Page 53 - GEORptFeb21
P. 53
cases and deaths would spiral out of control, breaking Poland’s already very strained healthcare system.
Hungary reintroduced a state of emergency for 90 days as of midnight on November 3. The rate of daily infections in Hungary has been one of the fastest among EU countries since September, though the government has been – until now – slow to respond by tightening restrictions.
Even in the Baltic states, which until recently had managed to keep the virus under control, new restrictions are being announced. The worst-affected Baltic country is Lithuania, which declared a three-week nationwide lockdown on November 4.
In Southeast Europe, the virus is spreading most rapidly in Slovenia, which reported 12,030 new cases in the last week, or 6,267 per million. Slovenia already has a partial lockdown in place and the government has unveiled new measures to support coronacrisis-struck SMEs.
The situation is only slightly better in Croatia and Montenegro, which reported 3,718 and 3,328 cases per million respectively during the week. Montenegro in particular may be heading for a new surge in cases, as thousands of people largely ignored social distancing rules at mass events to mourn Metropolitan Amfilohije, t he head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.
Nemanja Radojevic, deputy head of the Clinical Centre of Montenegro (CCM), told public broadcaster RTCG that the tiny country could be heading for a “catastrophic” situation and urged the authorities to start opening field hospitals.
Tighter restrictions have also been announced in Kosovo, while in Bulgaria the informal organisers of the mass protests that have taken place daily since July called for a halt so as not to risk spreading the virus at demonstrations and putting more pressure on the already overstretched health service. Hoteliers in Bulgaria have offered to accommodate coronavirus patients as hospitals are already approaching capacity.
Further east, Armenia remains another hotspot for coronavirus, with 14,417 new cases during the week, as does neighbouring Georgia with 12,296.
9.1.8 Agriculture sector news
Russia’s grain export quotas to hit food prices in Georgia
Russia’s decision to impose grain export quotas has hit food prices in Georgia at a time when local currency depreciation is already putting significant pressure on local producers.
Moscow plans to introduce quotas on grain exports from February 15 to June
53 GEORGIA Country Report February 2021 www.intellinews.com
