Health officials on soaring coronavirus cases: imposing coronavirus restrictions not on agenda
The head of Georgia's National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Amiran Gamkrelidze, stated that the country is close to the 60% vaccination rate in the three regions of Georgia. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgian health officials say that additional coronavirus-related restrictions will not be imposed in Georgia despite the surge of COVID-19 cases.
Georgia registered 5,206 new cases of coronavirus and 53 deaths in the last 24 hours, with the positivity rate up to 9.34% in the past 14 days.
Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia noted that the country might face the need for field hospitals if cases continue to surge
[A total of] 8,871 beds are mobilised in the hospital [sector], out of which 6,648 are occupied; 1,640 patients are in the intensive care unit and 338 are on artificial ventilation,” Gabunia said.
Overall 49,619 people remain infected with Covid-19 in Georgia. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
Vaccination in Georgia
Overall, 946,395 people are fully vaccinated in Georgia, amounting to 33.1% of the country’s population; while only 3,469 individuals received a COVID-19 vaccine dose on November 3.
The head of Georgia's National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Amiran Gamkrelidze, stated that the country is close to the 60% vaccination rate in the three regions of Georgia.
The Georgian government aims to vaccinate 30,000 people daily in order to reach its vaccination goal of 60% of the country’s population by the end of this year.
Gamkrelidze reported that in Tbilisi, 50% of the adult population has been vaccinated so far, while in the Black Sea region of Adjara, and in western Georgia's Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region, more than 45% have received a vaccine.
Image: datacov.mog.gov.ge.
Deputy Minister Gabunia noted that 3,000-4,000 people in the country received booster doses of a COVID-19 vaccine since the beginning of October after the Immunisation Council’s approval.
She also announced that the council recommended booster doses for individuals over the age of 18 as well.
‘Green Passports’
Gabunia stated that regulations, such as wearing face masks and social distancing, will remain in force in case of the introduction of so-called green passports, noting that it ‘can not replace any of the regulations.’
[Green passport] is one of the mechanisms to create an extra incentive for people who have not been vaccinated. This is one of the means and not the only one,” Gabunia noted.
Currently, the coordination council is reviewing the COVID-19 ‘green passport’ package, proposed by the Georgian National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) in late October, and working to specify the date of its activation.
COVID-19 ‘green passports’ will contain information on the vaccination status of an individual, PCR test results, and confirmation of recovery from COVID-19, if such exists.
A total of 10,238 people have died in Georgia due to coronavirus complications since the beginning of the pandemic.