Whoever brings coronavirus to Serbia won't even be considered a risk at the border - here's why

Epidemiologist Zoran Radovanovic explains that the index patient will certainly not be ill at the time of entering Serbia

The Covid-19 coronavirus is very much knocking on the door of Europe, with the worst situation currently in Italy, where over 300 people have been infected and 11 have died. The virus is at this time closest to us in Croatia, where two cases have been detected.

Dr. Branimir Nestorovic previously said that there is no doubt coronavirus will reach Serbia, something that our best-known epidemiologist Zoran Radovanovic agrees with.

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"It's increasingly certain that the disease will come to us because it is already close. When you look at the confusion over there, it's not very likely that we will be more successful, but we should hope so. So, the epidemiological service is on alert, it's important to detect the disease as soon as possible. Ideally, we would quickly identify the index patient, that is, the first patient who brought the virus into the country," he tells Telegraf in an interview.

Despite the preparedness of the state, it's least unlikely that the index patient will be running a high fever and generally be recognized as a risk when entering our country.

"The European Union recommends to also check those seated two rows in front, behind, and beside (the patient) on a bus or on a plane. But, the index patient will certainly not run a high fever because if they were sick, they wouldn't be traveling. They are much more likely to come here and get sick in a few days. During this time, they will infect two, three people around them and may not even see the doctor if the case is milder. Maybe one of those two or three will go to the doctor, who will probably conclude that they have the cold or the flu."

The first serious case and the discovery of coronavirus in Serbia could happen only in the so-called third chain of infection starting from the index patient.

"Only those in the third infection chain will go to the doctor who will suspect coronavirus and order further tests, and then they will work backwards to see who the patient had been in contact with. That's already spilled milk," Radovanovic stresses.

Radovanovic points out that we are more likely to detect coronavirus only when we see the consequences, as has been the case in each of the other countries.

"It's a more serious illness than the flu, but there's no reason to panic. When it arrives and if it takes hold in Serbia, we will learn to live with it," Dr. Zoran Radovanovic concluded in his interview with Telegraf.

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(Tara Tomovic/Telegraf.rs)