Georgia to close all retail outlets, except pharmacies, grocery stores, petrol stations
TBILISI. March 19 (Interfax) - Georgia is closing all retail outlets except grocery shops, pharmacies and petrol stations due to the spread of the coronavirus, the country's Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said on Thursday.
"We are increasingly seeing that the coronavirus is beginning to spread within the country, which is why the security council has decided to close all retail outlets except grocery stores, pharmacies, petrol stations, and mail offices," Gakharia said at a briefing after a Security Council meeting.
The measures are necessary to curb the virus spread as much as possible, he said
"At the meeting, which was attended by the president of Georgia, we considered declaring a nationwide state of emergency. I want to stress that there is no such need today, though, should this need arise, we will be able, upon consultation with the president, to make such a decision within hours and proceed to carrying it out. We could make such a decision tomorrow, after tomorrow, once it becomes necessary and only at the recommendation of our healthcare system," Gakharia said.
Georgia has 40 confirmed Covid-19 cases, one person has recovered. One Georgian woman with coronavirus died in Spain.