Authorities of Republika Srpska, one of two Bosnia's semi-autonomous parts, decided on Tuesday to shut down all primary and secondary schools on its territory in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The decision will remain in effect for three weeks, said Radovan Viskovic, RS prime minister.
“We passed five conclusions for preventive reasons in order to protect the citizens of RS from the further spread,” Viskovic told media following a meeting of the RS top officials who gathered to discuss the latest developments concerning the coronavirus outbreak.
RS healthcare authorities confirmed four infected patients by Monday; all of them either recently returned from Italy or are close family members of those who returned from that country.
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In response to the coronavirus outbreak and mitigating the consequences, the RS officials decided to close all schools until March 30 and to ban all public gatherings within the same period. The RS will also ask Bosnia's State Border Police and the Council of Ministers to introduce stricter control on borders, especially for those arriving from the most affected countries, and has tasked the healthcare institutions to draft a plan of work for extraordinary situations.
“We also tasked the attendees of the meeting to make contact with the WHO (World Health Organisation), because the Ambassador of China has offered some sort of help, and we will also address the Ambassador of Russia,” said Viskovic.
The fifth and latest coronavirus infection in Bosnia was reported in Federation, the other semi-autonomous region, bringing the total number of those infected to five.
Federation's competent authorities issued instructions earlier on Monday, recommending that all public events on the FBiH territory are either cancelled or postponed, to prevent a potential virus spread.
