The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected Georgia. Just a year ago, the Caucasus republic was considered a model country in effectively combating the infection. Georgian success stories were widely presented in the media, including on "Caucasus Watch." But since then, the situation has deteriorated vehemently. Currently, COVID-19 kills about 50 people a day in Georgia, a catastrophic number for a country with an official population of only 3.7 million. "Proportionally, what we have today is five times worse than what happened in India," said Paata Imnadze, deputy director of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC).
The highly contagious Delta variant now accounts for more than 80 percent of COVID-19 cases in Georgia. Yet the proportion of the population that is fully vaccinated is only 6.4%. Vaccination readiness among the population is still considered very low.
To bring the situation under control, the Georgian government introduced strict restrictions on August 14. For example, public transport (in all major cities) will not operate between August 14 and September 4. Intercity transport will operate regularly. The government promises it will provide regular transportation of people (in Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi and Rustavi) to the main hospitals or clinics so that the vaccination process can continue smoothly. No festivals, sporting events or other major events will be held in the country during the next three weeks (except international sporting events). Childcare shelters will remain closed. Food establishments will operate until 23:00. Public and private facilities have been advised to allow their employees to work from home if possible.
The new wave of COVID-19 infections in Georgia is likely related in part to the large influx of tourists from Russia and Turkey this summer. In July alone, the number of international visits to Georgia increased by 403.7%. A total of 230,900 international visits were made to the country in July, which is the highest rate since the pandemic started.
The top three countries from which visits were conducted in July were:
Turkey - 35,000 visits (+91.3%), Russia - 25,100 visits (+497.9%) and Ukraine - 24,500 visits (+1,932%).
