The coronavirus is getting closer

The risk of coronavirus in Montenegro is no longer low, but moderate, and travelers are advised not to travel to areas affected by this disease in China, but also to the north of Italy.

This was announced yesterday at the press conference of the Institute for Public Health. Director of the Institute Boban Mugoša said that the situation in Italy has changed drastically, and that they are in contact with colleagues in that country, neighboring countries, the World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention. He said travelers are advised not to travel to the affected regions unless necessary.

"Citizens are obliged to report to the border police and inspection upon returning to Montenegro," said Mugoša, adding that persons coming from endangered areas will be placed under surveillance.

Travelers from Bologna under surveillance

According to Mugoša, the recommendation is that people who come from those areas self-isolate, to reduce contacts and not to attend gatherings where there are many people, in order to avoid the possible transmission of infection.

"We hope it won't come to that, but we have to prepare for something like that," Mugoša added.

He said that 43 people are currently under surveillance, but that, as he stated, changes from hour to hour.

"The first flight from the affected areas is at 13.30:XNUMX p.m., so the number of people we will put under surveillance will already be increased by the number of passengers coming from the north of Italy," Mugoša said.

The assistant director of the Institute, Senad Begić, said that the Italian province of Reggio Emilia was the least affected and that nine cases were registered there, which means that it is very unlikely that someone who was infected arrived from Bologna yesterday. He explained that the passengers will be met by the border police and the health and sanitary inspection, which will write them a solution and give advice to reduce contacts to the minimum possible extent.

Mugoša said that around 3.000 passengers were under surveillance in Montenegro and that there were two suspicious cases, which were found to be negative for the new coronavirus.

Answering a question about the health condition of the Montenegrin citizen who is on board the "Diamond Princess" and who was previously reported to have the new coronavirus, Mugoša said that according to unofficial information he is feeling well, has no fever and his latest test result was done in Japan he is negative for the coronavirus.

He said that citizens will have a telephone available from 22 a.m. to XNUMX p.m., through which they will give instructions to travelers who have some doubts.

"The situation in Montenegro has, therefore, been raised to a slightly higher level than it was before, and everything with the aim of delaying it as long as possible can cause the appearance of the virus, or if we succeed in suppressing the appearance of the infection," said Mugoša.

He explained that they have developed a set of measures for travelers from affected areas and that it is not good that not everything is known about the virus itself and that it is transmitted by droplets.

Recommendations for excursions, equipment so far...

Over 150 cases of coronavirus patients were recorded in Italy until yesterday afternoon, while only four cases were recorded on Friday. Begić said that the establishment of local transmission of the virus was one of the main reasons that increased the level of risk to the health of the population... He said that the second reason was the cultural and traffic connection between Montenegro and Italy.

When asked what their recommendation is when it comes to school excursions, considering that those routes mostly include Italy, Begić said that he will develop recommendations and send them to the competent ministry.

"Considering that in Italy they have banned visits to museums in the affected regions, sports and cultural events and similar gatherings, therefore the cultural aspect for which school excursions are organized no longer makes sense at the moment," said Begić.

Yesterday, the Institute clarified that there is a misunderstanding in the tourism sector because citizens were deprived of certain destinations that were not affected by the coronavirus.

Answering the question whether they lack protective equipment, Mugoša said that there is enough of it so far. However, he clarified that the problem with the procurement of equipment exists everywhere in the world and that certain companies have started production, so they will try to procure additional quantities.

400 Chinese workers are returning

Mugoša said yesterday that a dozen workers engaged in the construction of the highway have returned from China, and that another 400 are expected who are not from the most affected province of Hubei.

"On Wednesday, the deadline given by the sanitary inspection to fulfill the conditions in the camp for their accommodation expires. "A dozen have returned, another 400 are expected. Everyone must be under surveillance," said Mugoša.

It was clarified that they will be in isolation in China for two weeks, and that upon arrival in Montenegro they will have to show a health report, after which they will be monitored again here for 14 days, which will reduce the probability of transmitting the virus...

Yesterday, Mugoša replied that the Government is considering several locations for quarantine, among them places in Podgorica, Danilovgrad, as well as the former military barracks in the Zoganj settlement in Ulcinj. He explained that people fear out of ignorance, because healthy people go to quarantine, and if it turns out that someone is infected, they are moved and transported to the Clinical Center according to special procedures.

Cungu wrote to the prime minister about the quarantine

President of the Force Nazif Cungu expressed his concern regarding the announcement from the Ministry of Health that the former JNA barracks in Zoganj near Ulcinj is being considered as a potential quarantine location for the coronavirus and assessed that the very thought of it is wrong and harmful for the city and its residents. In an open letter to Prime Minister Duško Marković, acknowledging him for his tremendous effort and concrete steps aimed at a better future for all citizens of Montenegro, he requested that decisions on such important topics should not be made without representatives of the Force, which is a coalition partner of the DPS at the local and state level. level.

Risk assessment for the population, passengers and the system

The Institute announced that the risk to the health of the population is now moderate, which is one degree higher than the previous level. They said the risk of contracting the new strain of the coronavirus for people who travel to or live in areas where the virus is widespread in the community is currently high or rising.

The Institute said that the risk of endangering the health system's capacity is currently moderate. They estimated this based on the fact that there are no registered cases of the disease in Montenegro and the greatest pressure is expected on the epidemiological services, especially the Institute.

"In the event of the importation and establishment of local circulation of the new coronavirus, the potential impact on the capacities and functioning of the health system would be moderate to high with a tendency to worsen depending on the epidemiological situation. A large number of patients would require additional resources for dealing with cases - treatment, epidemiological tracing and contact tracing, for which appropriate action plans have been made," the Institute announced yesterday afternoon.