Chinese tourists from Wuhan arrive in Belgrade: Batut issues information no one has given so far

Foto: Shutterstock

Chinese tourists from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, who have visited Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in recent days, are arriving in Belgrade today, where they continue their journey through the Balkans. On this occasion, the Institute of Public Health of Serbia "Dr. Milan Jovanovic-Batut" issued a statement outlining a procedure that no one has so far implemented, or advised to Chinese tourists.

The Batut statement was issued in Serbian, English and Chinese. The most important item in it is instruction to people coming from the infected area that they must monitor their condition for 14 days after leaving the area - i.e., whether they have fever, cough, shortness of breath, or any other symptoms of this new virus.

Recommended

This means that the incubation period is likely 14 days, which nobody, except Batut, has said so far.

Photo: Tanjug/AP

The statement said that travelers who had been in China, may have been exposed to a risk of infection by the new coronavirus, adding, "we kindly ask you":

- if you have been traveling to the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, or if you were in contact with persons affected by respiratory infection caused by the novel coronavirus, or by an unknown pathogen, or if you have been visiting health institutions where cases of infections caused by the novel coronavirus may have been treated, or if you have been visiting markets for trade of live or dead wild or domestic animals, in order to prevent transmission of the infection, but also to protect your health, please take following measures:

- reduce contacts with other people in your household, work place or in public places in the next 14 days,

- if you notice symptoms of a respiratory infection (fever, sneezing, cough, runny nose, difficult breathing or other), put a mask on your mouth and nose, increase hand hygiene (wash your hands with warm water and soap frequently), avoid contacts with other persons, use a tissue when sneezing or coughing, and make a phone call to responsible epidemiologist of an institute of public health responsible for the territory you're living in. The epidemiologist will give you instructions for further procedures. We kindly ask you to fully follow these instructions, Batut announced.

The statement in Chinese; Printscreen: Ministry of Health

The institute added that for emergency situations all travelers coming from Wuhan region and other regions from China where novel coronavirus is detected, who may have some respiratory symptoms and fever, are asked to call 064 8945 235 - a phone number launched by the Ministry of Health.

The statement explained that there has been an outbreak of respiratory infections caused by coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China. Over the course of several weeks the infection has been confirmed in hundreds of persons, and it is suspected that there are several thousand of persons with unrecognized infections. The disease has been confirmed in more than 20 provinces in China, as well as in some other countries in persons who were traveling from the city of Wuhan where the outbreak started. So far, lethal outcome of the infection was registered in about 4 percent of confirmed cases.

(LJ.R.)