country’s Lugar Lab.
Russia has demanded access to all blocks and documentation of the US-built, Tbilisi Lugar Centre, and once again accused the lab of ‘conducting dangerous experiments’ following yesterday's repeat invitation from Tbilisi to receive Russian experts there. Russia says that they want the visit ‘without the presence of international organisations, in a bilateral format.’
The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Tbilisi has announced that it has temporarily suspended consular services due to an increase in COVID-19 cases across Georgia.
Georgia has reported 1,872 new cases of coronavirus, 603 recoveries and 14 deaths in the past 24 hours. Georgia has had 30,303 cases of coronavirus since February 26, 2020. 11,370 of the 30,303 patients have recovered, while 215 others have died. 3,832 patients are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Georgia as of today, 2,249 are in hotels, while the remaining are at home. 3,769 individuals are in quarantine.