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The News in Brief

Wednesday, April 1
By Liza Mchedlidze



Medical staff transmission risks strictly controlled, hospital director says

Republic Hospital director Levan Gopodze stated that medical staff are using all the protection equipment recommended by the World Health Organization. According to him, doctors, nurses and sanitation personnel are treating alleged or positive-tested patients fully equipped,with preventive measures under control:

“I assure you these measures are very important when hundreds of doctors are infected around the world. We are fully equipped to act according to these rules and we are going to continue this way,” Gopodze told reporters.

According to him, the highest risk of patient to doctor transmission of the virus falls on emergency situations.

On March 30th, a nurse in Batumi Hospital for Infectious Diseases tested positive for the Coronavirus. According to the Deputy Health Minister of Adjara, the reason the nurse was infected is because the patient was not following the safety instructions. The nurse was following every rule carried out by the WHO.

There are no COVID-19 patients at Republic Hospital currently, but 46 people remain under observation.

As reported on March 31st, there are 110 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Georgia, 21 people have recovered.



179 Georgian citizens to return to country, Zalkaliani says

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Davit Zalkaliani has stated that 179 Georgian citizens are returning to Georgia from Amsterdam on March 31st. The flight will be operated by Georgian Airways.

According to Zalkaliani, one of the passengers is a pregnant woman, four persons are of special needs and 40 are transit passengers. The pregnant woman was provided with housing by the Georgian Embassy.



Nationwide Curfew activated in Georgia

A nationwide curfew has been announced in Georgia by the Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia. Starting March 31st, it is forbidden to go outside between 21:00 and 06:00. All public transportation is temporarily suspended and only persons with special permits or government-licenced cars and media can drive past 21:00. People over 70 are only allowed to go to the nearest supermarkets or pharmacies. Gakharia noted that everyone must carry IDs with them and added that private vehicles (as well as taxis) will only be allowed to travel with a maximum of two passengers in the rear.