Georgia to Lift State of Emergency on May 22

The government will not appeal to the President to extend the state of emergency after May 22, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said on Friday.

"After an in-depth analysis of the epidemiological situation, the Georgian government has decided not to appeal to the President and, consequently, to Parliament, to extend the state of emergency beyond May 22," he said.

However, the head of the government emphasized that lifting the state of emergency does not mean that all the imposed restrictions will also be lifted.

"I would like to emphasize that this does not mean that the restrictions imposed will be completely and suddenly lifted. Not extending the state of emergency does not mean that all restrictions will be lifted at once; this merely means that we - all of us together - must open the economy slowly, with extreme caution, and step by step, in order to use this crisis as an opportunity for the country," the PM underlined. 

"I would like to urge every one of you to follow the rules recommended by the epidemiologists - face masks, social distancing, rules of hygiene, and so forth. All of this is essential in order for us to be effective within the global competition and for our economy to recover quickly," he added. 

Gakharia also thanked the teachers for their dedicated work. 

"Our body of teachers demonstrated very quickly how a global challenge can become the simplest, fastest, and most effective way to open whole new avenues of opportunity. We must continue this everywhere - in the fields of tourism and agriculture, in the economy, in every area of our economic, social, and political lives. Since we say that the country must use this crisis as an opportunity, we must gradually make these opportunities work, in a manner that is as effective as possible," he noted.

The state of emergency was declared in the country on March 21 amid coronavirus concerns.

By Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: State of Emergency Declared in Georgia amid Coronavirus