Travelers coming from high-risk countries must do one more thing besides PCR testing and quarantine

Photo: Nikola Tomic

The Institute of Public Health of Serbia Batut has issued instructions on its website regarding the registration of passengers coming from countries that have a special risk of transmitting the infectious disease Covid 19, in view of the new Omicron strain.

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As stated, in addition to taking the obligatory PCR test and quarantining, they must also register on www.e-zdravlje.gov.rs (Serbian government's eHeath portal).

"All foreign citizens who come from countries with special risk or have stayed in them 14 days prior from the day of planned arrival to Serbia are under obligation to register their arrival using the website www.e-zdravlje.gov.rs 48 hours before coming to the Republic of Serbia, in the section, 'Foreigners' Surveillance Registration'," it is stated on the Batut Institute's website.

Foreign citizens, upon entering the Republic of Serbia, should also have the email they received after applying on www.e-zdravlje.gov.rs, section "Foreigners Surveillance Registration," as proof of successful registration before arriving in Serbia and a completed and self-signed Statement of Consent on accepting the home quarantining measure and the obligation to get tested, out of pocket, Batut said on its website.

South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Mozambique and Malawi are considered as high risk countries.

As we have already reported, passengers who come from these countries or have stayed in them in the previous 14 days, regardless of the country from which they enter Serbia, are PCR tested immediately after landing at the Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, and stay in isolation at the airport until the result comes back.

In case it is positive, an ambulance takes them to the Covid Hospital Batajnica for isolation, with all the protection measures in place.

If the test is negative, a decision on house quarantine and transportation by taxi is issued with full protection measures, to the registered place of residence in Serbia. Quarantine will be controlled by the Ministry of the Interior on a daily basis.

PCR testing on the seventh day, or in case of symptoms occuring, is also required.

A negative PCR test will not be a condition to allow a person to leave the 14-day quarantine, and the test is done at the expense of the person in quarantine.

The Batut Institute made these proposals after the Omicron (B.1.1.529) was marked by the World Health Organization as a concerning development in this pandemic, and according to information published so far, the strain shows numerous mutations, which may be related to its greater transmission potential and avoidance of the immune response acquired after illness or through vaccination.

(Telegraf.rs)