Serbia is ready: Stricter controls, new measures introduced at the airport PHOTO

Serbia tightens control at border crossings because of coronavirus, hitting 400 people in China and killing nine

Serbia is ready: Stricter controls, new measures introduced at the airport PHOTO

Serbia tightens control at border crossings because of coronavirus, hitting 400 people in China and killing nine

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Foto: Tanjug, Zoran Žestić

Serbia is ready to carry out health surveillance at border crossings if the World Health Organization today declares a global health emergency.

Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar said there was no room for panic in Serbia after a new coronavirus appeared in China, spreading to other countries, and that the ministry had taken all measures to prevent the emergence of the virus in our country, while the situation is being monitored day by day.

Loncar pointed out that the latest version of thermal imaging camera was installed at the airport, which detects body temperature of everyone entering Belgrade airport, and if one is found to have high body temperature, that person is put into quarantine and then transferred to the Infectious Disease Clinic, where his/her condition has been monitored.

He also pointed out that Serbia is one of the few countries that already has reagents to detect the presence of the latest virus, in particular at the Clinic for infectious diseases.

"We are doing everything WHO recommends, even more than that", Loncar told reporters at Belgrade's airport.

He added that a representative of the World Health Organization in Serbia also said that our country is absolutely in the ranking of all developed European countries.

Loncar stated that the most important thing was to determine how the virus was transmitted, as it was found to be transmitted from human to human, not just from animals to humans, as originally thought.

He recalled that WHO convened an urgent meeting this afternoon, which will be followed by recommendations for further actions to prevent the spread of the virus.

Serbia has already had such experiences when the global threat of SARS and Ebola hit the world. Health surveillance is performed on travelers who have been staying in the area where the virus has been reported.

Infectious Disease Clinic within Clinical Center of Serbia told Tanjug that the development of the coronavirus situation is being closely monitored and that they are in constant contact with all relevant institutions and are prepared to respond in accordance with the current circumstances.

The hotspot of infection in China is the city of Wuhan and the infection is transmitted from animal to human. The World Health Organization recommends handwashing as often as possible with soap, covering mouth while sneezing and coughing, avoiding close contact with people who have developed flu symptoms.

World Health Organization has defined international health regulation procedures for infectious diseases. Last year, WHO made assessment of Serbia's readiness for handling such situations, including the capacities it has, with the conclusion that our country acquired high score in this field.