Several passengers quarantining because of Omicron strain after arriving in Serbia

Since supervision of passengers coming from 7 at-risk countries has been stepped up at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport due to the new strain of coronavirus - Omicron, six people have been placed in 14-day quarantine and are under health supervision, Telegraf.rs has learned. They are all Serbian citizens.

As we have find out, the quarantine measure was imposed on these passengers on December 6. A family is among them. They immediately got PCR tests at the airport and all were negative.

All quarantined passengers were in Botswana. Some of them arrived in Serbia via Vienna, and one via Istanbul.

According to our sources, all passengers denied experiencing any health problems.

"By the decision of the border sanitary inspector, they were placed under health supervision and quarantining at home for 14 days and mandatory testing in accordance with the current instruction on the application of restrictions on entry into Serbia of persons arriving from countries with special risk of infectious disease Covid 19," said our sources and added that the control system is working well:

"Epidemiologists of the City Institute of Public Health in Belgrade have made contact and started conducting health surveillance over all these persons. The system of supervision of the Ministry of Health over passengers is excellent, and works very well," said our source.

Tightened passenger controls began last week. South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Mozambique and Malawi are classified as at-risk countries.

Passengers coming from these countries or those who have stayed in there in the previous 14 days, regardless of the country from which they enter Serbia, get PCR tests done immediately after landing at the Nikola Tesla Airport, and stay in the space for isolation at the airport until the result comes back.

In case there are positive, an ambulance takes them to the Covid hospital Batajnica with all protective measures in place.

If the test results are negative a decision on quarantining at home and transportation by taxi is issued, with full protective measures, to the registered place of residence in Serbia. Quarantine is controlled by the Ministry of the Interior on a daily basis.

PCR testing is also required on he seventh day or in any case of any symptoms.

A negative PCR test will not be a condition to leave the 14 day quarantine, and the test is done at the expense of the person in quarantine. If the symptoms of the disease do not appear during the quarantine, after 14 days it ends without the obligation to get tested again.

As previously announced by the Batut Institute of Public Health of Serbia in addition to the obligatory PCR test and quarantine, all foreign citizens must also register on the portal www.e-zdravlje.gov.rs.

"All foreign citizens who come from countries with special risk or have stayed there 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.

Who can enter Serbia, and how

Both domestic and foreign citizens coming from countries with a special risk of spreading the infectious disease are allowed to enter Serbia if they have a negative RT-PCR test issued by a reference laboratory of the country they come from, not older than 48 hours.

"If there is a delay when entering Serbia, which cannot be attributed to the passenger but is a consequence of an external event that could not have been predicted, avoided or eliminated, then the test cannot be older than 72 hours when entering Serbia."

A traveler can enter Serbia even if they have a certificate of complete vaccination issued by the competent authorities of Serbia, i.e., the competent authorities of a state with which Serbia has concluded an agreement on recognition of vaccination, a certificate that they have recovered from Covid, provided that no less than 14 days or more than six months have elapsed since the first test, issued by the competent authority of a state, if it has an agreement or de facto reciprocity with Serbia on the recognition of such documents.

Omicron has arrived in our region

The new strain of coronavirus has already been officially confirmed in Croatia and Romania, and it is suspected that two people in Montenegro have been infected with it, said Adis Martinovic, an epidemiologist at the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro (IJZCG).

"These are direct contacts from international traffic. For now, we suspect that their family members may be infected. Tests are underway," said Martinovic.

He said that these people have mild symptoms of infection and are treated at home, and that all of them and their contacts are quarantining at home.

Martinovic added that there is a possibility that Omicron, due to its mutations, will adversely affect the further course of the pandemic, but that this cannot be predicted without detailed studies.

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)