Washington Times: Coronavirus success story - The nation of Georgia
Washington Times published an article on April 22, which author is Tim Constantine and who pointed out Georgian government's efforts in the fighting against COVID-19.
"What seems to have escaped world media attention however is that the fight against COVID-19 has success stories as well, perhaps none more impressive than the country of Georgia. Sandwiched in between Russia and Turkey, Georgia has a population of 3.75 million people.
At the time this column was submitted for publishing, Georgia had only five deaths from coronavirus. You read that correctly. Five.
How is this possible? What explains Georgia’s tremendous success in this battle for the good health of its people? Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister Maya Tskitishvili sat down with me recently and explained. Ms. Tskitishvili is a Georgian economist and in addition to being the current vice prime minister she also serves as the minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure.", is written in the article.
As Maya Tskitishvili mentioned, they have addressed this challenge by taking it seriously from the very beginning.
"First, it was very early when we made decisions, second was our careful listening to our health care professionals. When communicating with the public, we were quite attentive and very clear and consistent in the corona locations.”
She added, that the most important pieces may be the things they were doing all together - the whole population of Georgia.
The article points out the past and ongoing conflicts of Georgia, which depicts the way Georgian people are dealing with internal and external tensions.
"The Georgian people may be better prepared to deal with an unexpected challenge and to listen to their government than the populations of many countries. The last two generations of Georgians have faced multiple conflicts and difficulties, both internally and from outside forces.
In the early 1990s, after the Soviet Union had been dissolved, Georgia was a newly independent nation. Not long after their first leader was elected, civil war broke out. The fallout impacted the entire nation. In 2008, five days of war exploded between Georgia and Russia. To say the people of Georgia are responsive and resilient to the unexpected would be an understatement. Ms. Tskitishvili summarizes, “Georgia has been through difficult times so the need to live and adapt in difficult times, of course, makes us more united, makes us stronger.”, is written in the article.
Within the frameworks of the interview, Maya Tskitishvili gave credence to Georgia’s successful battle against coronavirus to the United States.
"We’ve been feeling help and support from the US for many years, almost 30 years. The training the US Defense Threat Agency provided helped us to be more prepared for the coronavirus. The people they trained are health care professionals. They are very well trained and respected. The Lugar Center, through our national center for disease control, was trained by the US. (They) were the national frontrunners in the battle against the coronavirus.”
Apart from the U.S support, the author also marks out Georgia's economy.
"The nation of Georgia is one of the most beautiful places on earth and relies heavily on tourism as an essential part of its economy. Its cautious and successful approach to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic may make them even more attractive in the coming months as people all over the world decide where and when they may feel safe traveling. The option of traveling to a stunning location combined with the fact coronavirus barely reared its ugly head there may put Georgia at the top of leisure travel destinations for the immediate future."
