New Strain of Coronavirus Detected in Georgia

The new strain of COVID-19 has been confirmed in Georgia, Paata Imnadze, Deputy Head of the National Center for Disease Control, told journalists on Monday.

He noted that an infected 50-year-old individual entered Georgia from another country, yet has no travel history in the UK. Imnadze refrained from naming the country the individual had traveled to/from. 

All contacts of the infected person have been identified and are in self-isolation.

"A person infected with the new strain of coronavirus has almost recovered. The new strain does not differ from coronavirus in terms of severity or lethality, although it differs from the existing strain by high transmission rate,” Imnadze said.

By Ana Dumbadze