Georgia Boosts Preventive Measures as Coronavirus Cases Rise in Iran

Due to the ever-increasing global spread of the coronavirus, and with the deadly outbreak now widening in Iran, Georgia is launching specific measures to check the health condition of travelers to/from Iran, said the head of the Center for Disease Control, Amiran Gamkrelidze.

“The outbreak has killed at least 12 persons in Iran, the largest number of coronavirus-linked deaths outside China.  As you know, the flights, which were quite intense between Georgia and Iran, are now halted. We also envisage taking other restrictive steps to minimize the chances of coronavirus’s entrance into Georgia. In particular, the measures that have been taken towards people traveling to/from China (including thermo-screening and epidemiology consultations) have now been extended to those who have traveled to/from Iran in the past two weeks. Similar measures are likely to be implemented also for persons from other high-risk countries,” Gamkrelidze added.

Turkey and Pakistan temporarily closed their borders with Iran on Sunday, as Tehran announced a weeklong closing of schools, universities and cultural centers across 14 provinces in an effort to contain the pneumonia-like virus. Turkey has four border gates to Iran, and all of them are now closed.

The coronavirus infection has now spread to seven Middle Eastern countries; with almost 79,000 cases of coronavirus now confirmed worldwide, experts say the situation will soon reach a critical threshold.