Quarantine will not be mandatory for Georgian citizens returning from abroad

From October 21, Georgian citizens returning to the country will no longer undergo mandatory quarantine.

At the border, it will be enough to present the results of a negative PCR test made within the last 72 hours.

“Citizens will have a choice – to replace quarantine with a PCR test. But if someone does not have the opportunity, funds or time to make a test, in this case the government will transfer them to a free quarantine space,” noted Natia Turnava, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.

The decision was made by the interagency coordination council on October 20.

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For almost seven months since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, all Georgian citizens coming to the country from abroad first went through a 14-day quarantine, then it was reduced to twelve days, and in the last month – to eight.

Citizens were quarantined in various hotels throughout the country. Their living expenses, including meals, were covered by the state budget.

As of May 22 alone, 19,002 people underwent mandatory quarantine, which cost the budget 32.5 million lari [around $10 million].

Some experts consider high quarantine costs unjustified and criticize the government.