Covid Passports to Come into Effect On December 1

By Khatia Bzhalava

Tuesday, November 9

According to Gharibashvili, anyone who has recovered from the virus will be eligible for the ‘green passport’.

According to the government’s decision, to encourage engagement in the vaccination process, pensioners will receive 200 GEL bonuses after their first vaccine doses

The COVID-19 passports will come into effect starting December 1st, announced Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili after the meeting of the Interagency Coordination Council. The PM said that to encourage vaccination the pensioners who will get vaccinated against coronavirus before January 1 will receive one-off GEL 200 pension supplements.

According to Gharibashvili, the so-called green status will be granted to those who are fully vaccinated, have been previously infected with coronavirus, have undergone a 72-hour validity PCR test, or a 24-hour validity antigen test. A green passport will be required of persons over the age of 18.

According to the decision of the Coordinating Council, only those with Covid passports will be allowed to enter all entertainment facilities. The detailed list of facilities will be published soon. As Gharibashvili noted, the requirements will apply only to the guests of the facilities and not the employees.

The PM stressed yesterday that no mandatory vaccination will be introduced in the country as he considers it as a gross interference with people’s freedom of choice. According to him, the majority of Georgian people do not support mandatory vaccination. To enhance public trust in COVID-19 vaccination, the government implements various events, including the expansion of the vaccine marathon in ten big cities and two municipalities.

Georgia reported 2,191 coronavirus cases, 4,348 recoveries, and 74 deaths yesterday. According to the Head of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze, more Covid-related deaths are expected as there are over 1,500 critical patients, among them more than 300 requiring mechanical ventilation. In total, there have been 755,046 confirmed cases, among them, 693,129 people recovered and 10,509 died.