Third-wave peak of Covid expected by end of April, no restrictions to be lifted for Easter
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, April 22
The Interagency Coordinating Council has not changed any pandemic-related regulations and restrictions yesterday. As the head of the operational staff of the Interagency Coordination Council Giorgi Ghibradze said after the meeting of the council, it is especially important to strictly protect and implement preventive measures.
In particular, curfew will remain from 21:00 to 05:00, restaurants still won’t be allowed to open on weekends. The government called on both the public and the private sector once again and recommended switching to remote working mode as much as possible. In the enterprises where cases are detected, the epidemiological security measures should be tightened as much as possible and active testing should be provided with the maximum involvement of employers.
According to the Deputy Minister of Health of Georgia Tamar Gabunia, as of today, the lifting of the restriction on movement from 9 pm to 5 am is not planned on Easter night and everything will remain as it is. She did not rule out the possibility of imposing additional restrictions that could change the picture.
Due to the recent worsening of the epidemic situation and the increase in the number of coronavirus in Georgia, the number of beds in the hospital sector has increased. The Deputy Minister of Health said that out of 4,400 beds, 3,600 are occupied and there is a need to add guest rooms.
Recall that the World Health Organization (WHO) data reads that in the last week, more than 5.2 million cases were registered worldwide, which is 14% more than those the previous week. As of April 21, 1310 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Georgia during the last 24 hours. 12 people died of Covid-19.
Since February 26, 2020, when the first case of coronavirus infection was confirmed in Georgia, a total of 299,038 cases have been registered, and 3 971 have died.
According to the head of the National Center for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze, consultations will be held with the Patriarchate regarding restriction over the Easter holidays. He emphasized that it is important to follow the recommendations as much as possible and to place the parish mainly outside the temple, keeping a distance.
Gamkrelidze informed that according to the Institute of Health Measurements, the country should enter the peak of the spread of the virus in late April, the first two weeks of May. The NCDC head thinks that this peak should not be as acute as that in November-December since about 600-650 thousand people in Georgia have already been infected. “A small part of the population has already been vaccinated. We are entering the period of warmer weather which is not a very comfortable time for respiratory viruses. It has been scientifically proven that the sunshine has a depressant effect on the coronavirus.”
As for the vaccination process in Georgia, 48,187 people have filled the registration form for the vaccine, which opened for the public on Monday and allows the selection of up to three types of Covid-19 vaccine. When their desired vaccine is available, registered people will be notified. As of now, around 32 000 people have been vaccinated in Georgia. As Gabunia says, the third-fourth quarter is a period when they think that mass vaccination against coronavirus should start in the country.
Gamkrelidze also spoke about cases of re-infection and noted that new strains may increase the likelihood of re-infection in the world.
According to the decisions of the council, the proper use of the facemask and the protection of social distance will be even more strictly controlled, as well as crowded gatherings, including social events, the holding of which is prohibited by a government decree.
Because of the worsening of the epidemiological situation, the council appeals to the elderly to stay home as much as possible.
