At least a hundred people gathered around Brcko District's government building Monday as the authorities declared a lockdown in line with epidemiological measures aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic, N1's Natasa Tadic reported.

According to N1's Tadic, the gathered individuals are mostly from the hospitality industry. The local Caterer Association said they did not organize this protest but that caterers themselves took to the streets to let the authorities know how much the new lockdown would negatively impact their work.

According to them, the spring lockdown was very harmful to them and as soon as they began to recover from it, a new lockdown was imposed.

The burning issue for them are salaries and their uncertainty – whether they will get a minimum wage, will it be on time and will they receive a wage at all. Protestors who spoke to N1's reporter asked what will they pay their bills from.

Interlocutors mentioned instances where both spouses work in the hospitality sector, noting that their loans are now also threatened because they do not know how they will be able to pay their instalments.

The protest is peaceful and protestors demand that the authorities reconsider their decision.

The authorities of Brcko District, situated in the north of the country, decided to close all catering facilities, public transport, but leave hairdressing salons and beauty centres open. Schools were closed from November 1 to 17. Just as children started attending classes the decision to go into lockdown was made again.

Caterers were told, this decision should be in force for about 15 days until the situation calms down.

There are slightly less than a hundred patients in the Brcko hospital, which has already filled 50 out of 100 available beds. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 92 people have died in the District.