On 26 November, the Georgian Government announced a lockdown throughout much of the country until 31 January to counter Covid-19 after the virus has spread widely in the country since September, reported OC Media.  

According to the new measures, bars and restaurants will be shut across the country and would be allowed to offer delivery and takeaway services only. Gyms and swimming pools will also be closed, and sports and cultural events will be banned. All Inter-city public transport will also be shut down, allowing only private cars.

In the cities of Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Gori, Poti, Zugdidi and Telavi, stricter rules will also be in place. Public transport within these cities will be halted, although taxis will continue to operate. All shops except for those selling food, animal food, pharmaceuticals, hygiene products, cleaning products and press booths will be shut, restricted to offering deliveries only.

All markets, both currently open and closed, will close, except for agricultural markets. School and other educational facilities will go fully online, and kindergartens will close. From 24 December to 2 January, shopping centres and open and closed markets would reopen, and municipal and intercity transport would resume. 

The health officials in the country welcomed the new government restrictions, while the opposition parties in the country were highly critical towards the decision. Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze stated that the restrictions will “twice or more decrease the number of daily infections by the end of January.” The leader of the Lelo opposition party Mamuka Khazaradze has stated that the government has “failed to manage the pandemic,” adding that the Georgian Dream leadership “has benefited from the situation created by Covid-19.” Leaders of European Georgia Gigi Ugulava and Giga Bokeria stated that the new restrictions “will make people poorer.” It was also reported that the European Union (EU) disbursed €100 million to Georgia under its macro-financial assistance programs to cope with the pandemic.

In the past 24 hours Georgia reported 3,801 new cases and 39 deaths, bringing the total tally to 118,690 cases and 1,124 deaths.

Meanwhile, cautious optimism exists in Armenia regarding the Covid-19 situation. The country’s Health Minister Arsen Torosyan said that the country's hospitals are not having any problems with hospitalising people seriously ill with the virus. “The situation is stable and has slightly improved from 3-4 weeks ago. In general, the health care system is ready to address the tasks set before it," he said.

Torosyan also spoke on the issue of Armenia’s purchase of the vaccine. He said the ministry has already made an advance payment on the platform of international purchases, which are used by 180 countries and where the main manufacturers are represented. Torosyan also noted that Armenia is negotiating a possible purchase of vaccines with Russia, USA and other countries which have developed pilot vaccines, but these vaccines are all available on the international platform. Speaking about the number of vaccines to be purchased, the minister explained that a group of 300 thousand citizens has been calculated based on uncertainties, since it is not known what the demand will be at the time the vaccine is launched. He also highlighted that the vaccine would be available in April 2021 and that special groups would be the first to be vaccinated, such as chronic patients, elderly people living in closed institutions and medical workers.

In the past 24 hours, Armenia reported 1,785 new cases and 28 deaths, bringing the total tally to 130,870 cases and 2,068 deaths.

Azerbaijan reported 3705 new cases and 32 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 106,101 cases and 1256 deaths.