On 16 April, the Georgian government banned all private vehicle traffic throughout the country until the end of the state of emergency. In addition, wearing a medical face mask in enclosed public spaces became mandatory for every Georgian citizen.

“Unless every citizen - the private sector, the government, businesses, religious organizations, the civil society, everyone - rigorously observes the restrictions in place under the state of emergency and upholds the law, this will definitely become the basis for the sharp deterioration of the epidemiological situation in the country, and we will have to severely tighten the measures in the nearest future, which means declaring a full quarantine across the entire country,” stated the spokesperson of Georgia’s Prime Minister [Giorgi Gakharia] Irakli Chikovani.

The Georgian Patriarchate released a statement saying that the newly imposed ban on transportation with private vehicles will not apply to clergy and church personnel. “Clergymen, choir members and altar servers will be able to drive for participating both in today's and Easter services,” read the statement. The statement further noted that the government’s decision to completely ban traffic throughout the country until 21 April was not agreed with the Patriarchate and it caused “big dissatisfaction among both clergy and believers.”

However, not all of the Georgian clergy stood united in opposing the government's measures. 13  Georgian clergymen issued a joint statement, saying they will suspend liturgical activities for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, and calling on people to perform the spiritual liturgy in the service of the society as a whole. The clergymen asserted that those who chose to refrain from gathering en masse amid the deadly pandemic, do not betray Jesus Christ with this decision, but on the contrary, they engage in the purest form of liturgy in the service of mankind, by choosing to do what Jesus would have done himself. 

Batumi and Lazeti Eparchy urged the parish to celebrate Easter at home. None of the churches in these regions will be open on that day. People were urged by the clergy to light candles near the windows of their home, just like they do it on Christmas Eve. As for Zugdidi Eparchy, only one church under construction will be open on Easter evening and the parish can attend a service in the yard. The bishops of Kutatel-Gaenatel, Akhaltsikhe and Chkondidi Eparchies are going to follow only the recommendations of the Patriarchate in that regard.

It was reported that an employee of the Clinic of Georgian Patriarchate, who is a parishioner of one of the churches in Tskneti, a part of Georgia's capital Tbilisi, has tested positive for COVID-19. The Head of the Patriarchate’s Public Relations Service, Andria Jagmaidze, has confirmed the above information, saying that the church is expected to be closed. Reportedly, a woman infected with the virus attended a service in the church in relation to the Feast of the Annunciation on 7 April and spread the infection, putting the clergymen of the temple in quarantine. 

It is also noteworthy that beside the executive, the Georgian legislative is making concessions to the Georgian Orthodox Church. The Parliament intends to review the draft law that enables the Georgian Orthodox Church to receive the state forests with the right of ownership.  According to the draft law on State Property, the Georgian Orthodox Church will be enabled to take into ownership the forest (not more than 20 hectare (200,000m²) for each case) located nearby the churches and monasteries, and also territories of the forests that were already in possession of the Church. 

On 15 April, the Georgian government and the Patriarchate reached a deal that the traditional Easter service on Saturday night will be held with police supervision despite the current curfew in the country (Caucasus Watch reported). Although the deal was made, Chikovani warned that Georgia is entering its peak phase of the Covid-19 pandemic as it has entered the stage of full-scale internal transmissions of the virus.

The decision however sparked controversies between health officials and clergy. The Deputy Head of the National Center for Disease Control Paata Imnadze warned parishioners not to attend services in churches ahead of the Easter holidays. “We will not be able to count the coffins in Georgia; do we want this? Stay at home!” he said. Georgian Archbishop Jacob replied to this statement, “I respect Paata Imnadze, but he should better count how many infected patients we have. Do you want to focus on the Church alone?! We don’t even have real data on the number of infected patients in the country! Ask the doctors about it,” he said. Moreover, a high-ranking representative of the Georgian Orthodox Church said that it was thanks to prayers in Georgia that compared with other countries there were few sick. 

The Caucasus Research Resources Centre conducted an experiment using Facebook’s A/B test tool. The tool disseminated two or more announcements which would randomly show up in Facebook users’ news feeds. In this case, Facebook users were randomly shown advertisements to fill out one of the two versions of a questionnaire: one included Imnadze’s statement as an introduction to the survey, while the other did not. The two surveys were identical in every other respect. According to the results of the experiment, about 60% of respondents who usually would celebrate Easter in Church reported they would stay home this year, while about 40% still planned to go to church. 

Speaking on the matter, on the official Twitter account of Georgia’s Health Ministry, the Georgian Health Minister Ekatarine Tikaradze was asked  whether the shared spoon used for getting holy sacrament, which the Georgian Orthodox Church still maintains the practice during the pandemic (Caucasus Watch reported), could transmit Covid-19. She replied that she cannot answer the question as it requires “scientific research.”

The current tally of infected persons in Georgia stands at 370, with 3 reported deaths.