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Coronavirus pandemic

Ski resorts reopen in Georgia

The ski resorts were closed in the country on March 17 due to the coronavirus pandemic

TBILISI, July 10./TASS/. Ski resorts reopened in Georgia on Friday, a source from the press service of the Mountain Resorts Development Company told TASS on Friday.

According to the source, ski resorts have reopened in Bakuriani, Gudauri and Mestia. Only the Goderzi resort (Ajara) has not opened, since major construction work is underway there and the territory does not have all necessary services and utilities as of now, she said.

The ski resorts were closed in the country on March 17 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under the new rules, the people who want to use cable cars to get to the top of the mountain, must have their temperature measured and also must observe the social distancing rules and wear masks.

Gondola lifts will take on four passengers, who will be seated in a zigzag order. The open cable cars accommodating six people will now take on three passengers, while four-seaters - two passengers.

A state of emergency imposed due to the pandemic was in effect in the country from March 21 to May 22. On April 27, the authorities began to gradually ease these restrictions. Domestic tourism restarted on June 15 after several months of inactivity due to the coronavirus pandemic. From July 1, the country planned to start inviting foreign tourists, but this decision was postponed until the end of July. It has become known that in August Georgia will gradually begin to receive tourists from Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, France and Estonia.

According to updated figures, the country currently reports 973 coronavirus cases. Besides, 31 Georgian nationals returned home from abroad infected. As many as 846 people have recovered. Over 4,800 people are currently quarantined, and 231 patients are in hospitals. Fifteen patients have died.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 12,404,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 557,700 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 7,235,600 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

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