Top 10 Articles in Int'l Media about Georgia's Successful Response to COVID-19
Recently, many leading international editions have emphasized Georgia’s “unexpectedly successful” response and effective efforts implemented in the fight against the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19).
There have been many articles published in international media, where well-known authors and journalists sometimes appear unable to hide their surprise that “despite its small size and a struggling economy,” the country has taken serious preventive measures and has achieved more success in this “furious fight” than relatively rich and developed European countries.
Below we offer 10 top important publications emphasizing the country’s success story.
1.Bne IntelliNews: Why Georgia is succeeding in the fight against coronavirus?
On March 22, Business media company Bne IntelliNews devoted an article to Georgia's successful and early response to a new coronavirus.
"When the biggest health crisis in a century hits, where would you prefer to be: The Netherlands or Georgia?" asks the author of the article, Alexander Scrivener, of the Eurasia Democratic Security Network.
To compare the two countries, as both of them confirmed their first COVID-19 cases at roughly the same time, the author discusses their methods and measures taken to fight the pandemic.
"The reality of the two countries’ responses to the novel coronavirus, however, shows that being rich doesn’t guarantee effective policy in a time of crisis. If anything, the early signs are that wealthier European countries have tended to respond less effectively than poorer ones - at least initially," he states.
As the crisis escalated in the rest of Europe, Georgia closed its borders and implemented strong social distancing measures, closing all restaurants, bars, and shops apart from grocery stores, banks, petrol stations, pharmacies and post offices.
By contrast, as it turns out, The Netherlands’ reaction was highly complacent.
After considering all the above and comparing measures taken by both countries, he asks the following question: "Did the civil strife and severe shortages that afflicted Georgia in the 1990s help create a political culture that was better equipped to take decisive action even at huge economic cost?"
2.EURACTIV: Georgia’s furious fight against COVID-19
On March 24, EURACTIV published an article written by Vlagyiszlav Makszimov about the success story of Georgia in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The EURACTIV article is a nod to Thomas de Waal’s tweet, who is a senior researcher at Carnegie Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region.
The author cites Waal’s tweet which reads: “Well done, Georgia, for getting it right. Something maybe to do with a great cohort of health professionals and good habits of resilience in times of trouble--habits that Westerners have all but forgotten.”
The article then names the measures the Georgian government has taken to curb the virus, from shutting schools and closing the country’s borders to declaring a state of emergency and announcing quarantine in two municipalities.
3.Middle East Institute: The Black Sea and COVID-19
On March 31, the Middle East Institute published an article written by George Visan, which emphasizes that as with the rest of the world, COVID-19 is likely to wreak havoc across the Black Sea region in a very short period of time.
However, the author notes that “rates of infection in Georgia are still relatively low.”
“Georgian officials have been praised by the WHO for taking quick steps to combat the virus. As a precautionary measure, Tbilisi banned all foreigners from entering the country and suspended flights with high-risk countries.
“Particularly vulnerable are the Russian-supported breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where healthcare systems may buckle under a long-term pandemic. Given the unrecognized political status of these territories, access to aid is limited. International partners have provided occupied Abkhazia with medical supplies but the ability of the Georgian government to support the region is hindered by years of heavily restricted access and Russian aggression. Thankfully, this hasn’t prevented the opening of Rukhi General Hospital a few miles from the dividing line with Abkhazia, as well as a recent statement by Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia that Georgia “will do our utmost to protect the health of our citizens on both sides of the dividing line.” The international community should be watching Russia’s involvement in the region as it manages the crisis within its own borders,” reads the article.
4.Foreign Policy: Georgia’s successful response to COVID-19 is unexpected
On April 2, the American magazine Foreign Policy devoted an article to the countries that have succeeded in fighting COVID-19.
The author of the article, Amy Mackinnon, notes that the success of some countries was unexpected.
“Some success stories are unexpected. On the Don’t Touch Your Face podcast, Foreign Policy’s Amy Mackinnon singled out the early response of the country of Georgia. Despite its small size and a struggling economy, the country began taking serious measures at the end of February, including closing schools and conducting widespread diagnostic tests,” the article reads.
"I think the fact that the government took it seriously from the very start has helped,” the Georgian journalist Natalia Antelava told Mackinnon. So has Georgia’s mindset. “This is a country that is used to a crisis, and it is a country that has lived through civil wars and the Russian invasion in 2008 and a very dark period through the ’90s after the collapse of the Soviet Union,” Antelava said.
5.The European Scientist: Which countries are most resistant to the pandemic?
European Scientist, published in three languages (English, French and German), is yet another leading edition that has praised and emphasized Georgia's effective fight against COVID-19.
In the article published on April 3, the author Jean-Paul Oury, the Editor in Chief of European Scientist, notes that Georgia is one of those countries that anticipated the crisis "at the right time," and took effective measures to tackle the pandemic.
