Starting December 1, Georgia will require COVID-19 “green passes” for entering public spaces, civil.ge reports.
Citizens will receive a “green status” if they are fully vaccinated, have recovered from COVID, or have taken a PCR test within the last 72 hours, or an antigen test within 24 hours.
Adults, 18 years and over, will be required the “green passes” to enter both open-air or indoor spaces of food establishments, restaurants, cafes, bars as well as movie theaters, opera, museums, concert halls, gambling halls, spa centers, gyms, hotels and ski lifts.
Only visitors of these establishments will be required to present their “green passes,” as the regulation does not cover staff.
Also, starting today, until January 1, any retiree who opts to get vaccinated will receive a one-off payment of GEL 200 (USD 63) after their first jab.
The authorities are hoping to speed up Georgia’s sluggish vaccination rates with the initiatives. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has said that mandatory vaccination would be a “harsh interference with the people’s freedom of choice,” and the government will instead “do everything” to convince the citizens to vaccinate.
Georgia rolled out vaccination in March. Vaccination rates have been falling off for the past two months, after peaking at the end of summer.
According to the National Center for Disease Control, as of November 8, at least 1,049,193 citizens had received one jab, among them 952,831 were fully vaccinated. 1,204 people received their vaccines on November 7.
Citizens aged 16 years and over are allowed to receive the vaccine. Since October 7, minors aged 12-15 are allowed to receive the jab if they suffer from chronic illnesses.
Also, since October 7, people over 50 or with chronic illnesses, as well as those employed in professions with high COVID-19 risk are allowed to receive booster doses.
In the vaccination plans unveiled in January, the Government had hoped to vaccinate 60% of the adult population – about 1.7 million citizens.
