Coronavirus hits the Balkans, Serbia surrounded: Could it reach us at any second, and from where?

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Illustration: Nikola Jovanovic

Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, the Serb Republic... These are the countries in the Balkans where coronavirus COVID-19 cases have been confirmed - and whether this means that we can expect this new disease to appear in Serbia at any second, and from which country it might come here, we asked our best epidemiologists, Professor Branislav Tiodorovic and Dr. Predrag Kon.

The latest in the list of countries to report the novel coronavirus is Republika Srpska (the Serb Republic). It was confirmed this morning that a Banja Luka man was infected with COVID-19 as well as his child attending elementary school, and you can find out all about this case and other coronavirus related information on our BLOG (in Serbian).

Considering that coronavirus has surrounded us from all sides, our interlocutors agree that we should not be surprised if this new virus appears here today, or if there is news of the first infection in tomorrow's report of the Ministry of Health.

Acting Chief of Unit for Infectious Diseases at the City Institute for Public Health in Belgrade Dr. Predrag Kon tells Telegraf.rs that it is a matter of time before this new infectious disease appears in our country.

"The possibility that it will not appear cannot be ruled out either. It's hard to say where it will come from. I wouldn't dare say. But, since we are surrounded, it is clear that the virus is invading the territory," says Dr. Kon.

Professor Branislav Tiodorovic, former director of the Public Health Institute in Nis, believes that Italy is more of a threat to us, as well as China to a lesser extent. According to him, we are more likely to get coronavirus from these countries, especially from Italy, than from surrounding countries.

Photo: Tanjug/AP

"Countries in the vicinity have 1, 2, 3 cases. They are recognized, and since they have been tested that means they are already isolated, which is important for us as well as the disease cannot spread towards us. In this case, China is still the most interesting to us, though less and less so because everyone is paying attention to the movement of our people and the Chinese who come from there, as well as Italy. I would say, Italy is much more important to us," says Tiodorovic, and explains:

"We have very strong ties with Italy, so we can expect that the virus is more likely to arrive here from there. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't pay attention to these surrounding countries. On the contrary, we should, but the border police and sanitary inspectors should first and foremost pay attention to all those coming from Italy."

Tiodorovic says that in any case Serbia has a system in place to recognize and respond to the first case, which is crucially important.

Photo: Tanjug/Tanja Valic

"Italy, for example, did not do this, so the first infected person was walking around and infecting a lot of others," he remarks, adding that there are different theories as to how many people one infected person can infect:

"Some say that one infects only 2, 3 people at a time, others say 5, 6. The question is what the truth is, and it will be known only when all this is completed and a detailed expert analysis is done, then everything will be known for sure about this virus."

Printscreen: Ministry of Health/covid 19

Coronavirus has been confirmed in 77 countries. So far, more than 95,000 people have fallen ill and more than 3,200 have died. The estimated mortality rate is 3.4 percent.

Health warning for travelers coming from infected areas

All those who have been in areas where COVID-19 outbreaks are present, or who have been in contact with persons suspected or confirmed of being infected, or who have visited healthcare facilities where the disease is treated, are required to adhere to the following instructions from the Ministry of Health and the Institute of Public Health "Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut":

- in the next 14 days reduce contact with other people in the household, workplace or public places,

- if you feel symptoms of respiratory tract infection (fever, sneezing, coughing, runny nose, shortness of breath , or other), immediately apply mask over your mouth and nose, increase hand hygiene (washing with warm water and soap), avoid contact with other persons, use a handkerchief when you sneeze or cough, and make a phone call to the epidemiologist at the institute or the public health department in your area of ​​residence. You will receive further instructions from the epidemiologist.

- For more information call the Ministry of Health number - 064 8945 235, or the Institute of Public Health of Serbia "Dr Milan Jovanovic-Batut" - 011 2684 566, or institutes of public health in the territory where you reside, whose contact information can be found on this LINK at the Ministry of Health website.

VIDEO: Follow the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and reduce the risk of infection with coronavirus

(LJ. Racic - lj.racic@telegraf.rs)