Crisis Staff of the FBiH Ministry of Health Demands Urgent Action Due to Epidemiological Situation

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Crisis Staff of the Federal Ministry of Health has sent an urgent request to cantonal ministries of health and crisis staffs, cantonal administrations for inspection affairs, public health institutes, and cantonal MUP police administrations for consistent action by competent cantonal authorities in accordance with the Law on Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases, as well as the Conclusions adopted by the FBiH Government at its session on July 2, adopting the Information of the Federal Ministry of Health on the worsening COVID-19 epidemiological situation in the Federation of BiH.

"Lately, a larger number of individuals in the Federation of BiH have been identified as positive for SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, and who are moving freely without an issued decision on a specific measure by the competent cantonal authorities in accordance with the Law on Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases. This poses a serious threat to public health and worsens the already difficult COVID-19 epidemiological situation in the Federation of BiH," states the letter from the Crisis Staff of the FMoH, noting that Article 3 of the same Law stipulates that "protection from infectious diseases is the duty of local self-government units - municipalities, cantons, and the Federation of BiH, healthcare institutions, health insurance funds, private practice holders, business companies, and other legal and natural persons.".

"Furthermore, by Article IV of the Decision on the Cessation of the State of Emergency Caused by the Outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Federation of BiH, heads of administrative bodies and administrative organizations of the Federation of BiH and cantons, i.e., heads of municipal administrative services, are tasked with performing additional tasks related to eliminating the consequences caused by the disaster, within their regular activities," the letter further states, noting that the FBiH Government, along with the adopted Information of the Federal Ministry of Health, also adopted Conclusions and sent a separate act to the cantonal governments, submitting these conclusions for competent action.

"Following the above, we request that you align your further actions, especially in the worsening COVID-19 epidemiological situation, with the provisions of the Law on Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases, and take measures for which you are competent," it is emphasized.

The Conclusions adopted by the FBiH Government on 02.07, and submitted to cantonal governments on 03.07 with a separate act for competent action, emphasizing that work on this act and the Conclusions is considered urgent, call for more intensive action by the crisis staffs of cantonal ministries of health, with the aim of undertaking more restrictive measures, if deemed necessary, based on the assessment of the COVID-19 epidemiological situation in the canton.

This also calls for intensified inspection supervision by all inspectorates within cantonal/county administrations for inspection affairs, as well as inspectorates organized within competent ministries in the canton/county, i.e., competent municipal and city inspectors, as well as cantonal police administrations, in order to control the implementation of ordered measures, and to take measures against perpetrators who violate the ordered measures in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. This also includes finding possibilities at the cantonal level to increase the number of inspectors in these areas.

Furthermore, the aforementioned act of the FBiH Government requests cantonal governments to order all business entities in the Federation of BiH, healthcare institutions, private practices, social welfare institutions for the accommodation of the elderly and children in the canton, to strictly adhere to the recommendations of the Public Health Institute of the Federation of BiH, or rather, the current orders of the Crisis Staff of the Federal Ministry of Health.