Municipal Transport to be Restricted from August 14 to September 4

New Restrictions Imposed by Interagency Coordination Council
Due to the complicated epidemiological situation, new restrictions will be imposed in the country from August 14 to September 4. This decision made by the government was announced after the meeting of the Interagency Coordination Council. Based on the government’s decision, the movement of municipal transport will be restricted. The restriction does not apply to intercity transport. Amiran Gamkrelidze, Head of the National Center for Disease Control [NCDC], says that despite the ban on municipal transport, special vehicles will be allocated for citizens to reach the vaccination centers. “Such a proposal was made by the National Center for Disease Control, which was supported by the council, that especially in large cities – Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi and Rustavi, special transport will be appointed to carry citizens to big vaccination centers,” said Gamkrelidze. The operation of food facilities will be allowed until 23:00 instead of 00:00, and the operation of children’s entertainment centers will be limited. However, the new regulations completely ban festivals, mass events, concerts and sports competitions, except for those sports competitions that are held under international auspices. The government calls on the public and private sector to switch employees to remote work. “Public agencies are instructed to shift employees to remote work as much as possible, and we make a similar recommendation to the private sector,” the Council said after the meeting. By Ana Dumbadze

UK to Put Georgia on its Covid-19 Red List from August 8
On August 8, the United Kingdom will be putting Georgia on its Red List, alongside Mayotte, Mexico and Reunion, meaning British nationals visiting these countries will have to pay over 1700 Pounds ($2400) for a stay in a quarantine hotel on returning home. The move comes after Georgia was ranked 5th in the world in terms of the latest dynamics of the spread of coronavirus per 100,000 inhabitants. Based on statistics from ‘Our World in Data,’ the number of daily cases has increased by 88% in the last two weeks, reaching 76 per 100,000 inhabitants. Given the alarming statistics, Georgian epidemiologists and government officials daily urge the population to get vaccinated, claiming it is “the only way to end the pandemic.” However, despite some 16,000 Georgians getting vaccinated per day, distrust in the vaccine is still high, a fact confirmed by the latest survey conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI), indicating that Georgians are increasingly hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The survey shows that the majority of respondents, 45%, would not get vaccinated against coronavirus, which is a six-point increase from IRI’s February 2021 poll. On August 8, the UK is moving France, Bahrain, India, Qatar, and the UAE to its Amber List, and Austria, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to Green.

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