Corona Updates: Georgia Gets Ready to Re-Open Education & Cultural Life

Schools in Georgia will reopen from September 15 and kindergartens from October 1. Theaters will resume functioning from October 1. In addition, the opening of now quarantined Mestia and the village of Lenjeri in the Svaneti region is planned for September 2, Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia announced this week.

"We maintain a consistent approach in the fight against COVID-19, and we are opening step by step: kindergartens and theaters from October 1, schools and cinemas from September 15, Mestia and Lenjeri from September 2," the head of the government stated.

Parents to be banned from entering kindergarten buildings

Kindergartens in Georgia are to reopen from October 1 and ahead of this, the government has developed recommendations regarding restrictions in kindergartens in order to prevent the risk of spreading COVID-19. Top of the list is the fact that parents are to be banned from entering kindergarten buildings.

A protocol for washing dishes and toys has also been set up, and it will be forbidden to use toys that are difficult to disinfect. It is also forbidden to bring toys from home.

Head of the Labor Inspection service Beka Peradze noted that kindergarten administrations should receive the children at the entrance to the kindergarten. A room for isolation should be allocated in the building in case a pupil's or employee's temperature rises during the day.

There are also restrictions on the procedure for handing a child over to parents: since parents cannot enter the building, they should contact the kindergarten staff 10 minutes before arrival and wait at the entrance.

Administrations should also draw up schedules to balance the number of children in each group in order to avoid overcrowding.

SOCIAL ASSISTANCE for ALL GEORGIAN CHILDREN

The disbursement of financial assistance to the amount of 200 GEL, which is intended for children through the age of 17, will begin from 1 September. These funds will not be deducted from the bank accounts of people who are in arrears. The corresponding agreement was reached at a meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and the heads of commercial banks, which was held at the Administration of the Government.

Based on the agreement, if a beneficiary of the assistance has a bank loan in arrears, the bank will not use the funds received in the form of the aforementioned social assistance for repayment. Banks have already started working on this issue at the corresponding operational level.

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Ivane Machavariani, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Economic Affairs Beka Liluashvili, Liberty Bank CEO Vasil Khodeli, Bank of Georgia CEO Archil Gachechiladze, and TBC Bank CEO Vakhtang Butskhrikidze.

As of today, 742,000 children and 442,000 parents have registered on the special electronic portal (daxmareba.moh.gov.ge) in order to receive financial assistance, which is intended for children under the age of 18. Registration in the system will be open until 1 December 2020.

COVID-19 Cases Up

As of August 27, 11 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Georgia, bringing the total number to 1447, the government-run special website stopcov.ge reports.

The number of recoveries has increased by 40, reaching 1190.

5943 people are under a 14-day mandatory quarantine and 252 under medical supervision.

19 people have died of the virus in the country.

Currently, there are 238 active cases in Georgia.