2020-10-19
Inter-Agency Coordination Council Meetings will be held and led by the Prime Minister of Georgia on a daily basis. Giorgi Gakharia spoke about the decisions made at the meeting today and issues discussed at a media-briefing held afterwards.
By the assessment of the Head of Government of Georgia, recently some irresponsible politicians and experts have unfortunately been spreading false information to circulate an ungrounded panic among the public, which is absolutely unacceptable.
"Dissemination of panic is the worst thing a responsible citizen may cause to the country, especially when it is groundless. Our joint fight has been successful in recent months because it was a consolidated, united battle at several front lines - be it COVID-19 to be curtailed or the economy to be rescued. We continue to fight this battle together with our citizens of course" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
According to Giorgi Gakharia, the number of infected people is sadly rising to record-high numbers throughout the world. Hence, significant rise has been witnessed in Georgia.
"During the first wave, we made the right assessment of our resources, took painful decisions and announced a rather hard lock-down, however we should not forget that back then we did not have a stock of basic facemasks in the country and we were challenged with a deficit of this protective item. Back then we were administering 200 tests a day and no knowledge was held about the virus, like the rest of the world. Information was spreading and everyone hoped that a vaccine would become available in a few months. Unfortunately, it did not. Today we are in a completely different situation. Lock-down was absolutely the right decision back then, as we were primarily protecting the health and life of our citizens with this measure due to the high degree of uncertainty and lack of the basic facemasks. Today, when the entire world agrees that the facemask is the most effective means of fighting the virus, which reduces the likelihood of contraction by 90 percent, of course, we will no longer be announcing a similar lock-down. There is no necessity of it and besides the economy of the country will no longer sustain it" added the Head of Government of Georgia.
As noted by the Prime Minister of Georgia, vaccine will not be available tomorrow or the day after and we will have to co-exist with the virus, while the fight against it will be a long-term process, Government Strategy will thus change.
"This strategy is an adaptation with the virus and its management. Hence, our most correct and justified decision will be to introduce targeted restrictions and to strike the right balance. I mean, a balance between the precision targeted restrictions and correct execution of those rules that are set by our epidemiologists. Basically, we should wear face masks and keep distance. These are the rules that the entire world has acknowledged. Irrespective of the fact that we do our best to curb the community transmission rate of the virus, we will still have a rise in the confirmed cases. Nevertheless, we have the resources to manage this rising trend" noted Giorgi Gakharia.
In the opinion of the Head of Government of Georgia, the healthcare system of the country is more prepared today than it was some 6-7 months ago. Though, none of the countries, including Georgia, have unlimited resources.
"Primarily, we should safeguard each other and protect the possibility of further economic development in the country. Precision targeted restrictions, adherence to discipline and rigid rules, which implies the use of facemasks and social distancing are key for maintaining the opportunity of an economic advancement in the long-run by keeping away from ruining the national economy through a coexistence with the virus. It is what we should agree upon and after such agreement is reached we should understand that no reason exists for panic originating from pathetic politicians and similar experts" stated Giorgi Gakharia.
The Head of Government of Georgia stressed the need of consolidation and joint work in the process of a fight against the virus, thereby noting that nobody on its own will ever defeat the virus.
"As for the balance, every stakeholder has its own function and duty in it. No separate country may win a victory of the virus, as it is a global challenge and global pandemic. Zooming in on the country, nobody on its own will defeat the virus here either - neither epidemiologists, nor doctors, government, civil society, police or anyone else. Consolidation and joint work is the only solution against the virus to make sure that our co-existence is normal with a care for the life and health of people and quick economic recovery of course" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
The Head of Government of Georgia commented on the statements made on the elections and stated that parliamentary elections will be held on October 31 in full compliance with the constitutional timeline and safety standards.
"Many discussions were related to the elections. Friends, elections will be held in Georgia within the constitutional timeframe. They will not be deferred due to several reasons. First one of them is that everyone should understand that polling stations will be prepared in terms of epidemiologic safety and they will be much safer than some shopping malls or stores while entering the space with full adherence to the rules. Epidemic risk will not exist there. Second of them is that we all see that the political process and election campaign flows in an absolutely open manner. The only thing we ask our citizens and politicians is to adhere to the rules - wear the facemasks and keep distance. It cannot be that hard. Thus, we should all understand that the political process and elections are not at threat today and will not be. Let us all prepare for October 31 and hold elections in a democratic, open, transparent and - what is most important - safe manner" stated the Prime Minister of Georgia.
The Head of Government of Georgia spoke about the individual faults witnessed in the process and noted that they exist everywhere and the Government sees them well. Nevertheless, it is important that they are not systemic and get addressed in an efficient manner.
"When we coped with the first wave of the pandemic in a decent manner, an open and transparent relationship with our society was the most significant component of this effort. Each step was explained to our citizens and we continued in the same manner. We might have allowed for some faults and saw that a certain space was left for political speculations and attempts for panic to be circulated. Faults exist everywhere and we spot them well. Our main goal is to avoid them being systemic and to address them quickly. We do so together with the respective institutions and our citizens. That is why, I pledge that our relationship will be regular. Every cabinet ministry has received the relevant instructions to make sure that even painful topics pertaining to fauls get discussed with the public in an absolutely open manner" concluded Giorgi Gakharia.
Press Service of the Government Administration