Starting tomorrow at 9 p.m. people will not be able to enter or leave the four main cities of Georgia - Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi and Rustavi for 10 days at least and the state of emergency will be prolonged until May 10 to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated earlier today at a special briefing.
He said that people inside the four main cities will be able to use their vehicles per the state of emergency restrictions (only three people are allowed to sit in a car). However, they will not be able to leave the cities.
Gakharia stated that there will be exceptions and the people will be able to learn about the exceptions through phoning 144.
Gakharia mentioned no special measures for the Easter holiday and stated that the government and the church will act together during this time.
Georgian PM says that if people stick to the restrictions the government will be able to gradually remove the restrictions starting from mid-May. Photo: Interior Ministry press office.
He stated that the church is well aware of the situation and ‘we will act together to protect our citizens.’
The situation is changing very fast and we will make decisions based on the situation. We might be forced to close cemeteries for the Easter holiday to prevent gatherings there (which is a tradition in Georgia for Easter when people visit the graves of their loved ones),” Gakharia said.
Gakharia said that Georgia has managed to have a relatively low number of cases of the coronavirus due to imposing restrictions in a timely manner.
Today we have 30 news cases of the coronavirus for the first time (since February of the year). We must stick to the regulations and restrictions to help the country overcome the challenge and gradually remove all the restrictions from mid-May,” Gakharia said.
Gakharia said that the government will address the president to prolong the state of emergency.
As of today Georgia has 296 cases of the coronavirus. 69 of the 296 have recovered, while three have died.