2020-06-11
Today, as of June 11, 2020 we have 6 new cases and it is not a high number at the first glance, but most alarming is that 4 out of 6 are not traceable to the source by now. Out of the 4 cases with unknown sources, 3 were detected in Tbilisi. It was announced by Giorgi Gakharia, Prime Minister of Georgia at the Executive Government Meeting today.
According to him, the Government of Georgia re-opened the economy and took decisions to have less restrictions in the routine of its citizens, but nobody should be illusioned that the virus has been defeated.
"Everyone should understand it well that even though we re-opened the economy and took decisions to have less restrictions in the routine of our citizens, thereby continuing to operate as usual, we should not forget and nobody should be illusioned that virus is defeated and this is a good example of what may happen. We should understand that 4 new cases that are not traceable by now contain great risks. In essence, these are 4 new clusters, which we have no information from anywhere and cannot figure out where, when or how the infection got transmitted. It is alarming. We should by no means take dubious steps and stay most careful and prudent to make sure that we do not lose the achievements obtained so far. There are plenty of examples to illustrate this and have seen repeated epidemic outbreaks in various countries. That is why I wish to urge every institution and individual to be most prudent and careful. It is most important of all. It is a global crisis and challenge, both in terms of epidemics - in medical terms - and economy. No country may tackle the crisis on its own and we need to be supportive of each other" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
The Head of Government of Georgia noted that he keeps in touch with his Armenian colleague on a daily basis.
"Of course, Ministry of Health is instructed to design a support package, which may be rendered by Georgia to the neighboring Armenia" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
The Head of Government of Georgia explained that it will primarily manifest in the medical staff secondments. According to him, such a request has been indicated by the neighboring nation.
"You may well be aware that the situation has become quite tense in our neighboring countries. I personally keep in touch with the Prime Minister of Armenia on a daily basis and our fellow Ministers of Health, Economy and Foreign Affairs - with their Armenian colleagues. We have already identified what type of support may be needed by our neighbors. Compassion is the most important notion here" added the Prime Minister of Georgia.
The Head of Government of Georgia focused on domestic tourism. According to him, resumed domestic tourism will enable the sector to resume more quickly, but each business operator and citizens need to remain careful.
According to his statement, the Government of Georgia is expecting respective decisions towards this end to issue a Government Resolution on gradual enforcement of the Bilateral Agreements on Green Travel Destinations.
"We are resuming domestic tourism from Monday, June 15. It is a proper decision. It allows our citizens to rest and travel more within the country. Also, it lets the tourism industry to resume quicker. However, all of us - business operators and citizens - should remain careful. You may well be aware that as of today no final decision has been made within the EU on the method of domestic mobility or EU approach towards the management of visitor inflows from third countries. We are expecting these decisions and will conclude on the gradual enforcement of bilateral agreements on green zones, which are actively pursued by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
The Head of Government of Georgia focused on the pension increase from July and the Anti-Crisis Budget.
"I wish to touch upon the Anti-Crisis Budget, which was a systemic output of the Ministry of Finance and all institutions of the economic profile. It is indeed a significant paper, which defines measures for the potential second wave of infection in the country, along with all those social risks, which we may face by the end of the year" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
According to the Head of Government of Georgia, the country has adhered to its plan of pension increase by budget parameters, which were announced from the beginning of the year.
"I wish to thank the Ministry of Finance of Georgia and particularly note that with these budget parameters we have maintained the plan of pension increase, which we announced at the beginning of the year. Of course, the economic parameters of the country were absolutely different at the beginning of the year. With this mechanism being maintained, our pensioners aged over 70 will have pensions increased by 30 GEL from July 1. Their monthly pension will reach 250 GEL, while the elderly living in high terrain regions will be getting even more and their monthly pension will total 300 GEL. In addition, what is of critical importance, we managed and incorporated the health insurance mechanisms in the social security package, which increases annually along with the pension increase as a guaranteed factor. This particular pension increase will be linked with the inflation and 80% of economic growth indicator for pensioners aged over 70. More important is that we have set the floor to lock the value. Even in the conditions of any economic growth and inflation, each pensioner is guaranteed to receive 20 GEL in addition, while those aged over 70 -will be getting 25 GEL in addition. It is the least we could offer with a guarantee to our pensioners. Of course, we understand that it is not sufficient and we should all do more to improve the living standards for our pensioners on an annual basis" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
According to him, Resident of High Terrain Region is a status now granted to 58 village communities and such status is in total enjoyed by 1800 settlements as of today.
"As I just mentioned a special pension increase for the elderly residents of high terrain regions with a respective status, I wish to underline that 58 more villages have been added this year to the existing list and this status is nowadays applicable to 1800 settlements" noted the Head of Government of Georgia.
Also, the Prime Minister of Georgia expressed his gratitude to Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, now a former State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality for her service.
As noted by the Head of Government of Georgia, a lot of important initiatives, including a Step to Better Future, are related to her.
"I wish to thank Ketevan Tsikhelashvili for her service. She has been a member of the Government of Georgia for almost 4 years. A lot of most important initiatives, including a Step to Better Future, are related to her. This is a serious initiative as an attempt to create decent conditions for our citizens on both sides of the occupation line and to reconnect the civic bridges towards multiple directions: economy, business, social and cultural. Ketevan has significantly contributed to this" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
According to him, Ketevan Tsikhelashvili will continue her service in the diplomatic corps, as for her successor - name will be announced later.
"She will continue her service at the diplomatic frontline and I am confident that her qualification, knowledge and accumulated experience will facilitate further deepening and advancement of our diplomatic achievements towards Europe. Ketevan will be succeeded at this rather responsible position by a person, whose name will be shared with general public at a later stage" concluded the Prime Minister of Georgia.
Press Service of the Government Administration