Government lifts nationwide curfew, mass vaccination to start in Georgia

By Khatia Bzhalava

Thursday, July 1

The restriction on movement from 9 p.m to 5 a.m was imposed on November 28, 2020, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In June, the curfew was shortened to between 23:00 and 4:00.

Georgia plans to vaccinate half a million citizens monthly for the next three months.

Curfew, which remained in force from 23:00 to 04:0, is being lifted throughout the country starting July 1st. The decision was made by the Inter-Agency Coordination Council on June 22. “We have high hopes that the epidemiological situation in the country will develop in a way that we will not need to impose any restrictions in the future,” said Chief of the Operational Staff of the Interagency Coordination Council Giorgi Gibradze.

Restaurants and food facilities will remain open only until 00:00. Municipal transport will operate from 7 AM to 12 PM. Wearing a face mask outdoors is no longer mandatory in Georgia, however, the restriction remains in force at bus stops, in public transport and indoor spaces.

Yesterday, the Minister of Health Ekaterine Tikaradze announced the start of mass vaccination and noted that from July, Georgia is expecting more than a million doses of vaccine. As she noted, with the resources currently available in the country, it is possible to vaccinate 17,000 citizens daily. Tikaradze positively estimated the vaccination dynamic and expressed hope to vaccinate half a million citizens monthly for the next three months.

According to the minister, currently up to 200 clinics are involved in the vaccination process at this stage, with 281 vaccination crews, each capable of vaccinating 60 patients on an 8-hour schedule.

According to Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia, it is also planned to arrange additional outdoor spaces, where citizens will be able to get vaccinated under qualified medical supervision.

On Wednesday, Georgia reported 1 010 coronavirus cases, 603 recoveries, and 19 deaths. As of yesterday, there are a total of 366 078 confirmed cases, among them, 351 747 people recovered and 5 316 died. According to the official data, Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, recorded the highest number (677) of Covid-19 cases, followed by the Imereti region (83 cases) and the Kvemo Kartli region (65 cases). As of now, over 261 thousand citizens have been vaccinated across the country.