Crisis HQ in perhaps the most important meeting today: Decision on new lockdown expected

* The epidemiological situation is visibly deteriorating * According to data for March 4, more than 3,800 new cases of coronavirus infection had been confirmed in the country

The session of the Crisis HQ, at which the current epidemiological situation that has obviously worsened will be analyzed, will be held today starting at 3 pm.

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According to earlier announcements by members of the Crisis HQ, a decision to make the measures more strict should be made at the meeting, in order to stop the growth of new cases.

At the previous session, the medical part of the HQ advocated a complete lockdown for at least seven to ten days, and at the time, the final decision about this was left for a few of days later, Tanjug recalls.

The number of infected people on a daily basis has been around 4,000 in the previous days, so measures are expected to be tightened.

Citing several members of the Crisis HQ, the daily Blic writes that this will perhaps be the most uncertain meeting so far when it comes to harmonizing positions, and that a compromise solution will most likely be adopted - one between a complete lockdown for seven days, and the City of Belgrade's proposal not to tighten the measures or shorten opening hours.

Epidemiologist and member of the Crisis HQ, Predrag Kon, said last night that the epidemiological situation is not good, that it is mostly extraordinary, and in areas where there is no room to accommodate patients, it occasionally becomes catastrophic.

"The most important thing is to understand that the medical part of the Crisis HQ asked that only grocery stores, pharmacies and gas station be open, and everything else closed during the weekend. We never particularly emphasized a curfew," Kon stressed.

According to latest data, another 3,886 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Serbia over 24 hours as of Thursday afternoon, while 17 more people died. There are 4,109 people in hospitals, of which 173 are on ventilators.

New cases by city: Belgrade 1,265 - the highest number in the previous three days - followed by Nis, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Vranje.

During the previous weekend, measures were in force ordering hospitality establishments and shopping centers to close by 2 pm.

(Telegraf.rs)