COVID Update: Delta Cases Up, Vaccines On Their Way
Reading Time: 3min read
The epidemiological situation in Georgia remains stable but still concerning. Health officials call on the population to remain cautious, maintain social distance, and take care of each other’s health.
“Georgia detected 20 cases of the Indian variant of the coronavirus as of June 21, increasing its growth rate by up to 15%,” said National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) Chair Amiran Gamkrelidze.
He called for more caution so as not to have a repeat of last year’s mistake of thinking the pandemic was over.
“The current epidemiological situation in the country is stable but noteworthy,” he concluded.
Against the background of relatively stable numbers of newly detected cases, the death toll is high compared to previous periods.
The Restrictions
Considering that no significant increase in new COVID cases was detected recently, the government decided to lift remaining restrictions and announced several important decisions on Tuesday, causing great satisfaction among society:
• The restriction on movement at night (the curfew) will be abolished across the country from July 1; however, even after the abolition of the curfew, restaurants and other entertainment venues will be allowed to open only until midnight;
• From June 22, wearing face masks in open spaces will not be mandatory. However, it will still be mandatory on public transport, at bus stops and in all indoor spaces;
• One million doses of vaccine will be delivered to Georgia in two weeks Sinopharm, Sinovac, Pfizer and AstraZeneca are being discussed.
The Vaccine
As of Thursday, 245,380 people in Georgia had received a coronavirus vaccine.
Concern and dissatisfaction was seen among the public this week when hundreds of citizens who were to get the second dose of AstraZeneca in the coming days received an SMS saying their bookings had been canceled due to delays in delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Amiran Gamkrelidze explained that the delay was caused by the COVAX platform through which the vaccine was purchased.
“Unfortunately, there was a serious delay in the delivery, which is related to many factors, which I will not go into now, but the fact is that this delivery failed and we now have a shortage of about 4-5000 AstraZeneca vaccines.
“All citizens who had planned to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca will be given the opportunity to be vaccinated in the near future, for which an additional announcement will be made,” he said.
The Statistics
Georgia reported 260 coronavirus cases, 834 recoveries, and 15 deaths on Monday, as a result of 11,059 tests conducted. Capital Tbilisi recorded the highest number of 166 Covid-19 cases, followed by the Adjara region with 18 cases and the Imereti region with 17 cases.
Georgia reported 914 coronavirus cases, 635 recoveries, and 24 deaths on Tuesday, with 27,956 tests conducted. Tbilisi recorded the highest number of 524 Covid-19 cases, followed by the Imereti region with 87 cases, and the Kakheti region with 64 cases.
The country recorded 773 coronavirus cases, 575 recoveries and 12 deaths on Wednesday, with 37 923 tests conducted. Tbilisi reported 469 new cases, followed by the Imereti region with 69 cases and the Kakheti region with 59 cases.
Test-positivity rates are as follows: 2.15%, while it was 2.43% in the past 14 days.
On Thursday, Georgia reported 656 coronavirus cases, 861 recoveries, and 17 deaths, the official figures show.
30,469 tests were conducted in the prior 24 hours throughout the country. Tbilisi recorded the highest number of 368 new cases in the last 24 hours, followed by the Imereti region with 55 cases and the Adjara region with 48 cases.
Georgia’s total case tally reached 361,484, among which 347,653 people recovered and 5228 died. Currently, there are 8577 active cases of infection in the country.
The World
Globally, up to 2.5 million new cases of COVID-19 were detected last week, which is 6% less compared to the previous week, the World Health Organization weekly report shows.
Coronavirus has claimed the lives of up to 64,000 people in the past seven days, which is 12% less than the week prior.
In addition, the WHO’s weekly report states that the new variants of coronavirus continue to spread around the world. The “Alpha” variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom and is therefore also referred to as the “British variant”, has been identified in 170 countries and territories around the world, while “Gamma,” or “the Brazilian variant,” in 71 countries.
The “Delta” strain, which was first identified in India last October, also known as the “Indian variant, ” has already been recorded in 85 countries around the world.
WHO said the highest number of new cases of infection, 505,344 cases, were reported in Brazil, which is 11% more than in the previous week. It is followed by India with 441,976 cases, which is 30% less than in the previous week, Colombia in third place with 193,907 new cases, where the infection rate has increased by 10% compared to the previous week, while Argentina comes fourth with 149,673 new cases, and Russia fifth with 108,139 new cases.
It should be noted that in Russia, the number of infected people last week increased by 31% compared to the previous week.
By Ana Dumbadze
