Another session of the Interagency Coordination Council took place under the leadership of Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia.

Council members discussed the acceleration of the stages of opening the economy and the steps to be taken in terms of lifting the restrictions via videoconferencing.

The Interagency Council made new decisions based on the analysis of the epidemiological situation. Namely, the strict quarantine regime has been lifted in the village of Ghvankiti in Terjola Municipality. However, the so-called checkpoint will remain deployed near the entrance to the village, where the proactive thermal screening of the population will continue.

Furthermore, starting today, only the representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will remain at the special posts at the entrances and exists to the big cities of Georgia. The council has decided to remove the Defense Forces of Georgia from the posts at this stage.

Members of the Interagency Council also discussed the progress of the measures taken as part of the Anti-Crisis Plan to open up the economy and revive tourism.

It was noted during the session that the process of returning Georgian citizens to their homeland is ongoing. According to Foreign Affairs Minister Davit Zalkaliani, 10,698 citizens have already returned to their homeland on special flights that were carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization, while 19,965 citizens have received assistance from Georgian diplomatic missions abroad. The following flights are scheduled to take place in the coming days, as determined by the Coordination Council: Amsterdam-Tbilisi on the 15th of May; Larnaca-Tbilisi on the 18th of May; Athens-Tbilisi on the 20th of May; Rome-Tbilisi on the 22nd of May.

The epidemiological situation in the country was also discussed during the session. As of today, there are 639 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in Georgia, 349 of whom have already recovered. Three Georgian citizens have been repatriated from foreign countries for treatment. Eleven persons have died.

Persons infected with the coronavirus are receiving appropriate treatment. Currently, 4,600 persons are in quarantine and 413 persons are hospitalized under medical observation.

The Interagency Coordination Council continues to hold regular meetings under the leadership of the prime minister in order to take coordinated steps. The Parliament of Georgia, headed by Chairman Archil Talakvadze, and the Administration of the President are actively involved in the council’s work.