Džaferović called on authorities to report to the public in a timely manner, and the media and citizens to be responsible

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Šefik Džaferović, on behalf of the BiH Presidency, sent a letter to the BiH Coordination Body for Protection and Rescue and the media.

The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina requests the BiH Coordination Body for Protection and Rescue, governments, and crisis headquarters at all levels of government to continue to inform the public in a timely manner about all important information regarding the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the measures being taken to prevent it, the BiH Presidency announced.

Regular public information is of particular importance, but it is necessary to take all measures to ensure the safety of all officials addressing the public and all journalists and other media workers.

Therefore, in the new situation, it is necessary to take all necessary preventive measures for the more effective protection of employees in media houses, who, due to the nature of their work and a large number of contacts with other people, belong to risk groups of citizens.

We ask the BiH Coordination Body for Protection and Rescue to forward to all crisis headquarters and institutions, as well as media houses, a recommendation listing the necessary measures to be taken.

This primarily applies to ensuring larger, well-ventilated rooms for holding press conferences or holding them outdoors, limiting the number of attendees at conferences to a functional minimum, using modern technologies that enable live broadcasts, recording video addresses that will be delivered to all media, informing via social networks and other communication channels, etc.

We ask all media houses in Bosnia and Herzegovina to report truthfully, objectively, and responsibly, in order to prevent sensationalism or the spread of fake news, which can lead to panic.

We call on all media houses to adapt their work to the new situation, and to coordinate their work with each other and with the help of journalistic associations.

This particularly applies to sending a minimum number of journalists and cameramen to press conferences and exchanging recorded material.

In order to protect journalistic teams in the field and prevent the spread of the coronavirus, we call on all competent institutions to take measures that will enable the procurement and distribution of necessary quantities of protective equipment and disinfectants to media houses.

We call on the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina once again to strictly adhere to all prescribed orders, instructions, and recommendations of governments, crisis headquarters, and other competent institutions, and to use only information from official institutions and experts, and published by credible media, when informing themselves.