A bus from Slovenia carrying mostly the nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina was stopped at the northern Gradiska border crossing on Thursday and sent under the police escort to a healthcare centre where all of them will be tested for the novel coronavirus, according to Dragan Lukac, the Interior Minister of Bosnia's Republika Srpska (RS) entity.

None of the passengers was allowed to leave the bus.

“They travelled home although we have been warning and asking all our citizens not to travel now, because all those who brought the virus to the RS have arrived from different countries. The bus is under control and will be sent under the police escort to a healthcare centre. They will all be tested for the coronavirus and will stay on the bus until we decide where to put them,” said Lukac.

The RS citizens mostly obey the newly introduced measures to contain the coronavirus spread, said Lukac, mentioning as a negative example two persons who were ordered a self-isolation in the Federation (FBiH) entity but were later discovered on the RS territory.

The minister said they would be charged with the breach of the law regulating the protection of people from infectious diseases and sanctioned properly.

“I hope they will serve as an example for others to act responsibly so that the infection is not spread further,” he said.