Georgia tightens the testing net

Georgia is tightening the coronavirus testing net, looking to join international top tier in key metric.

In a recent piece, I looked at how the Covid-19 outbreak in Georgia has left the trajectory of exponential growth and might have already surpassed its peak. These considerations are all based on the publicly available figures of confirmed cases. What I did not discuss much, however, is the reliability of those figures.

It has been suspected for a while that the number of actual coronavirus infections in most countries is significantly higher than the number of confirmed cases. Studies from the US, Germany and Brasil point to the conclusion that these countries likely had on the order of 10 times as many infections as were officially reported.

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Georgia past the peak – what now?

After weeks of talk about reaching the „peak“ of the Covid-19 epidemic, Georgia has started to relax restrictions on public life. Has the country conquered the epidemic? What can be expected from the months to come?

Easter celebrations have passed without a spike in new cases, and last week‘s lifting of the car travel ban was the government‘s first step in their 3-months plan of returning to normalcy. However, a certain fatigue with lockdown measures is palpable, and recent farmer‘s protests show the economic costs of the emergency measures are increasingly hard to bear for many Georgians.

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Easter: Georgia puts all eggs in church’s basket. Are they safe?

With easter celebrations in Georgia in full swing, many wonder if the insistence of the church on holding services might lead to an explosion of infections in the upcoming days and weeks.

There is ample precedent in order for such fears to be justified. Religious mass gatherings have already caused considerable spread of Covid-19 in other countries. Here is a (by no means exhaustive) list of such events and their consequences:

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Georgia follows Japan trajectory, for now

As Covid-19 infections in Georgia continue to grow slowly but steadily, it is time to take a closer look at how this development compares with the outbreaks in other countries. While Georgia is on the same trajectory as Japan, it currently falls short of the benchmark set by some other wealthy east Asian countries.

The first cases in Georgia were confirmed around the same time as in many European countries. Yet, the virus has so far spread considerably less than in most of the Western world.

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All age groups could face significant mortality increase in 2020: Georgian case

As the number of fatalities due to the Coronavirus pandemic rises worldwide (over 50 thousand as of April 2, and doubling every 5.5 days), more discussions focus on the different scenarios countries are going to face in the coming weeks and months.

Up until now Georgia’s place in these discussions was limited to local and international praise for its effective handling of the situation with zero fatalities (as of April 2) and moderate increase of cases compared to most European countries. At the very least, Georgia has been able to buy itself valuable time to prepare for what is still to come.

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