Current epidemic stance of the country, level of patient-occupancy at hospitals and process of vaccination have been discussed by the Interagency Coordination Council at its meeting led by Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia at the Government Administration yesterday.
It was noted that due to the high community transfer rate of Omicron strain, the number of infected individuals is rising in the country. Nevertheless, patient-occupancy at the hospitals of Georgia has not increased. Specialists believe that Omicron will progress lightly among the vaccinated individuals - similar to the Delta strain - with no actual need of hospitalisation. It was once again stressed that so-called booster doses are vital for easy performance of the virus in the body of the vaccinated individuals.
The Interagency Coordination Council once again urges citizens of Georgia to get actively engaged in the vaccination process, wear facemasks and practice social distancing. As commonly known, the Government of Georgia has decided to extend the 200 GEL incentive scheme till the end of January 2022 to make sure that people aged 50 year and above get COVID-vaccinated and paid to stimulate the engagement in the mass immunisation process.
At the same time, timelines of isolation and quarantine have been adjusted from the current week. Namely, non-vaccinated and recovered individuals, as well as asymptomatic and lightly infected patients will need to quarantine for 8 days, while medium to acute performance of the viral infection makes it essential to quarantine for 10 days. In both cases, it is mandatory to wear the facemask for 5 days immediately following the isolation.