"Some governments have been able to anticipate the crisis better than others, taking restrictive but necessary measures which have turned out to be beneficial for their country. This is the case of Georgia, for example, which limited travel as early as January 28, long before other European countries. That decision – an early and decisive action that was praised by the WHO – taken by Georgian Prime Minister Georgi Gakharia, was followed by others, such as the early cancellation of major sporting and cultural events. Georgia also closed ski resorts, restaurants and bars. All of these actions were taken when very few people were infected. Measures to cushion the economy immediately followed and an economic rescue plan was launched (tax deferrals, loans guaranteed by the government, VAT refunds…). A dedicated website was set up by the government to communicate directly with citizens in real-time. As Gabriel Wacksman for European Scientist points out, this ability of governments to anticipate the pandemic, and then act decisively, is fundamental and even more appreciable when it comes from a small country," reads the article.
6.Fox News: Georgian PM explains why the country has had no COVID-19 deaths
In the article published on April 4, when the country had not yet had a confirmed death due to coronavirus, journalist Hollie McKay wrote:
"As the coronavirus body count continues to rise around the world, one country that is remarkably bereft of any official deaths: the former Soviet country of Georgia.”
"Somewhat remarkably, they have had no fatalities," the author pointed out.
Implementing travel bans from hotspot countries as early as January was key to their low transmission rate, Georgia Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia told Fox News.
"We took strong, decisive actions early, without hesitation. We not only began screening the temperatures of all arrivals but beginning on January 28, we banned flights from all countries as soon as they became hotspots in the global outbreak, which led to a complete ban of international travelers," said Gakharia, who has held the position of prime minister since September. "We also took the early step of shutting down schools mid-March, and restricted public gatherings."
7.The Telegraph: What the UK can learn from smaller countries on how to avoid total lockdown
On April 4, the success of Georgia in the fight against the COVID-19 was once again praised in the article published by The Telegraph.
"Yet as COVID-19 last week crossed the world landmark of infecting one million people - Georgia stands out among the European crowd as a country that has coped unexpectedly well with the global pandemic," The Telegraph reports.
The article, written by Associate Editor Camilla Tominey, highlights that the Global Health Security Index, which measures a country’s ability to cope with the disease, did not look particularly favorably on Georgia before the coronavirus outbreak.
"Ranking the country in the Caucasus 42nd in the league of preparedness last year, the former Soviet nation appeared a minnow compared to higher ranked Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden," the publication reads.
8.Emerging Europe: Georgia’s coronavirus miracle: So far, so good
On April 6, Emerging Europe published an article in which it says that Georgia has long been viewed as one of the most successful emerging economies in the world, a bastion of economic liberalism and a model for others to follow.
The article, written by Craig Turp, emphasizes the country’s successful response to the coronavirus pandemic in recent weeks.
In addition, it highlights the government’s effective and timely actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“Georgia’s government acted as soon as the country’s first case of coronavirus – a Georgian citizen who had recently returned from Iran – was diagnosed, on February 26. The same day, the country’s Prime Minister, Giorgi Gakharia, set up an inter-departmental task force to coordinate the fight against coronavirus, made up of representatives of every major government agency, to manage the situation. The task force’s first decision was to ban flights to Iran,” reads the publication.
9.Daily Signal: Georgia is America’s proven ally in fighting common challenges
On April 7, The Daily Signal, an American political media news website, devoted an article to the important partnership between the US and Georgia.
"The South Caucasus nation of Georgia has become an important partner for the United States on a range of critical global issues," claims the author of the article, Anthony B. Kim, who is a researcher of international economic issues at The Heritage Foundation.
"The small but strategically located nation is on the front lines of efforts to contain Russian expansionism, and has contributed thousands of troops to support US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, the country is partnering with the US in the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic," the author further notes.
In addition, he emphasizes the importance of the Richard G. Lugar Center for Public Health Research in this partnership.
10. US Embassy: Lugar Center supports Georgian NCDC on COVID-19 response
On April 9, the US Embassy in Georgia published information about the Richard G. Lugar Center for Public Health Research in Tbilisi, saying that it supports the Georgian NCDC on COVID-19 response.
"As leaders in the Government of Georgia’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the NCDC has leveraged a wide variety of capabilities, including appropriate and judicious use of limited testing resources, as well as proactive planning and disease monitoring, reliable public messaging and coordinated communication with senior Ministry of Health officials, to inform policy decisions. The US partners at the Embassy, within the Department of Defense, and at the US Centers for Disease Control have been key enablers for these successes as long term investments in infrastructure, technology, partnership building, training /capability enhancement, and best practice adherence have paid enormous dividends throughout this epidemic," the publication says.
It further emphasizes that the "NCDC’s processing time, and staff education and expertise are equivalent to Western European and US facilities."
At time of writing, the country has 230 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 54 recovered patients and only 3 deaths, which is reason enough to consider all the above compliments to Georgian doctors and state officials well-deserved. However, the peak of the illness is expected in mid-April, so the main fight and the biggest challenge for the Georgian healthcare system is still ahead!
By Ana Dumbadze
Photo Source: Ministry of Defense of Georgia