Georgia has tightened border entry rules with Turkey as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus, the Turkish Consulate in Georgia said in a statement on Thursday.

According to a statement, the new border crossing rule applies to the drivers of the trailers traveling through Georgia. They will have to present passports instead of IDs, while crossing the border.

"As the part of the measures against the threat of the coronavirus, as of 26.02.2020, from 23:30 pm, the passport control procedure started for the driver of the trailers (TIR), who intend to enter Georgia,” the Turkish Consulate says.

According to the statement, those citizens, who have Iranian, Chinese, South Korean or Italian visas/stamps attached to their passports or have travelled to Italy during the last 21 days, are not allowed to enter Georgia through Turkey.

“We would like to explain that these regulations can be changed, since the programs related to the coronavirus are regularly updated,” the statement reads.