COVID-19 Pandemic: Georgian Gov’t to Work ‘Round-the-Clock’

In response to the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic, Georgian government will function in an emergency, round-the-clock regime, Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia decreed on March 12.

Before opening the cabinet meeting on Thursday morning, PM Gakharia stated that “despite deplorable statistics [of spreading the disease in the world], Georgia manages to tackle the challenge relatively well.” “The challenges we face may aggravate daily and we are obliged to be ready to stand up to them,” stressed Georgian Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister clarified, that due to government’s decision, classes at secondary schools and universities will resume after a month. Spring conscription into the army will also be deferred for a month.

PM Gakharia voiced a recommendation addressed to government agencies to adopt remote work policies whenever possible. He extended the same recommendation to the private sector as well.

Georgian nationals returning from China, Iran, South Korea, Italy, Germany, France, Austria and Spain (countries gravely affected by the disease) will be subject to a 14-day mandatory quarantine.

As for the foreign nationals, they will be obliged to present PCR certificates confirming that they tested negative on COVID-19 while crossing the state border. Otherwise, they will also be subject to a 14-day mandatory quarantine.

PM Gakharia noted that some citizens’ reluctance to observe the guideline of self-isolation had engendered a major challenge for public health. Therefore, Gakharia called on the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health representatives, to enforce the necessary provisions obliging citizens to fully observe self-isolation.

The Prime Minister tasked ministries in charge of Georgia’s economy to present by March 12 a concrete plan elaborating on how to provide fiscal stimulus to the affected sectors of the economy. “This is a global challenge and we have to spare no effort to ensure that Georgia’s response to this calamity is one of the most efficient,” PM concluded.

Georgia confirmed one more new case of COVID-19 on March 11, bringing the total to 24 cases.

Georgia confirmed its first COVID-19 case on February 26. The number of confirmed cases hit 24 in two weeks time. Among detected cases, the main source of spread was tracked to Italy, two cases were imported from Iran and one case is linked to Spain.

In order to fend off spread of the infection, Georgian government suspended flights and land travel with Iran. Later government suspended direct air travel with Italy and introduced border restrictions for Georgian and foreign nationals.

On March 9, based on the recommendation by the ad hoc inter-agency group for tackling the disease, all foreign business and study visits by state officials were suspended.

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