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COVID-19: 2 New Cases Bring Georgia Confirmed Total to 15

Marina Ezugbaia. Photo: Screengrab from Maestro TV video

On March 9, Georgia confirmed two new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total to fifteen cases in the country. The information first became available via the special alert website, run by the Georgian government.

Medical Director of Tbilisi Infectious Diseases and AIDS Center Marina Ezugbaia told journalists this morning that one of the two last patients, who tested positive on COVID-19, came into contact (direct or indirect) with one of the patients of the infected group that had traveled back from Italy.

Another infected individual arrived from Spain. However, s/he also had “long and frequent contact” with Italians. Therefore, Ezugbaia said, at this stage, it is not possible to ascertain whether this should be considered as a case contracted in Spain or from Italy.

Georgia confirmed its first COVID-19 case on February 26. The same day, Georgian government created ad hoc inter-agency group for tackling the virus led by Prime Minister Gakharia. On March 6, Georgian government introduced new set of measures aimed at preventing the outbreak of the disease. Flights with Italy, a country where most of the cases were contracted, are now suspended.

Nationals and travelers, having visited a country marked as the high-risk region by the World Health Organization (WHO), are obliged to undergo intensive screening when crossing the state border and spend two weeks under mandatory quarantine. Alternatively, they must present a Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) lab-test 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:

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