Page 9 - GEORptDec21

2.4 Covid deaths per capita in Armenia, Georgia surge to among world’s highest
2.5 Georgia’s ruling GD party nearly sweeps local elections
Deaths from COVID-19 in both Georgia and Armenia have surged to among the world's highest per capita in the last week, as the latest wave ravages both countries with no end in sight.
According to data from Worldometer, Armenia ranks 8th worldwide in COVID-19 deaths per million over the past week with 76/mn, behind only Romania, Bulgaria and a handful of Caribbean nations. Georgia was close behind with 62/mn deaths in the past week, on 13th overall on the list.
Vaccination rates in the two announce new lockdown measures, declaring next week as a non-working week and forcing bars and restaurants to close at 11pm. No new measures were yet forthcoming in Georgia or Armenia, the latter of which has operated essentially without any restrictions for over a year.
Georgia's ruling party, Georgian Dream, won 19 of 20 mayoral elections including the contest in the capital Tbilisi, electoral authorities said on October 31, as the opposition alleged that ballots were rigged.
Central Election Commission chief Georgi Kalandarishvili said October 30's voting was competitive, free and transparent, while independent election monitor Transparency International said it had identified up to 150 violations, ranging from minor to relatively serious.
Denouncing the vote, the head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party, Nika Melia, called on supporters to gather in Tbilisi on
9 GEORGIA Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com