Georgia reports only one new corona case on 4th of June
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, June 5
The Georgian government released the report about the measures taken against Covid-19. According to the document, one-fifth of the Georgian population, who are of retirement age, are at high or moderate risk in terms of the new coronavirus pandemic. The report reads that the structural analysis of the population is important in managing the epidemic.
The report states that quite a large number of the Georgian population live with chronic illnesses, such as cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory syndromes, cancer, and diabetes, which are considered as high risk factors for the progression of Covid-19.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said that the government is planning to conduct a large-scale study with international partners on the coronavirus’ effect on different aspects of the country.
According to Gakharia, such studies on the one hand help the country prepare better for a possible second wave of the virus, and, on the other hand, to share successful experience with international partners.
The PM announced at the government meeting that there’s not much time to wait, because citizens are in hard times now, since they have lost their income. He spoke of the steps that Georgia has talem to support its citizens and country’s economy, such as dovering utility fees, including sanitary services, gas and water bills for 3 months for households which consume less than 200 kWh of electricity and 200 cubic meters of natural gas per month; Georgian commercial banks have postponed the payment of loans for 6 months in total; People who lost their jobs because of the coronavirus crisis or are on unpaid leave will receive GEL1,200 over the course of six months; In addition, based on the plan, people employed in the informal sector or self-employed individuals will receive one-time assistance of GEL300) if they can substantiate claims of job loss – the budget for this is GEL75 million.
Gakharia said that the post-crisis plan will give Georgia an opportunity to be effective and ready to participate in global competition.
He noted that the government will have a first draft of the plan in one month, which will be complete in another one month after discussion with local experts. PM said that based on the plan steps will be taken this year, but the plan will be oriented mostly for the following year.
At the June 4th sitting, it was also announced that the Government of Georgia will consider one of the issues of the legislative change, the change of the credit-guarantee scheme. The PM stated before the government session that the change envisages assistance to companies that plan to implement new projects, which will be 90% bank loan guarantees, while those companies that have already taken out loans will be supported by a 30% guarantee on existing projects.
The Georgian government is working with experts from the University of Cambridge and the University of London as well as Deloitte analysts and local experts to create a post-crisis economic plan and decide what steps they should take in order to improve the Georgian economy after the coronavirus lockdown.
For that reason PM held a videoconference with world-acclaimed professors Ha-Joon Chang, Christopher Cramer, and Jonathan D. Jones, and discussed how to overcome poverty, support economic growth and increase the competitiveness of the Georgian economy.
The main subject of the meeting was regarding the ways to overcome Georgia's major economic challenges including the current account deficit and the national debt's volume.
It’s newsworthy that Georgia confirmed its first case of the virus at the end of February 2020. As of June 4th, 144 people remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia, while 13 others have passed away.
