Georgia's Laudable Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Been Very Successful Despite the Challenges

The terrible effects of the coronavirus disease have been largely cushioned in Georgia. Georgia’s pragmatic response to the outbreak of the pandemic has recorded remarkable feats across sectors, and this is due to the frontal efforts of the interagency Coordination Council setup by the Prime Minister of Georgia.

We caught up with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, David Zalkaliani and he carefully highlighted Georgia’s strategies that have been highly effective in combating the effects of COVID-19. The Minister also talked about the remarkable progress taking place under Georgia’s chairmanship directions of the Council of Europe despite the difficulties presented by COVID-19.

Please give us the latest news about the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Georgia, and the Georgian government’s prevention and control measures.

Since, we confirmed the first case of the COVID-19 infection in Georgia on February 26, we have consistently monitored the reproduction rate of the virus alongside other epidemiological parameters. As of June 12, there have been 843 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia, with 697 recoveries recorded. There are 3026 persons in quarantine, and 297 under hospital supervision. Unfortunately, we have also lost 13 citizens to the pandemic. All the steps embarked upon by the Georgian government draws primary motivation from the State’s commitment to the protection of human health and life, and a strong economy. Accordingly, the Georgian government is providing social assistance to citizens, assisting entrepreneurs, promoting the economy, and working intensively with international partners to attract necessary financial assistance to minimize the effects of the crisis in Georgia. While we have recorded significant breakthrough in our fight against the spread of the virus, we have begun to open up various areas that were previously locked down to curtail the spread of the virus. We are one of the first countries to open up our economy, and we need to continue to make progress with our economy. What we have been able to do as regards managing the risk of spreading the virus must result in specific economic outcomes. Georgia will be one of the first countries to effectively open up international tourism again. Before we were hit by the pandemic, tourism was one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy, so the government has specially developed targeted measures to support tourism, and to help the industry overcome and recover from the unfortunate crisis. A three-stage plan for the reopening of the tourism industry has been developed, and its implementation will guide the industry’s operation in light of the new conditions before us. Our embassies, are in turn, working actively to see Georgia declared as a safe country.

Georgia is considered as a success story in the fight against the coronavirus disease. What would you say is the secret behind this success?

Right before COVID-19 hit Georgia, and before the World Health Organization assessed the virus situation as a global pandemic, Georgia was one of the first countries to start caring for its citizens at home and abroad. On January 28, an inter-agency Coordination Council was set up under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Georgia. This council comprised members of Georgian government, members of parliament, administrative officials from the Office of the President of Georgia, and representatives of the medical field. The council emerged as a key platform for decision-making on COVID-19, and identified the 4 priority response areas:

1. Health care - protection of the health and life of the population. 2. Economy - Georgia’s economic management and recovery in the face of the global economic crisis. 3. Security - protection of citizens. 4. Stocks and logistics - managing the continuous supply of food to the population.

The Government of Georgia has approved a plan to prevent new waves of coronavirus in Georgia, and to operatively respond to new cases of the coronavirus disease as they pop up. The plan includes national response measures, responsibilities and duties of relevant structures, and the specific duties required of agencies to perform their functions effectively. The planning of Georgia’s COVID-19 response measures was based on the analysis of scenarios prepared by considering the existing capacity of our healthcare system and epidemiological modeling tools used to predict the spread of the epidemic. Maximum social distance and mobility limitations have been identified as the only effective solutions and response appropriate to COVID-19. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, a state of emergency was declared on March 21 (ended on May 23), and on March 31 - a general quarantine regime took effect. Restrictions were imposed on air and land traffic, schools also embraced remote mode. It was also important to keep the public informed of the purposes and outcomes of our briefings after the meetings of the Coordinating Council with relevant speakers. As a result, a special information platform was set up with all the information related to COVID-19. The website (www.stopcov.ge) has become the first source of statistics of people infected with coronavirus. Georgia’s fight against the pandemic can be divided into the following stages: 1. Virus Containment. 2. Slowdown. 3. Virus Management. 4. Gradual Alleviation and Adaptation. Currently, it is important for the Georgian government and our people not to relax a grip over the situation to maintain our positive outcomes in the fight against COVID-19. I can proudly say that Georgia’s fight against the spread of the virus is one of the most successful examples in the world.

