Chinese from coronavirus hotspot enter Serbia: Examined at border, to be constantly monitored

Tourists from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the hotspot of the new coronavirus, arrived today in Serbia from Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were examined at the border crossing in Mali Zvornik by epidemiologists from the Dr. Milan Jovanovic Batut Institute for Public Health and the Sabac Institute for Public Health, who found that the tourists are not infected - but will be constantly monitored during their stay in our country.

The tourists from Wuhan are staying in Serbia today and tomorrow, from where they will travel to Budapest.

A Tanjug crew was at the border crossing, where 29 Chinese tourists were screened. They first reached Milan in Italy by plane and then visited Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia by bus.

The examination consisted of measuring the tourists' temperature using a contactless thermometer.

Serbian citizens can remain calm, there is no reason to panic because the Chinese tourists are in good health, say epidemiologists.

Epidemiologist Vladan Saponjic from the Batut Institute told Tanjug that all travelers coming from Wuhan are under special procedure and that if any of them exhibited fever or signs of respiratory infection, they would be isolated - in which case all necessary protection measures would be applied.

"The situation is being monitored, this is a serious health problem in China, but there is no room for panic," said Saponjic.

According to him, all epidemiological, clinical and virological characteristics of coronavirus are being studied and monitored.

"It's a classic respiratory tract infection, and in a number of people a more serious form can develop, pneumonia being the most serious," said Saponjic.

He advised citizens to stay informed via the media, especially when it comes to information published by the Ministry of Health, as well as relevant institutions. He added that citizens would be informed in a timely manner in case of increased risk of the spread of the virus and noted that there was no reason to worry at this time.

The Chinese tourists landed in Milan on January 22, later visiting Venice, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Sarajevo.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)