As of Saturday, Bosnia’s Serb-majority region is introducing a curfew as a new measure in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and citizens of Republika Srpska (RS) will have to stay home between 8 pm and 5 am, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik declared.

“The situation is very serious. We will not allow several dozen irresponsible people to jeopardize the large majority of citizens who obey all orders,” said Dodik, one of Bosnia’s Presidency members and the leader of the ruling party in the RS.

“Whoever doesn’t obey the curfew will be fined, the minimum fine is 500 Bosnian Marks,” he added.

Dodik said that authorities in the semi-autonomous region are continuously analysing the situation and he suggested that those aged above 65 should not leave their homes at all.

“We were the first ones to introduce measures here but that doesn’t mean we managed to defend ourselves yet,” he said, arguing that Republika Srpska has reacted to the crisis timely.

The number of COVID-19 patients has rapidly risen throughout the past week in Bosnia and now stands at 90.

The Federation (FBiH) region recorded 31 cases and the Republika Srpska (RS) region 59.