Dear Juan

Many thanks for your e-mail and brining this to my attention. I will get back to you with responses shortly.

Best

პატივისცემით,

თამარ გაბუნია

მინისტრის პირველი მოადგილე

Sincerely,

Tamar Gabunia, MD, MPH

First Deputy Minister

Dr. Gabunia,

Thank you for taking my call earlier – I have CC’ed here the Acting Political and Economic Chief Ms. Anne Slack.  

Initially, our Chief of Mission (COM) personnel Ms. Aja Holmgren was not on the Airport Customs list of individuals allowed to self-quarantine at home.  In the time since our call, however, we have confirmed that her name has been added to the list and she should have no problems entering Georgia and reporting to quarantine at her diplomatic residence.  As with all our COM personnel, we submitted a self-quarantine form to the Ministry of Health and attempted to confirm at the working levels with the Ministry of Health and NCDC.  At first, we were told that the Ministry of Health would have to inspect the diplomatic residence.  I spoke with Dr. Amiran on Saturday morning and he confirmed this would not be necessary.  Then we learned she was not on the airport’s list of exemptions.  It seems that all of this has been resolved. 

Would it be possible to re-confirm with you for future reference that (1) our diplomatic personnel are able to enter the country and report to self-quarantine at their diplomatic residence and (2) the Ministry of Health does not need to inspect these diplomatic residences beforehand?  This has been our experience in the past, and it is consistent with the experiences of other diplomatic missions in Georgia.  We have several personnel scheduled to enter the country this summer and want to ensure that this process goes smoothly both for our arrivals and Georgia’s requirements.  Thank you again in advance!  

Best,

Juan José Aparicio | Political Officer

United States Embassy Tbilisi, Georgia

(O): +995 32 227 76 29 | (M) +995 598 080 254 

Email: AparicioJJ@state.gov