FBiH Government extends measures, cantons recommended to introduce VTP rule

(Patria) - The Government of the Federation of BiH adopted information on the epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina as of 27.12.2021, and the orders and recommendations of the Crisis Staff of the Federal Ministry of Health, which were adopted with a validity period of 14 days starting from 30.12.2021, as the day their application begins.

Governments of cantons, i.e., crisis staffs of cantonal ministries of health, were ordered to introduce more restrictive measures based on the assessment of the epidemiological situation in the canton, i.e., municipality, with regular notification of the Crisis Staff of the FBiH.

"It is recommended to the cantonal governments that, in accordance with the epidemiological situation in the canton, risk assessment, as well as the document 'Public Health Criteria for Adjusting Public Health and Social Measures in the Context of COVID-19', they introduce the Vaccinated/Recovered/Tested (VPT) Rule for the canton and report on it to the Crisis Staff of the FBiH," stated the FBiH Government.

The Crisis Staff of the FBiH is tasked with monitoring the epidemiological situation in the Federation of BiH, as well as the introduction and implementation of the Vaccinated/Recovered/Tested (VPT) Rule for the cantons, and if it assesses the need to propose uniform measures in the Federation of BiH regarding the VPT Rule, it will report to the FBiH Government for decision-making.

This staff is tasked with reviewing the complete epidemiological situation before the expiry of the deadline and preparing a risk assessment, in order to consider the possibility and necessity of amending the orders and recommendations, and submitting a proposal for new ones to the Government.

The information presented today by the Crisis Staff of the FBiH stated, among other things, that in the 51st week compared to the previous one, an increase in the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases, seven-day incidence, and the number of patients on ventilators was recorded. The total number of hospitalized patients and deaths is decreasing.

At the level of the Federation of BiH, the seven-day incidence is 102 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and in the last seven days, a higher than average incidence was recorded in the Bosansko-podrinjski, Sarajevo, Herzegovina-Neretva, West Herzegovina, and Posavina Cantons.

According to the latest data, 1,056,531 vaccines against COVID-19 have been administered in FBiH so far, of which 535,365 (29.73 percent) are for the first dose, 492,789 (27.37 percent) for the second, and 28,377 (1.58 percent) for the third.

The information also stated that this holiday period at the end of the year, associated with social gatherings, travel, and intergenerational mixing, leads to an additional risk of the spread of the Delta variant and the emergence and spread of the Omicron variant of the virus. The priority should be to increase the immunization coverage of persons who have not yet been vaccinated, of all age groups, especially vulnerable, elderly persons, and healthcare workers.