Georgia to Lift COVID-19 Curfew Starting July

Georgia will lift its seven-month-long nationwide curfew starting July 1, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced following the June 22 Inter-Agency Coordination Council meeting. Also, wearing face masks outdoors will no longer be mandatory starting today.

Restrictions will remain on restaurants, bars, and other food and entertainment facilities, which will be allowed to operate only until 00:00 after the curfew is canceled. Face masks also remain obligatory in indoor public places, public transport, and bus stops. 

National Center for Disease Control chief Amiran Gamkrelidze said COVID-19 epidemiological situation has “slowly” begun to improve in Georgia following a third-wave peak in May. But the senior health official appealed to the public to be cautious. “Even though [wearing a] face mask will not be mandatory in outdoor spaces, it is still recommended,” Gamkrelidze stressed.

The curfew is currently enforced from 23:00 to 04:00. It was put in place in Georgian cities on November 9, 2020, amid climbing COVID-19 cases. Enforced from 22:00 to 05:00 initially, the curfew became nationwide starting November 28, 2020, with its beginning time also moved to 21:00. Georgian authorities pushed back the restriction to 23:00 – 05:00 on May 17, and to 23:00 – 04:00 on June 1. Wearing a face mask outdoors was made mandatory on November 4, 2020.

As of today, Georgia has fully vaccinated 84,756 persons, while a total of 238,220 persons have received at least a single dose. A “large-scale” inoculation is to start from July, with million doses of COVID jabs arriving in two weeks, according to the Georgian Prime Minister.

Georgian health authorities reported today 914 new cases of COVID-19, 635 recoveries, and 24 fatalities. The number of active infections stands at 8,613.

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