Doctor denied transfer to Tbilisi hospital dies in occupied Akhalgori from coronavirus
A total of 16 individuals have died in Tskhinvali region since the de-facto leadership closed its crossing-points last September. Photo: Kakha Mchedlidze/RFERL
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A 68-year-old doctor has died of coronavirus in the Russia-occupied Akhalgori district. Onise Gatenashvili was a surgeon at the Akhalgori hospital. His family requested he be sent to Tbilisi for treatment when he tested positive for COVID-19.
However, local civic activist Tamar Mearakishvili reported, their request ‘was not heard’ by the de-facto Tskhinvali leadership. The doctor was instead sent to Tskhinvali hospital where his condition worsened, Radio Liberty has reported.
It was only afterwards that Tskhinvali doctors decided to send him to Tbilisi, but Onise Gatenashvili died on the way to hospital.
Occupied Tskhinvali has closed the crossing-points connecting the region with the rest of Georgia for over a year now. Locals, who are not able to receive high quality medical assistance on the ground, are also restricted to go to Tbilisi-controlled territory.
Tbilisi saddened by the doctor's death
The State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civil Equality has sent condolences to the late doctor's family.
The ministry has meanwhile stated that the doctor was transferred from occupied Tskhinvali via Ergneti crossing-point with support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) yesterday.
The patient was in a very critical condition and he passed away in an emergency vehicle”, the state ministry said.
It also underscored that the central government of Georgian had ensured all the necessary preconditions for his delivery just after the ICRC informed them of their readiness to evacuate the doctor.
Calling on the international organisations to ‘strengthen the pressure’ on the occupying regime, the state ministry said the Georgian authorities spare no efforts to ensure safety and freedom of movement for those living along the dividing line.
40-year old Gela Gariev has died in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, as local doctors could not diagnose his medical problem and offer him appropriate care, reports RFE/RL.
60-year-old woman Tamar Gigauri fell into a well of seven meters deep in Georgia’s Russian- occupied Akhalgori district yesterday, but the Tskhinvali occupation regime is not allowing her family to transfer the woman to a Tbilisi hospital. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, Georgian Minister of Reconciliation and Civil Equality, urged all decision-making bodies to guide by humanitarian principles and not to endanger the health of the injured woman from Akhalgori region.
Margo Martiashvili, who suffered a stroke in the Russian-controlled Akhalgori district, has died earlier today in the hospital of occupied Tskhinvali as her relatives were unable to transport her to the Tbilisi-controlled territory via the shortest route due to the closure of the so-called border.
A mother living in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Akhalgori district was not allowed to leave the territory for several days to mourn her son who died in the Tserovani settlement, on Tbilisi-administered territory. The story caused public turmoil on social media, with the mother permitted to leave Akhalgori only late yesterday [while the young man died on September 22], Radio Liberty reports.
Recoveries have outnumbered new cases of coronavirus in Georgia in the past two days. The country has reported 3,157 new cases of coronavirus, 3,230 recoveries and 30 deaths in the past 24 hours. 16,785 individuals remain infected with Covid-19 in Georgia as of today. Georgia has had 82,835 cases of coronavirus since February 26, 2020.Since then 65,291 individuals have recovered, while 733 others have died.
Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Tea Akhvlediani said the illegal detention of Georgian citizens close to the Russia-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) exacerbate the already grave humanitarian situation there.
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has hosted a preparatory meeting for the 51st round of the Geneva International Discussions, the only international format discussing the consequences of the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, between Georgia’s representatives and the EU, the UN and OSCE Co-chairs.
A 23-year-old doctor has been found dead at Aversi hospital in Marneuli district. The local Marneuli radio reports that the young man, who had recently recovered from coronavirus, has allegedly died from a blood clot.
Georgian State Minister for Reintegration and Civic Equality Tea Akhvlediani has stated that the Russian-occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) remains ‘closed and artificially isolated’. The State Minister noted as well that 16 people have died due to denied access to urgent medical care and delayed hospitalisation.