Gov’t anticipates stabilisation of epidemic situation in country by end of March

The Georgian government expects the number of Covid-19 cases to decrease in the upcoming weeks and to see the general situation with the epidemic stabilise by the end of March, the country's prime minister Irakli Garibashvili said earlier today. 

I do not want to make predictions in advance, but the [health] ministry has done the modelling and there is an expectation that in the next few weeks, the daily cases will decrease and we think by the end of March or by April, the situation will stabilise,” Garibashvili said.

• PM Garibashvili: we want to extend vaccination incentive programme, deliver vaccines to villages

The PM further noted the health ministry was able to fully manage the pandemic situation despite the high number of active cases in Georgia, noting the hospital sector was not overloaded and minister Zurab Azarashvili “fully controls the situation.”

The head of the government added more than 2,000 of 8,000 hospital beds were still available for potential patients, adding “more than 150 online clinics and several hundred family doctors are involved in the process.”

• Georgian PM tests positive for Omicron Covid variant

The PM stressed health authorities did more Covid testing daily on average compared to European countries, adding “in this respect Georgia is really outstanding,” Garibashvili added. 

The prime minister also commented on the recent abolition of green passes and said Georgia has taken into consideration the experience and practices of European countries, adding vaccination remained the priority of the government despite the decision.

“I was confirmed with another strain last year, I was vaccinated twice with Pfizer, but I still got the Omicron, however, I want to tell you that this virus is in very mild forms in the vast majority of cases, lighter than many other viruses,” Garibashvili said. Photo: Government of Georgia. 

He also reiterated the government aimed to expand vaccination and begin an intensive vaccination process in regions of the country. 

Individuals over the age of 50 receive a 200 GEL reward after receiving their first dose of the vaccine, while in case of receiving the booster shot they also receive a 100 GEL bonus. 

Georgia has registered 4,028 new Covid-19 cases, 22,517 recoveries, and 21 deaths in the past 24 hours. 

• Georgia reports 4,028 new cases of coronavirus, 21 deaths

A total of 1,913 cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed in the country as of February 14, while 171,731 individuals remain confirmed with the coronavirus, out of which 6,202 patients are undergoing treatment in hospitals as of today. 

In total, 1,343,310 individuals have received at least one dose of any vaccine in the country so far, while 1,233,566 people have been fully vaccinated, amounting to 42.9% of the adult population.