What is the importance of international cooperation in solving the coronavirus crisis and its aftereffects?

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge and no country can deal with it in isolation. That is why we work actively in bilateral and multilateral formats with our international partners. I would like to mention that within the agenda of the Presidency of Georgia on the Council of Europe, the Declaration of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the COVID-19 was adopted. According to the declaration, the 47 member states agreed on the need to continue a joint fight against the pandemic, while maintaining the organization’s values and standards. Our resources, knowledge and competence are geared towards being responsible partners, both within our region and globally.

Georgia has recorded a high number of return flights of its citizens from all over the world, how did you come to that decision?

Apart from the threat to human health, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a number of everyday problems related to employment, legal status, transportation, international travel, and more problems around the world. Consequently, one of our main priorities in light of the coronavirus crisis was to help Georgian citizens abroad to return home if they so desired. Georgia’s diplomatic missions provided various types of assistance to 21,190 citizens in different host countries. 12,720 citizens returned to Georgia in different stages, either via land, air or sea routes, with the support of the Coordination Council. Among the returnees were citizens with special needs, people with difficult health conditions, pregnant women, minors, the elderly, and students. A total of 74 special pickup flights were arranged. It should be noted that the central office of the Ministry and the Georgian missions abroad switched their operations to 24-hour emergency mode while this lasted.

I would like to ask about Georgia’s chairmanship of the Council of Europe that began on November 27, 2019. In view of the difficulties experienced during the last three months, due to the spread of COVID-19, how did the pandemic affect Georgia’s chairmanship of the Council of Europe and its plans?

We took special responsibility for the presidency, as it is our first experience in leading an international organization since our country’s independence. This position has given us a unique opportunity as a member of the European family and the international community to contribute to the strengthening of human rights, democracy and the rule of law on the European continent. It is also symbolic that Georgia has fulfilled this important function on our 20th anniversary since we joined the organization. Georgia has selected four priorities for its Presidency : 1. Human Rights and Environmental Protection. 2. Civil Participation in Decision-Making Process. 3. Child Friendly Justice – Converging Experience on Restorative Justice in Europe. 4. Strengthening Democracy through Education, Culture and

I am proud to say that despite the troubles of the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia has been able to successfully organize events in the aforesaid priority areas. Clearly, the global crisis caused by COVID-19 has grossly affected the organization’s work and limited us from performing to the full limits of our chairmanship functions.

The unprecedented situation of COVID-19 and the realities it presented immediately required the development of new working methods for the optimal functioning of the organization. Through the efforts of the Georgian Presidency, and the support of the relevant authorities of the organization, the normal working procedures of the Committee of Ministers has been modified to include new working methods, such as written procedures and video conferences. As I already mentioned, the structure presented by the Presidency of Georgia, led to a declaration which, was adopted by the Committee of Ministers in response to COVID-19. According to the declaration, the 47 member states agreed on the need to continue a joint fight against the pandemic, while maintaining the organization’s values and standards.

Despite these difficulties, I would like to emphasize that the Georgian Presidency has been very successful. Proof of this is not only in terms of the measures taken and the important documented results, but also the fact that as a result of the joint effective work of our Presidency and relevant authorities of the organization, we managed to deal with the current difficult situation and establish new work standards. I am pleased to note the positive assessments that the Georgian Presidency has received from leaders of the Council of Europe. This is an important recognition of the successful work of our country’s diplomatic service and the state agencies working alongside the Presidency. Georgia remains committed to the values it embraced already in 1999, on joining the Organization.