Georgia confirms first cases of Delta plus variant, half of new coronavirus cases are Delta

Georgian health officials say that the epidemiological situation is getting worse. Photo: NCDC.

Agenda.ge, 27 Jul 2021 - 13:05, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgia has reported two cases of Delta plus variant of coronavirus earlier today, while 40-50 per cent of the 3,666 patients who tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours had contracted the Delta variant, Georgian health officials stated earlier today. 

Both the Delta and Delta plus variants were first detected in India. 

They are more transmissible compared to other variants of coronavirus, bind more easily to lung cells and are more resistant to therapies. 

Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze has stated that the epidemiological situation ‘is getting worse’ in Georgia.

He stated that 5,000 patients are undergoing treatment in hospitals, while the country has the resources to ensure 7,000-8,000 beds. 

Image: coronavirus live update.

He stated that planned services were temporarily suspended in hospitals and they were shifted to urgent services. 

Gamkrelidze urged people to vaccinate rather than attend weddings and other ceremonies. 

Deputy head of NCDC Paata Imnadze said that the people ‘who differentiate vaccines from one another and refuse to vaccinate because of the absence of a particular vaccine may be more dangerous than anti-vaccine individuals.’ 

He also urged companies to encourage vaccination amongst personnel and observe coronavirus guidelines ‘otherwise they will find themselves in a very poor condition (due to new restrictions or the refusal of tourists to arrive). 

Wearing of face masks in closed facilities and transport is mandatory in Georgia, while individuals must wear face masks outdoors if they are more than five standing together. 

418,398 individuals have been inoculated in Georgia since March 2021, while less than half of this number have received both doses of a vaccine. 

The Chinese Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines and the German-US Pfizer vaccines are available in the country currently.