Georgian priest who claimed pandemic was 'fake' dies of coronavirus

Georgian priest David Kvlividze, who led an active campaign to deny the existence of the coronavirus pandemic, has died in hospital after complications caused by coronavirus infection.

Kvlividze was one of the leaders of the radical ‘Union of Orthodox Parents’ group, which was created with the participation of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The group has released a popular video that claims the pandemic is fake and urges people not to agree to quarantine regulations.

In his sermons, David Kvlividze often protested against some of the quarantine measures taken by the Patriarchate, for example, against the disinfection of churches.

This is not the first death of a clergyman in Georgia. In late November, a member of the Holy Synod, Bishop Lazare, died of the virus. Other clergymen are also among the dead.

On December 7, 2,501 new cases of coronavirus infection were recorded in Georgia, another 36 people died. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 164,976 cases of infection have been confirmed, from which 1,540 people have died, 137,499 have recovered. As of this moment, 25,911 have coronavirus in the country.