2020-10-07

We need rules in order to live a normal social life and to avoid closing the economy, the education process, schools, and the political process, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated at a briefing held after the conclusion of the session of the Interagency Coordination Council.

According to the head of the government, these are global rules that are in force throughout the world and the disciplined observance of these rules is the guarantee that the country will continue to live in peace.

"We have always stated, and we say today as well, that we are at the stage of adaptation and management, which is an extremely important stage for us. The most important thing here is for everyone - the state, citizens, private and state organizations, business in general - to know their precise function. The main thing is that at this stage of adaptation, we coexist with the virus. Most importantly, however, this coexistence must take place with certain rules and these rules are very simple to follow. We need these rules in order to live a normal social life and to avoid closing the economy, the education process, schools, and the political process. That is precisely why we need to follow the rules. These are global rules that are in force throughout the world and the quality of this coexistence, success, and our discipline in following these rules is the guarantee that we will continue to live in a calm, peaceful, and normal manner. We will restore the economy and jobs and we will conduct the political process peacefully, without any tension," Giorgi Gakharia stated.

According to the head of the government, about 7-8 months have passed since the appearance of the virus and this challenge is so global that no one in the world has yet discovered or offered us any tools to deal with the virus that would be more effective than the basic rules of wearing face masks, distancing, and maintaining hygiene.

The Prime Minister spoke about the steps taken by the Government of Georgia, noting that the approach chosen by the authorities was consistent from the outset.

"We have always said that after the first stage - which was the stage of containment and had its own objectives, which were achieved successfully and were valued and assessed positively all over the world - we entered the stage of adaptation and coexistence. At this point, first is rapid detection, which has its own appropriate tools and I will tell you about this in more detail - this means an increase in the quality of effective and targeted testing. The next stage is prompt treatment, which we have already started with the help of the clinical group, by making changes in the clinical processes and the management of said clinical processes. The third one is the swift return of persons to normal economic life, which is more of an economic dimension," the Prime Minister noted.

According to Giorgi Gakharia, while 200 PCR tests were conducted in Georgia at the beginning of the pandemic, today, they country conducts more than 10,000 PCR tests. Nevertheless, even the resources available in this regard are not unlimited and this process needs to be targeted.

As the Prime Minister stated, in terms of testing, the testing of doctors is of the greatest importance in order to prevent waves of infection among doctors.

"Targeted testing means that when a person develops initial symptoms he or she must, of course, get tested. What is systemic testing? Systemic testing refers to the testing of a specific social group such as doctors, teachers, police officers, or drivers. This is done in order to prevent the most socially important sectors - the ones that determine the course of life - from coming to a halt," the Prime Minister stated.

According to Giorgi Gakharia's assessment, the fact that today, Georgia conducts more tests per 100,000 citizens than the average European country guarantees that major risks will not be created in social groups.

"We must adopt the following as a rule: Those of us who come into contact with an infected person must move to self-isolation and if we exhibit no symptoms, we must remain under the management of a family doctor. This is the change that we have made to clinical management as well. The stage of rapid detection means increasing the quality of targeted testing and systemic testing. This is a stage that has already been organized," Giorgi Gakharia stated.

According to the head of the government, significant changes have been made to the field of clinical management, which are fully in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization. This means that the management of mild or asymptomatic cases of infection will take place at home, in accordance with the levels of primary healthcare.

"We have created COVID hotels for the cases where our citizens do not have the opportunity to follow the basic rules of isolation. There, they will be placed in isolation and their treatment will continue. As soon as the initial symptoms appear here, of course, the first stage of rapid detection - i.e. testing - takes place and the person in question undergoes treatment at a medical institution. The most important thing in this regard is that today, the country's medical infrastructure for the treatment of severe and critical patients is fully prepared to correctly manage patients in a severe or critical condition. The clinical group has been set up for this purpose as well; we have already created a separate group of reanimatologists, which is managing this process throughout the country in full," Giorgi Gakharia stated.

According to the Prime Minister, the third stage entails the swift return of persons to economic life and during this process, a great deal of responsibility falls on the state and organizations, as well as every individual citizen.

"The stages are carefully, consistently, and fully structured. We say that the first stage is the stage of rapid detection. This refers directly to the quality of targeted testing. The second stage is prompt treatment, which refers to the more efficient molding of the clinical management process to the current stage of adaptation. The third stage is the swift return of persons to economic life. Here, the observance of rules is the most important component. We must wear face masks and maintain social distance, first and foremost, in order to render the recovery of our economy and our jobs more effective and quick compared to others - we have been more successful at this than others until now and we intend to continue in this manner. We simply have several additional components: First is the election and political process, which we cannot and will not stop. Despite the calls of some incompetent experts, this is an inviolable process and we must all understand that free, democratic elections held with the use of face masks and social distancing is a priority. Georgia must show the entire world that it is possible to continue normal life even in such a situation if the country, the government, citizens, private as well as state organizations strictly follow the rules and have a high degree of discipline," Giorgi Gakharia stated.

According to the Prime Minister, both private and state organizations have their share of responsibility as well - this refers to thermal screening and working remotely, to the extent that this is possible.

"If any employee has come into contact with an infected person, he or she must be urged and given the opportunity to self-isolate. This is the observance of basic rules. It is necessary to maintain distance in the workplace, to wear a face mask indoors, and so on. As regards citizens, they have simple rules to follow - they need to wear face masks, maintain social distance, and observe the rules of basic hygiene. I would like to address our citizens: Eight months have passed since the beginning of the pandemic and no one, not even a single one of the strongest systemic states has been able to offer its citizens more effective rules, a more effective treatment or means of protection than the use of face masks, social distancing, and the observance of the rules of hygiene. Therefore, if we begin exhibiting basic symptoms, the first thing that we must do is consult a family doctor, the level of primary healthcare, or call 112. The relevant employees at all levels have been fully trained on how to manage people when they develop symptoms, which cases can be treated at home, and which cases require hospitalization. All of this has been organized and is working well. We urge our citizens to follow the rules provided by our doctors," the Prime Minister stated.

As for the citizens who belong to high-risk groups - the elderly and people with chronic diseases - according to the head of the government, while they will receive special attention from the medical sector, it is also necessary to demonstrate a high level of civic responsibility toward them.

"Ultimately, it is the responsibility of citizens to follow the basic rules; it is the responsibility of both private and state organizations to ensure a high level of discipline.

The effectiveness of the management of COVID-related risks in accordance with the protocols approved by the Ministry of Healthcare will be the personal responsibility of the head of each organization - the protocols have already been sent everyone on one occasion and we will send them again. The responsibility of the state is the main and most important one - it encompasses rapid detection, which means the effective and targeted management of testing; prompt treatment, which means the effective management of the clinical process; and thirdly, of course, the swift return of persons to normal economic life," Giorgi Gakharia stated.

According to the head of the government, today Georgia remains a green country and is managing the pandemic relatively more effectively compared to others at the stage of adaptation and management; even this, however, is not the main determinant.

According to the Prime Minister's assessment, the most important thing is not to put the health of citizens, the rapid recovery of the economy, and the election process at risk.

"We may lose the status of a green country tomorrow and regain it the day after. For us, the most important thing is the health of our citizens, so that we do not need to impose restrictions, which will cause a great deal of inconvenience and will put the rapid recovery of the economy at risk. And, of course, it is important to conclude the election process quickly and effectively and to hold the most transparent and democratic elections under the conditions of a pandemic in Georgia," Giorgi Gakharia noted.

After his statement, the Prime Minister also answered the reporters' questions.

Press Service of the Government Administration