The extent of panic caused by the coronavirus outbreak seems to be much higher in Bosnia than in China, where the virus originally appeared, coach Mirnas Avdic, a Bosnian currently living and working in China, told N1.

“There is no panic here, everything is under control. People respect regulations, they don't go out and they have nowhere to go,” he said speaking in N1's ‘Novi dan’ programme.

According to the Bosnian, the streets of Chinese towns, including Hangzhou where he lives now, are empty but that's mostly due to the Chinese New Year celebration when people travel abroad and celebrate the feast.

The coronavirus outbreak, he added, coincided with the holiday and the authorities issued recommendations in order to halt the virus spread.

“Orders have been issued: the virus must be destroyed. This is incredible how everyone respects the authorities and orders, and everyone sticks to regulations that authorities and experts issued,” he added.

According to Avdic, there is no fear among his friends and colleagues nor any sign of panic among the Chinese population because of the virus.

Bosnia's Civil Affairs Ministry issued instructions on Monday for competent institutions and their activities in case if the presence of the coronavirus is detected on the country's territory. The instructions refer to the employees at the border crossings and airports, who are to immediately inform institutions if the coronavirus is detected among the domestic or foreign passengers who arrive in Bosnia.

But, according to China's Embassy in Sarajevo, the epidemics are under control and authorities in Beijing took all measures to prevent dramatic spread.

The Embassy's staff that left to China for the New Year holidays will upon their arrival back in Bosnia remain isolated for 15 days, as a precautionary measure, the Embassy said.

Aida Pitic, the epidemiologist of the Sarajevo Canton Healthcare Institute, explained that this was the season of respiratory infections and while the coronavirus is a new and still unknown virus, there is no reason for panic.

“People (in China) respect the rules, they have other business to take care about. It seems as if we have nothing else to do so we're dealing with things that are 20,000 kilometres away from here,” said Pitic.