prijava
SARAJEVO, March 16 (FENA) - A state of emergency has been declared in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina today due to the risk of the spread of coronavirus. Measures have been agreed to protect public health and the economy.
It was decided at a joint meeting held at the initiative of FBiH Prime Minister Fadil Novalić, attended by cantonal prime ministers, representatives of the Civil ProtectionService, the FBiH Inspectorate Administration, three clinical centers in the Federation of BiH, associations of employers and trade unions and the Chamber of Commerce.
Officials who addressed the press told citizens that there was no room to panic, but also that the population, together with the system, must take appropriate measures to make the fight against the spread of coronavirus more successful.
There is no need to panic in the purchase of basic groceries in stores, the officials say, because there are enough goods in the stocks and supply chains are not interrupted. Retailers will not be able to raise the prices compared to those in force on March 5, as they will be sanctioned in case of such conduct. The penalties provided for legal entities will be from one to ten thousand KM, and for private entities, the sanctions will be 50 percent lower.
At a press conference held after the joint meeting, Prime Minister Fadil Novalić explained that the measure of declaring a state of disaster/emergency is not the same as the regular state of emergency, because such a definition does not exist in the FBiH legislation, but also that the measures imply appropriate actions.
Novalić also said that he would ask the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH to initiate amendments to the Law on Public Procurement in BiH, which will enable the procurement of necessary medical equipment and disinfectants.
The Banking Agency has been recommended a set of measures to maintain the balance of the banking system and the economy.
If both parents of children under the age of ten are employed, working full hours, it is recommended that one of the parents may use paid leave to take care of the children.
The Prime Minister called on all relevant institutions to take measures to detect and prevent the spread of coronavirus early on and noted that the FBiH Government had also earmarked funds to procure the necessary equipment. He urged citizens to respect the protection measures and recommendations and noted that he was in regular contact with the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of Republika Srpska in connection to the situation at hand.
"There is no room for panic, but together, we must take and respect the appropriate measures," concluded the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH.
FBiH Minister of Health Vjekoslav Mandić also addressed the media and announced that the amendments to the Public Procurement Law would enable all health care institutions, not just clinical centers, to urgently procure the necessary equipment aimed at protecting the health of the population in the newly created situation.
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the same time the Minister of Finance Jelka Milićević, stated at a press conference that measures have been adopted at this joint meeting to protect jobs, public revenues and the banking sector.
Milićević announced joint measures for rescheduling loans to businesses and citizens, a set of activities related to the taxation system, as well as the formation of a guarantee fund so that businesses can obtain loans from commercial banks.
Milićević also announced the creation of a dedicated credit line for current affairs in activities that are severely affected by emerging circumstances.
The Deputy Prime Minister also claims that this is only the first set of measures since it will take effort, once the situation has calmed down, to restore the situation as it was at the end of last year.
The FBiH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Vesko Drljača, also said at a press conference that measures have been agreed to preserve economic activity, which means that employers will shorten their working hours if necessary, or arrange working in shifts, or leave it to the employees to work from home if there are legal and other conditions for doing so.
Director of the FBiH Inspectorate Administration Anis Ajdinović, also a participant in the joint meeting, told reporters that enough sanitary inspectors have been deployed at the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina to monitor the isolation and restricted movement of passengers entering BiH, and that the sanitary inspectors would execute round the clock control, also including the lower-level border crossings, in cooperation with the Border Police.
The measures, according to Ajdinović, also mean making official notes and criminal liability for persons who do not comply with the rules.
"We are keeping our border under control," Ajdinović said, urging citizens to refrain or delay travel until this critical period has passed, and for those who need to be temporarily isolated, to obey the rules, and act responsibly toward themselves and others.
One of the participants of the joint meeting, Mario Nenadić, Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton, believes that this was a positive reaction from the FBiH level, including the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has shown how to make decisions in crisis situations.
Apart from the need for public spending to be balanced with the new situation, Nenadić announced the return of migrants from the streets to the accommodation facilities provided for this and concluded that, overall, there was no room for panic because "everything has been put under control".
On behalf of the Federation of Employers of the FBiH, Adnan Smailbegović addressed the media stating that the FBiH Government's measures to support the economy in the current situation are very much welcomed, but that much more needs to be done to save the economy.
At the beginning of the press conference, they presented the data that four cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed in the Federation of BiH so far, twenty cases in the entity of Republika Srpska, while 2,000 people in FBiH have been placed under monitoring measures.
The FBiH Health Minister Vjekoslav Mandić, responding to journalists' questions, confirmed that the Federation of BiH has 141 respirators, "none of which are being used at the moment".
(FENA) S. R.
