The number of Covid-19 infections across Bosnia and Herzegovina is rising and it is necessary to double down the measures to save the lives, UN resident coordinator in BiH Ingrid Macdonald said in a video message. However, she also pointed out the necessity of balancing those measures and making sure that schools remain open for their students.

She stressed this was not unexpected, as the whole of Europe and the world are seeing an increase in the number of new cases, in the so-called fourth wave.

“At this time we know that we need to really double down on the measures that can help save lives. But these measures also need to be balanced because one of the things that the UN in BiH has always advocated for is balancing public health with socio-economic impacts. And in the area of education we see that most acutely,” said Mcdonald, pointing out the education of children during the pandemic, which has been disrupted for the last two years as they have been in and out of schools, and were often engaged in online classes.

“This is not healthy for children and we are deeply worried what sort of impact that will have,” she stressed.

Mcdonald emphasised the importance of going to school not only in terms of education but in terms of the children's socalisation, meeting their peers, having fun and their mental health.

“So we need to keep schools open. One of the ways to do that is to ensure that everyone follows the basic measures. We know that wearing masks work, we know that if you wash your hands and if you maintain distance this can be very effective at limiting the spread of the virus,” she said, adding that vaccines also play a critical role, and urged the citizens to take their shots.

“BiH has enough vaccines at the moment so that you can all go and get your vaccination shot. It is incredibly important that you take this opportunity,” she added.