On 20 July, Georgia reported 2,616 new cases of Covid-19 and 26 deaths, bringing the total tally to 390,945 cases and 5,592.

The Head of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health Amiran Gamkrelidze recommended the Interagency Coordination Council to re-establish an obligation to wear a face mask in open spaces once more due to the steady rise of Covid-19 cases. “We are now in the ‘red zone.’ This is one of the main reasons for the alarm and appropriate measures should be taken. There was a discussion in the council about tightening the enforcement of certain restrictions,” he stated. “All the indicators of the epidemic situation are deteriorating,” he added, calling the population to be vaccinated. “The population should know that if the situation worsens, then we will make recommendations for strict restrictions,” he stressed.

The country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili also called on the population to get vaccinated and warned of dire economic consequences of another possible lockdown. “Our country cannot endure another lockdown. We will have to close again; people will lose their jobs and the situation will be unbearable. I want to make these preventive statements in advance, and I do not want this to happen. Of course, then the country will need to take on additional debt, which will put a burden on our citizens, our country and will complicate the situation,” he stated. 

He called on the population to inoculate against the Covid-19 as a “simple request from the government.” “We did what was to be done,” Garibashvili said, adding that the immunisation of 1.5 million people in 2-3 months was the target of the Georgian government. “Vaccination is crucial first and foremost to protect your lives and health, citizens, friends, relatives, parents and children. On the other hand, it is essential to maintain the economy,” he underscored.

It should be noted that a day earlier new restrictions were introduced in the country. Attendance at events is only allowed based on pre-PCR testing. Camp-type gatherings were prohibited, regardless of their organisational form and venue. Sports tournaments and training sessions for teenagers under the age of 18 were only allowed because of pre-PCR testing of all participants.