PM’s Spokesman: All restrictions Aim to Protect the Lives of Our Citizens
The aim of every regulation and every restriction is to protect the lives of our citizens, to hinder the spread of COVID-19 as much as possible, and to give our heroic doctors the opportunity to provide all of our fellow citizens with high-quality services and to fight for their lives, Irakli Chikovani, advisor and spokesman of the prime minister of Georgia stated.
As the prime minister's spokesman noted, Georgia has not reached the peak phase yet – this is still to be expected, and measures that are as effective and efficient as possible must be implemented in order to ensure that the country is prepared for the peak phase.
'In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country, the Coordination Council has made a decision, according to which the restriction on the movement of cars under the state of emergency was extended from 12:00 on 17 April to the end of the day on 27 April. We would like to reiterate to our citizens once again that all the measures, restrictions, and recommendations implemented by the authorities serve only one purpose: To minimize the harm that COVID-19 can inflict on our citizens. The aim of every regulation and every restriction is to protect the lives of our citizens, to hinder the spread of COVID-19 as much as possible, and to give our heroic doctors the opportunity to provide all of our citizens with high-quality services and to fight for their lives.
"Unfortunately, another fatality has been reported today, bringing the total number of deaths to five. Also, we have a total of 411 cases of infection, with three new cases being reported in the last 24 hours. These low figures are due to the effectiveness and timeliness of the preventive measures that we have implemented so far. We are well aware that oftentimes, these figures may be translated into optimism but according to our epidemiologists, medical representatives, and practice in general, Georgia has not yet reached the peak phase – this is still to be expected. Correspondingly, measures that are as effective and efficient as possible must be implemented in order to ensure that the country is prepared for the peak phase, and that as few citizens as possible contract the novel virus," Irakli Chikovani stated.
As the prime minister's advisor noted, despite the extension of the state of emergency, restrictions will be gradually eased in order to revert daily life and economic activities to their usual rhythm.
"Even though the Government of Georgia and the prime minister have appealed to the president, and the president presented the decision concerning the extension of the state of emergency by one month to the Parliament of Georgia, we intend to ease the restrictions – gradually, step by step, and assuming we have positive dynamics of development – and to do our best to facilitate the return of our daily lives and economic activities to their usual rhythm," Irakli Chikovani stated.
As the prime minister's advisor pointed out, in order for citizens to avoid problems while carrying out agricultural works in regional municipalities, they will be able to go to work in the morning and to return in the evening.
"Citizens in municipalities that are carrying out agricultural works will be able to travel to the relevant locations between 06:00 and 08:00 in the morning, and to return to their homes between 18:00 and 19:00 in the evening. This implies travel by car. This decision was made by the Coordination Council and the actual enforcement of this decision, as well as the provision of the relevant permits, falls on individual municipalities and regional Coordination Headquarters," Irakli Chikovani stated.
The prime minister's advisor commented on the list of institutions and individuals who are exempt from the restriction on travel by car. As Irakli Chikovani stated at the briefing, the restrictions do not apply to the institutions whose functioning is of critical importance.
According to the prime minister's spokesman, vehicular transportation is under the strict control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and ministry representatives are working around the clock every day to prevent people from abusing this authorization.
"In response to the questions from the public, we would like to once again clarify who is allowed to make use of the authorization to travel by car.
Even though the country is in a state of emergency, it is essential to maintain the functioning of critical infrastructure and the performance of critically important functions in our country, which is inviolable in any country. For this reason, we needed to authorize the relevant permits for this particular circle of individuals.
The aforementioned permits have been issued to the employees of delivery services that deliver food products, groceries, and medical/pharmaceutical products.
For example, the pharmacies that possess the authorization for transportation (of which there are 2,835, including four large pharmacy chains with 901 facilities) are actively working throughout the entire country.
As regards grocery stores – more than 5,000 grocery stores are operating with permits in the country today, as well as 1,300 bakeries, enterprises, and shops;
Up to 1,000 medical facilities are operating in the country, including over 300 hospitals and their employees;
Transportation with the aim of providing or receiving medical services;
Representatives of media outlets, with the purpose of carrying out journalistic activities;
Domestic and international freight transportation;
Transportation with the aim of providing general cleaning and disinfection services for buildings;
Transportation and collection with the aim of carrying out the activities required for the continuous operation of ATMs, quick payment machines, and payment terminals;
Transportation with the aim of carrying out private security activities;
Transportation with the aim of transporting / burying the deceased;
Transportation with the aim of providing postal and courier services;
Transportation with the aim of providing electricity, natural gas, or water supplies, as well as services pertaining to telecommunications and waste management;
Transportation with the aim of providing repair services for facilities possessing technical hazards (including elevators, natural gas pipelines, etc.), as well as water, gas, electricity, and Internet repair services;
Persons designated by public institutions, whose transportation is critically important for the performance of official duties; the state decided from the outset to switch to the remote provision of services to the greatest extent possible, however there are people and public figures for whom it is essential to travel by car. This includes the persons that assist thousands of our citizens in municipalities on a daily basis, including the elderly, whom they provide with food products and medicines.
The movement of these vehicles is under the strict control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Ministry representatives work around the clock every day to prevent people from abusing this authorization," Irakli Chikovani stated.
The prime minister's spokesman also commented on the hotline that is operating in connection with the restrictions in force under the state of emergency. He urged citizens to contact only 144 in connection with the restrictions in force under the state of emergency, and to only call 112 during emergencies.
According to Irakli Chikovani, the first two days of the regulations coming into force will be followed by a great deal of activity on the governmental hotline.
"One of the important elements that I would like to emphasize is the operation of the state governmental hotline 144. More than 260,000 calls were made to the aforementioned number yesterday and correspondingly, precisely this was the reason for the possible delays in receiving information. We are well aware that a particularly great deal of activity takes place during the first two days of regulations coming into force and we are ready to deal with this. I would like to apologize to everyone for any delays but the hotline continues to operate and we will do our utmost to provide our citizens with information concerning the restrictions that are in place and the exceptions that they can make use of.
I would also like to point out that when our fellow citizens fail to receive information concerning the state of emergency using the 144 hotline, they turn to 112. You are aware that 112 is operating in the country to deal with emergencies; this is the hotline that is vital for our fellow citizens when they want to contact the police or to receive emergency assistance. I would like to humbly ask every one of you to only contact 144 concerning the restrictions in place under the state of emergency, and to leave 112 for the vital and urgent cases, which was its purpose from the outset, because we do not want a single case that would require the attention of medical workers or policemen to remain neglected. I humbly ask that you only contact the 144 hotline regarding the restrictions in place under the state of emergency," Irakli Chikovani stated.
As Irakli Chikovani stated, in order to better inform the citizens, the information pertaining to the restrictions will be uploaded to www.StopCoV.ge by the end of the day.
"In order to better inform the population, particularly the persons that I have listed above, such as clinic employees or doctors, pharmacy staff, grocery store employees and others (even though the leadership of these facilities themselves possess information on how to ensure the unhindered transportation of their employees or discharged patients by car), these conditions will be published on www.StopCoV.ge throughout the day and every one of you will be able to peruse this information in detail, as necessary," Irakli Chikovani stated.
Source: Press Service of the Georgian Government