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High risk of coronavirus disease in Montenegro
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High risk of coronavirus disease in Montenegro
Published on: Mar 2, 2020 • 8:52 PM Author: PR Service
The health risk of the population of Montenegro from infection with the novel coronavirus is currently considered high, compared to the previous level which was moderate – said Minister of Health Kenan Hrapović at today's session of the National Coordination Body for Communicable Diseases, outlining the risk assessment carried out by the Institute of Public Health.
The Minister informed the members of the National Coordination Body about the facts on which the risk assessment is based.
"The widespread local transmission of the virus in Italy with which Montenegro has cultural and transport links, as well as the growing number of affected provinces and areas, implying a high certainty that further local spread of the infection in Italy will continue, despite intensive and emergency prevention and suppression measures. The number of countries and territories in Europe that report increase in disease, especially those in the immediate area, and above all I mean Croatia and North Macedonia, has increased. The number of countries and territories in the world that have cases exported from Italy, such as Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Austria, Romania, Nigeria, and so on, has increased. What is important is the likelihood of cluster formation. It is well known that once a virus is imported from the affected area, it starts spreading very easily and quickly among the local population. The likely reason is that there is a certain proportion of cases with mild symptoms that do not lead to seeking medical attention and/or asymptomatic infectious cases. Their increase, as well as the number of countries outside China reporting cases of infection with the novel coronavirus, represent possible, that is, potential sources of infection for the population of Montenegro," Hrapović said.
The Minister once again said that there was no reason to panic and that all the activities were aimed at a timely response to the current epidemiological situation facing the entire planet.
Senad Begić, PhD, epidemiologist and deputy director at the Institute of Public Health, said 566 new cases of coronavirus had been reported in Italy in the last 24 hours, indicating that local transmission had intensified, implying directly that the risk for virus export from the territory of the Republic of Italy to surrounding countries is high.
"Not only that, there have been cases and export of virus to some more remote countries in Africa, most notably Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria, directly linked to Italy. Currently in Europe, 30 countries are registering novel coronavirus cases and it is expected that the first case will be reported in Montenegro in the coming period. It should be noted that this situation is not unexpected, it is something that we have been preparing ourselves for weeks, so that all plans of action for this situation have been elaborated and tested and are almost absolutely functional," Begić said.
Begić also said that in Europe, the highest incidence of the disease is currently recorded in Germany, followed by Spain, the United Kingdom and other EU countries.
PHOTO AND VIDEO: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmLJtEqc
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