Georgian government decides not to reopen nightclubs

According to the decision of the Coordination Council, nightclubs will not reopen in Georgia. The representative of the council, Giorgi Ghibradze, said that the reason for this is the spread of the Omicron strain.

According to Ghibradze, the Omicron strain has already been detected in Georgia and several potential cases of it are still being investigated. Therefore, the potential for the spread of the new strain of virus is very high.

“Consequently, lifting of restriction on the operation of nightclubs is not going to happen today. We have not made a decision to open clubs, because we see a tendency in the whole world where activities were allowed, there are restrictions and cancellations”, said Ghibradze.

After the meeting of the Coordination Council, Ghibradze also spoke about the rise in cases when clubs reopened arbitrarily. As Ghibradze noted, there is a law in Georgia before which everyone is equal:

“The law says it is forbidden to hold such events”.

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Holding events in nightclubs in Georgia is still not allowed. For several months now, the club industry has been negotiating with the government over the opening.

On December 3, it was reported that the nightclubs would resume operations on December 17. The Labor Inspectorate then said it was working with other agencies on a safety protocol amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, today the Coordinating Council once again refused to open nightclubs.

According to the unions, the club sector employs about 8,000 people who have been left without income for 21 months.