BAKU, Azerbaijan, Mar. 20
By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:
Georgia is completely shutting down air transportation starting from March 21 in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister's Advisor for Foreign Affairs Irakli Chikovani said, Trend reports via Georgian media.
"Only government-coordinated flights carried out by Georgian Airlines will be operated," he said.
He went on to add that every citizen who enters Georgia will be quarantined.
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava announced that in order to help Georgian citizens who are currently abroad and cannot return to their home country due to suspended or cancelled flights, the government of Georgia will offer to co-finance flights that will be carried out by Georgian Airways.
Turnava also said that quarantine places for Georgian citizens returning to the country from abroad amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus must be created. She added that the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) will be responsible for creating quarantine zones for them.
As of today, Georgia has 43 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Amid the new coronavirus outbreak, Georgia has suspended direct flights with China, Iran and Italy, which remain the largest centers of the outbreak.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019. The symptoms include cough, headache, fatigue, fever, aching and difficulty breathing.
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