Covid-19 cases continue to increase, first field hospital ready to receive patients
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Friday, August 20
4,921 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Georgia yesterday, on August 19. Out of the confirmed cases, the majority was registered in Tbilisi - 1948. According to official data, the country now has 57.704 active cases, more than ever before.
As for the number of people who received the vaccine, it was 26,363 on Thursday. Starting from March 15, 883,570 vaccines have been administered, 258,303 people have received both doses of vaccine. Yesterday, 58 people died of coronavirus. This is the highest daily number during the pandemic in the country. Only this month, 770 people died in Georgia. In total, Covid-19 killed as many as 6590 people in the country.
The Minister of Health of Georgia, Ekaterine Tikaradze said yesterday that the field hospital that was set up in Digomi is ready to receive patients. The Health Minister also said that this will be used only if it’s necessary, and as long as the actual hospitals are able to receive patients, the field hospital will not be used. There are 500 beds in the field hospital of Digomi.
According to Tikaradze, the doctors who will work in the field hospital are fully trained and have all the skills needed to provide safe care to patients. According to the minister, the field hospital will be able to accept both moderate and severe patients, as it is equipped with both intensive and resuscitation-type beds.
It is currently the worst wave of the coronavirus epidemic in Georgia. The death rate and infection rate have increased dramatically compared to the previous, severe stages of the epidemic. At least 90% of patients have a more contagious and complex delta strain.
Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia talked about the Covid-19 statistic in Georgia, saying that a huge majority of the people who ended up in the hospitals were not vaccinated. The research done between March and August 17 shows that 98 percent of people who needed hospitalization were not vaccinated.
As for treatment in the intensive care unit - about 3,500 people have been treated in ICUs so far, including about 1% who received one dose of vaccine and 0.3% who have been vaccinated fully.
“In other words, ICUs were needed for a very small number of vaccinated patients, which means that the vaccine actually works and protects against the development of hospitalization and severe cases,” said Gabunia.
Tamar Gabunia also said that it is very likely for the number of deaths to increase. As she said, according to the experience, at least 1 percent of people who contract the virus die, which means that “every 5,000 people infected with the virus can mean 50 deaths”.
According to health experts, the only way out of this situation is vaccination. There are four vaccines available in Georgia, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, and Sinovac. Additional vaccination centers are also being opened very frequently. At some of these centers, people can receive vaccines without prior registration.
