FBiH CRISIS HEADQUARTERS Musa and Čerkez: We are entering a period of greater risk

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - As of today, a total of 13,194 cases of COVID have been confirmed in the Federation of BiH, with a total of 365 deaths, two of which occurred in the last 24 hours, and a total of active cases is 3,234, while 263 new cases have been registered in the last 24 hours, said Sanjin Musa, member of the Crisis Headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Health at a press conference.

He added that the seven-day incidence is continuously increasing.

"After a more favorable period, we have seen an increase, which indicates that we need to be careful. The cumulative incidence in the last seven days is 66 per 100,000 inhabitants in FBiH, while in eight cantons it is over 30 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The largest increase was recorded in West Herzegovina Canton, Canton 10, and Herzegovina-Neretva Canton. We can conclude that these are mainly local epidemics associated with family celebrations and returns from vacation," Musa pointed out.

He appealed to avoid large gatherings, especially in closed spaces, and to limit celebrations to a close circle of friends.

"So far, preschool and school-aged children accounted for nine percent of the total number of infected. Regarding the age structure of the deceased, residents over 65 constitute 70 percent of the deceased," Musa concluded.

Goran Čerkez, a member of the Crisis Headquarters, said that the epidemiological situation is always the basis for adopting measures, and that they have not changed much, with only minor adjustments made.

"We are entering a period that carries greater risk, returns from vacation, opening of schools, cultural institutions... We tried to do this with as little risk as possible. Many countries have similar measures. It is very important that we all know that the risk is always there. We issued recommendations against large events, but unfortunately, weddings and large gatherings have occurred," Čerkez stated, adding that the measures have largely remained the same.

According to him, they have refined the recommendation for schools to reduce contact between teachers and parents in common areas.

"The problem is not that someone gets sick, but that an entire school can fall out of the system," Čerkez added.

Čerkez added that they have received inquiries from parents whose children are in social institutions, from families whose members are in prison, and the questions related to visits.

"We have allowed visits, but institutions must comply with epidemiological conditions. It is evident that many have not followed this recommendation. We also discussed outdoor sports and want to try to see how much we can allow spectators. It would be experimental, but realistically, the risk in the stands is small, but the risk appears before and after the game. And here we are ready to issue guidelines to increase supervision after such events in nearby cafes, but perhaps everything could be controlled. We cannot do this for sports that take place indoors," Čerkez said, announcing that they will continue discussions because this measure will also be adopted in the Republika Srpska entity.

Čerkez appealed for four basic measures: mask, distance, hand washing, and not coming to work if one has a temperature, malaise, or any respiratory symptoms.

He thanked the population and said that our population respects the measures much more than in the region.