Page 9 - GEORptNov21

2.3 Covid deaths per capita in Armenia, Georgia surge to among world’s highest
2.4 Georgian Dream uses church against UNM in fight against ‘evil’
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.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on October 18 denounced the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party, saying “the evil force, which is behind multiple crimes, must end as an organisation and as a party.”
Garibashvili spoke of the Georgian Orthodox Church as “the foundation of the state” and fiercely defended church leaders, who in turn have defended the government against the evil opposition.
“I want to respond to one of the most anti-state and dirty policymaker's [TV chief Nika] Gvaramia’s attack against [Metropolitan] Father Shio [Mujiri] and the church. This is a classic example of how the state and its main foundation
9 GEORGIA Country Report November 2021 www.intellinews.com