PM: First Coronavirus Death Case Shows that there's no Compromise in this Fight

Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has responded to the first case of death due to the new coronavirus in Georgia.

"This case of death must assure us that there is no compromise in this fight and the severity of the steps is not someone's wish, it is a tragic necessity that each of us must follow," he told reporters.

The PM noted that every citizen should understand that we are responsible to the elderly, and the fact that happened today is alarming.

The head of government does not rule out that the measures related to the restrictions will be further tightened after the first case of death due to COVID-19 in the country. 

He gave his condolences to the family of the deceased.

"The deceased was a 79-year-old patient from the Marneuli-Bolnisi cluster," Levan Ratiani, the Director of the First University Clinic, told reporters on Saturday. "Earlier this morning, a fatal case of coronavirus infection was confirmed. The victim is a 79-year-old woman, whose main diagnosis was COVID-19 and acute pneumonia. The complications included respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, septic shock, spontaneous pneumothorax, acute respiratory failure, acute failure of the cardiovascular system, acute heart failure. The concomitant diseases of this patient were quite severe,” said Amiran Gamkrelidze, Head of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health.

The number of cases of coronavirus infection has increased to 157 in Georgia. The information has been posted on the government-run website stopcov.ge.

5526 people are in quarantine and 344 under examination in hospitals.

28 out of 157 people have recovered and one has died. 

By Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: Georgia Reports the First Coronavirus Death, Number of Cases Rises to 157