The outcomes of the intensive testing program under the Government’s 2-month plan, resources available at clinical hotels, and the enforcement of restrictions were discussed at today’s meeting of the Interagency Coordination Council chaired by Prime Minister.

The meeting pointed out that, as part of the intensive testing program, 20,000-21,000 tests are conducted daily, and it should be commended that, despite the intensity of testing, the statistics of confirmed cases are not growing. According to epidemiologists, cautious optimism draws on the percentage of infections in the country dropping almost to 28%. The Interagency Coordination Council once again urges citizens with the slightest symptoms of the virus to contact medical institutions where state-funded tests are available, over 230 clinics in all throughout the country. A list of such clinics by region is available at https://stopcov.ge/ka/klinikebi.

The council also discussed threats stemming from the approaching flu season and vaccination among high-risk groups. Based on the analysis of the current situation, the Coordination Council advises taxi drivers to contact relevant facilities and get seasonal flu vaccines, this way taking care of their own health and that of others.

The council also discussed preparations for the vaccination phase, including both timely import and infrastructure/logistics. The state, with engagement from the Foreign Ministry and Georgian diplomatic missions abroad, is conducting active negotiations with international partners and vaccine manufacturers besides the COVAX platform.

The council also discussed the availability of beds in the hospital sector and steps to secure additional ICU beds and medical equipment, with special emphasis on the role of COVID hotels where, on the Prime Minister"s instructions, therapeutic elements are enhanced, and oxygen is supplied. The council pointed out that many clinical hotels-including such large hotels as Holiday Inn, Iveria Inn, Ramada, and others-are managed by respective clinics, to better the continuous medical supervision over patients transferred to COVID hotels.

The council discussed the global pandemic, with the number of infection cases exceeding 69 million around the globe, including 643,000 new cases in the past 24 hours. The meeting elaborated on COVID-management trends in various countries, including in Europe.

The meeting emphasized that, according to epidemiologists and healthcare experts, restrictions must be lifted with great care to avoid a rapid growth in mobility. The Coordination Council analyzes the country’s epidemiological situation in detail and assesses the effect of the restrictions and the quality of their enforcement. The need to ensure the effective enforcement of Government-imposed restrictions and compliance with all recommendations was reiterated, including social distancing and facemask use. According to epidemiologists, even with restrictions imposed, facemask use is crucial for stabilizing the situation and flattening the curve, and it is necessary to increase facemask-use statistics from present 65% to 90-95%.

The Interior Minister and the Head of the Labor Inspection Department reported to the council on measures to enforce the restrictions under the 2-month plan. In particular, nationwide law-enforcement monitoring in the past 24 hours revealed 790 violations, with the police fining 53 persons for violating isolation and/or quarantine rules, including those breaking the curfew from 9 PM to 5 AM, and 737 persons fined for neglecting the mandatory facemask-use rule, in the past 24 hours.

Through the joint efforts of the Labor Inspection Department, the National Food Agency, and municipal supervision agencies, 631 outlets were inspected in the past 24 hours to, with verbal and written warnings issued to 408 outlets, 2 outlets fined in Tbilisi and Kutaisi, 43 outlets suspended. Also, follow-up inspections were held at 178 outlets. On December 1-9, follow-up inspections at 3,543 outlets reveal that they have switched fully to online services or meet relevant requirements.

Since the first coronavirus infection in the country, there have been 178,953 confirmed cases, with 148,332 recoveries and 1,657 fatalities.

Presently, 1,019 persons are under quarantine, 3,524 in COVID hotels, and 6,918 hospitalized under medical supervision.