The Georgian resort town of Batumi, representing the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, is lifting restrictions on entry and exit for the first time since April 15, when they were introduced by a special resolution of the country's government. The corresponding statement was made by the city head of Batumi Lasha Komakhidze. The same applies to the large Imeretian city of Kutaisi, which is also going to be opened after the partial lifting of quarantine restrictions, which have become counteraction to the spread of coronavirus infection in Georgia.
“Despite the fact that the curfew is still in force in Batumi, you can already move around the city practically without any restrictions. This does not apply to the time when the curfew is in effect, but sooner or later it will also be canceled. Checkpoints on the roads still remain, this is necessary for the procedure for carrying out thermoscreening in relation to people entering the city. The main achievement is that Batumi is already open for everyone who wants to come to us. Over time, other restrictions will also be lifted, ”explained the mayor of the city.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to open Kutaisi and Batumi after a meeting on Monday. The favorable development of the situation and the decreasing number of citizens with coronavirus in the country pushed government members to partially lift the restrictions. At the same time, cities such as Rustavi and the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, are still closed.
The largest cities in the country were closed after the corresponding government decision on the fifteenth of April. This measure was declared necessary in order to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. It was impossible to leave Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Rustavi and Batumi, just as the borders of these settlements were closed for the entry of citizens. It was planned that the restrictions would last only ten days, but later the state of emergency was extended in the country. At the same time, the decision to open the borders of large cities was postponed until May 22, even despite the fact that the total number of citizens living in them is more than one and a half million people.
The state of emergency was introduced by the Georgian authorities on March 21st. The Cabinet of Ministers considered that only in this way it would be possible to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which began to mow down the country's population. The state of emergency will presumably operate until May 22 inclusive. There is a daily curfew in the country that restricts the movement of people at night.
As of Friday, May 8, 593 officially registered cases of coronavirus were detected in Georgia. Of these, 223 patients were able to recover, nine people died. Inpatient treatment was provided to 500 citizens, more than 4 thousand are in self-isolation.
