Tegeltija: We cannot close border crossings, tent settlements by the end of the week

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Zoran Tegeltija, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, addressed the public after today's extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers of BiH, during which a state of natural and other disaster was declared in BiH due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He emphasized that citizens are largely adhering to the prescribed self-isolation.

He explained that the health ministries are preparing locations for tent settlements near the border crossings.

"Regarding the northern border with Croatia, there will be three such facilities. There will be no need to build towards Serbia at this moment because traffic has almost stopped. The first border crossings that appear are Izačić, Orašje, then two towards the south. We insist that all citizens at the border crossings are treated equally, regardless of which entity or Brčko District they come from," said Tegeltija.

Chairman Tegeltija stated that closing border crossings is not an option for now, but that reducing the number of border crossings is being considered, and that this issue is being resolved by an interstate agreement, which Croatia has warned about.

"We will not make any unilateral decisions, but the most important thing now is the control of people. We have assessed that it would cause us more harm than good," said Tegeltija.

He could not specify when the tent settlements would be opened, stating that it depends on the Armed Forces and the health ministries.

"By the end of this week, I think it can be completed, it is up to the entity health ministries, and I think the BiH Armed Forces can follow up on that," said Tegeltija.