NCDC to Start Extended Coronavirus Testing in Batumi

Despite a small coronavirus outbreak in Batumi, the city will not be closed, the Head of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze announced today. Instead, extended testing for coronavirus will kick off on the spot.

He added that one more tent has been set up for coronavirus testing in Batumi. 

“There are three laboratories in Batumi and 1600-1800 tests can be taken daily. There is no alternative to extended testing,” he noted.

38 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Georgia during the last 24 hours, with 22 from a Batumi confectionery 'Dona.'

"Of the 38 cases, 22 are from the cluster of Batumi confectionery 'Dona,' 7 cases are contacts of infected patients, 4 of them are imported cases, of which 2 patients are truck drivers, while the source of the remaining 5 cases is being established," stated Marina Ezugnaia, the Medical Director of the Tbilisi Infectious Diseases Hospital

This number is a record high in Georgia since April 16, when 42 cases of coronavirus were detected.

By Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: 38 New Cases: Georgia Reports Record High Number of Coronavirus Infections Since April