Coronavirus: Georgia Suspends Direct Flights with Italy, Tightens Border Control
On March 6, the Inter-Agency Coordination Council on Coronavirus, a Georgian government task force headed by Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, introduced a number of new precaution measures aimed at fending off the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The government issued a temporary ban on direct flights to and from Italy with immediate effect. The Coordination Council reiterated advice to travelers to refrain from visiting China, South Korea, Italy and Iran, all of which were gravely affected by the novel coronavirus.
On Thursday, March 5, the number of Georgian coronavirus cases totaled 9, after confirming six new cases imported from Italy, the location of Europe’s largest coronavirus outbreak. Seven out of the nine patients who are being treated on coronavirus in Georgia today returned to the country from Italy.
In a bid to beef up monitoring of the disease, all travelers (Georgian and foreign), having previously visited the countries designated as high-risk regions by the World Health Organization, are obliged to undergo intensive screening when crossing the state border and spend two weeks under mandatory quarantine. Alternatively, the travelers must present a PCR (polymerase chain reaction used for detecting the virus) certificate issued by a laboratory in the country of departure, or in case of transit travelers, by a laboratory in the transit country.
Follow the coronavirus spread timeline in Georgia:
- February 26: Georgia Confirms First Case of Coronavirus
- February 28: Georgia Confirms Second Coronavirus Case
- February 29: Georgia Confirms Third Case of Coronavirus
- March 5: Georgia Confirms Fourth Case of Coronavirus
- March 5: Coronavirus Cases in Georgia Total Nine
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