Despite the re-introduced restrictions, among them the suspension of municipal transport until September 4 and re-introducing the obligation of wearing face masks in open spaces, the daily numbers of infection cases and fatalities in Georgia continue to grow alarmingly.
The local healthcare sector is overloaded due to an increasing number of infected patients. Furthermore, the recent increase in fatalities is related to wide circulation of the Indian strain (Delta), which is much more severe than the “traditional” Chinese or British strains.
Amiran Gamkrelidze, Head of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), said the coronavirus infection rate today is three times higher than in May, and the healthcare system is “working on the edge of tension.” The NCDC Director urged the population to observe social distancing, wear face masks and get vaccinated.
To make vaccine jabs available for everyone, the Ministry of Health announced that individuals who are unable to move due to bad health can be vaccinated against coronavirus at home. They just need to call 15 22 to arrange it.
In the regions, the Prime Minister noted this week that to maximize the population’s access to vaccines, mobile medical groups have been set up. These groups will coordinate with local municipalities to make the vaccines accessible to citizens who are unable to get to existing vaccination centers.
Considering such a difficult situation, it is still unknown if schoolchildren will be able to resume their studies in classrooms in September, or whether they will have to again study online.
Georgian capital Tbilisi and the Adjara region, in particular its main city Batumi, remain the hotspots in terms of the virus spread. The western Imereti region comes next in terms of increasing daily coronavirus cases.
Ahead of the emergency situation, a field hospital has been set up in a part of the Dighomi Olympic Village in Tbilisi. Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze said such field hospitals would be fully equipped, and include up to 500 beds.
The Statistics
Georgia reported 2676 coronavirus cases, 4119 recoveries, and 30 deaths on Monday, however, these numbers were, as usual, due to the fewer tests conducted over the weekend, just 25,730 tests in total.
Georgia reported 6208 coronavirus cases, 3539 recoveries, and 47 deaths on Tuesday, as a result of 47,872 tests conducted.
The country recorded 5914 coronavirus cases, 3316 recoveries, and 49 deaths on Wednesday, following the 56,878 tests conducted.
On Thursday, a record number of fatalities was detected, with Georgia reporting 58 COVID-related deaths, 4921 coronavirus cases, and 4471 recoveries.
The daily test-positivity rate currently stands at 9.95%, down from 10.78% over the past 14 days.
Georgia’s total case tally has reached 501,297 since February 2020, among them 436,977 people recovered and 6590 died.
The Vaccines
Against the background of increasing cases and fatalities, the vaccination process also became more active, with more and more people deciding to get a vaccine jab and protect themselves and other citizens.
As of August 19, 883,570 people had received a Covid-19 vaccine, among them 258,303 are now fully vaccinated.
Covid around the World
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 210 million, with more than 4.3 million deaths, based on the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
There are currently more than 17.4 million active cases of infection worldwide. The highest number of infections, 38 million cases, has been confirmed in the United States, followed by India with 32.3 million cases, followed by Brazil, Russia and France.
New Zealand moved to the top level-4 national lockdown from midnight Tuesday after the first identified COVID-19 case in six months was found in the Auckland community.
Japan has recorded a record number of coronavirus cases, while critical care beds in Tokyo are nearing capacity less than a week before the city is due to host the Paralympic Games.
The latest wave of Covid-19 infections has spread beyond Tokyo, the center of previous outbreaks, with Osaka, neighboring Hyogo and other prefectures all reporting record caseloads on Wednesday.
Nationally, the number of daily infections reached a record 23,917 according to a tally by the public broadcaster NHK.
The United States reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, equating to around 42 fatalities an hour, according to a Reuters tally, as the Delta variant continues to ravage parts of the country with low vaccination rates.
Coronavirus-related deaths have spiked in the US over the past month and are averaging 769 per day, the highest since mid-April, as reported by Reuters tally.
The last time the United States recorded more than 1,000 deaths on a daily basis was in March.
Positive tests, hospitalizations and deaths linked to COVID-19 have been rising slowly in the UK again. In the week leading up to August 18th, 211,238 people had a confirmed positive test result, an increase of 7.6% compared with the previous seven days. Over the same period, there have been 655 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, a rise of 7.9% versus the previous seven days. Hospitalizations have also risen slightly, with 5,623 going into hospital with coronavirus between 8 August 2021 and 14 August 2021, a rise of 4.3% compared with the week prior.
By Ana Dumbadze
