No coronavirus in Bosnia, but health officials are expecting first cases

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

There are no registered cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) or suspected patients infected with it, but as the situation in the world rapidly changes, one could expect the emergence of cases in the Federation (FBiH) entity and in Bosnia as a whole, the FBiH Health Ministry said on Monday.

“In line with recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and acting on the order of the Health Ministry’s Crisis Staff, the Ministry is implementing increased epidemiological supervision on all border crossings in the FBiH, aimed at early detection of potential Coronavirus cases and preventing it further from spreading,” the Ministry said.

This means entrance screaming for all the patients coming from China with passengers filling out the sanitary questionnaire and providing the data to competent health care institutions.

The Ministry said the passengers will be given recommendations and telephone numbers they need to contact in case they start having any of the symptoms, the ministry noted.

According to them, all the foreign and Bosnian citizens with permanent or temporary residence in the FBiH who are returning from China will be placed under health care supervision and mandatory daily check-ups and a 14-day self-isolation.

The Ministry noted that 26 people were placed under supervision.

According to the Crisis Staff’s latest decisions, the same measures related to Chinese passengers are also applied to passengers coming from Italy, South Korea and Iran.

They recommend all Bosnian citizens to avoid going to China, Italy, South Korea and Iran.