Georgia preparing for 3rd wave of Covid. PM diagnosed with coronavirus

Georgia is preparing for a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic and Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile, vaccinations in the country are progressing much slower than foreseen.

Additional consignments of vaccine from the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will be delivered to Georgia in late April, and vaccines from the American firm Pfizer in June, Deputy Minister of Health of Georgia Tamar Gabunia said.

According to her, supplies will be carried out through the international COVAX platform. As for direct talks with Pfizer, their schedule will be announced later.

The Deputy Minister of Health also spoke about the possible tightening of quarantine measures if the daily percentage of positive tests from all those carried out exceeds two percent. In the past two weeks in Georgia, this figure has reached 1.94 percent.

• ‘Frozen season’: How the pandemic affected Georgia’s winter resorts

“It all depends on how the society will adhere to the existing rules. Only compliance with them can ensure that we no longer have to return to tougher restrictions, ”Gabunia said.

According to her, education in kindergartens and schools will continue as usual for the time being.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, the number of infections is growing. Over the past 24 hours, the country has recorded 897 new cases, an increase of almost three times compared to February.

The coronavirus was diagnosed in the Prime Minister of the country, Irakli Garibashvili. Due to contacts with him, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili went into self-isolation.

At the same time, the coronavirus vaccination process in Georgia is slow. According to the Center for Disease Control, only 1,214 people have been vaccinated in the past day. In total, 12,846 people were vaccinated three weeks after the start of vaccination.

Two vaccines are now available in Georgia – from the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca. Two days ago, 100,000 doses of Chinese-made vaccines were delivered to the country. However, it will be used after the approval of the World Health Organization.