Austrian Health Minister: Georgia Manages to Control Virus Well
Georgia's Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze held an online meeting with the Austrian counterpart, Rudolf Anschober, the press service of the Ministry of Health reports.
The parties discussed the current challenges in terms of facing the new coronavirus and shared their experiences.
The talks focused on testing strategies, treatment methods and preventive measures in terms of virus management.
The Austrian Health Minister stressed that Georgia and Austria have similar approaches in terms of the management of coronavirus spread.
"I would like to emphasize that Georgia and Austria have very similar approaches to managing coronavirus. In Austria, the restrictions are slowly being lifted, and I received information from your Minister that the same processes are taking place in Georgia. We are now coming out of the crisis and gradually and very carefully resuming the learning process, opening restaurants and hotels. As I see, Georgia is well able to control the virus, your country has been able to stabilize the virus spread. As for the tests, just like in Georgia, we prefer PCR tests. Soon, we will start to conduct tests on antibodies. I am glad that we had the opportunity to exchange information today, "said Rudolf Anschober.
Ekaterine Tikaradze noted that Austria has the best rate of epidemic control among European countries.
"We talked about the global challenge, the spread of the new coronavirus. It is clear that Austria, just like Georgia, conducts targeted testing, is investigating target groups and is now planning to start conducting antibody tests, something that Georgia is already doing.
"It is important to restore traffic between the countries. For them, just like for Georgia, the most important partners will be the countries that will be free from coronavirus, as the health and well-being of their citizens is a priority for both countries. Therefore, we will jointly promote the movement of our citizens to countries where there is no risk of infection," Tikaradze said.
By Ana Dumbadze