TBILISI. Jan 26 (Interfax) - Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has a mild case of Covid-19, Vivamedi Clinic Director Zurab Chkhaidze told reporters on Thursday.
There is no need to put Saakashvili on a ventilator, as his respiratory function is normal, Chkhaidze said.
"It is also unnecessary to move Saakashvili to the ICU. There have been reports about the alleged fainting of Saakashvili in recent days but medical personnel who are monitoring his condition have not recorded that," he said.
The Tbilisi City Court has been considering a possible deferral of Saakashvili's imprisonment for health reasons. According to U.S. doctors, who examined Saakashvili at the Vivamedi clinic in Tbilisi, he has progressive dementia, extreme exhaustion and heavy metal poisoning. They said the patient needed urgent neck and shoulder surgery or else he could become disabled. The U.S. doctors also said that Saakashvili could be cured only in specialized clinics of the United States or Europe.
The medical department of the Georgian Justice Ministry's Penitentiary Service disagreed with the diagnosis, as Saakashvili refused to be diagnosed by Georgian doctors.