Epidemiological surveillance conducted at Chinese company building Corridor Vc due to coronavirus

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Government of the Federation of BiH, at today's emergency session held by phone, adopted information on the emergence of the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020.

In accordance with Article 8, paragraph (2) of the Law on Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases, the new coronavirus is considered an infectious disease, the prevention and control of which is of interest to the Federation of BiH, and all measures for the protection of the population from infectious diseases regulated by the Law will be undertaken.

The Federal Ministry of Health will prepare an act by which the Government of the Federation of BiH will address the Council of Ministers of BiH and request that the competent state ministries and bodies of BiH be more intensely involved in coordinating activities and measures to prevent and control the new coronavirus on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to consider the measures proposed by the Expert Advisory Body for the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases, the implementation of which is within the jurisdiction of state institutions.

The Federal Ministry of Health is tasked with informing the Government of the Federation of BiH about the need to procure ventilators with associated equipment, as well as other protective equipment, after assessing the situation in clinical centers in the Federation of BiH, with an emphasis on establishing quarantine facilities in the FBiH.

This ministry, as well as the Public Health Institute of FBiH, has been instructed to continuously monitor the developments of the new coronavirus within their jurisdictions and, in cooperation with the competent health authorities in the cantons, ensure the implementation of preventive and anti-epidemic measures aimed at preventing the occurrence and suppressing the spread of this infectious disease.

The Public Health Institute of FBiH issued a statement with recommendations for the population on January 21, 2020, after which intensive daily communication was established between the Federal Ministry of Health, the Public Health Institute of FBiH, cantonal public health institutes, and the World Health Organization (WHO) office in BiH. Contacts were also established with other competent institutions and agencies, primarily the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs and the Border Service of BiH.

In accordance with WHO recommendations, measures implemented in FBiH are primarily focused on early detection of diseases caused by this virus with the aim of rapid isolation and implementation of further measures to prevent the spread of infection. Epidemiological surveillance was carried out at a Chinese company engaged in the construction of Corridor Vc in the area of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton. On Sunday, January 26, 2020, the first instruction was sent to the BiH Border Police and the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs regarding the monitoring of domestic and foreign citizens arriving in BiH, especially from Wuhan, Hubei Province, to collect data on where and when they will stay, and to provide written recommendations on how to behave and whom to contact if they develop any symptoms that could indicate a possible coronavirus infection.

Local and English recommendations were sent to the BiH Border Service and the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs. A slightly modified instruction, along with recommendations, was sent to the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs to be forwarded to the BiH Border Police and the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs.

The Public Health Institute of FBiH prepared an instruction for healthcare professionals which, among other things, contains the case definition, management of a suspected case, and principles of infection prevention and control strategy in hospital settings with a patient suspected of having the new coronavirus. On January 27, 2020, this instruction was sent to clinical centers in FBiH through the Federal Ministry of Health, and they were asked to urgently take the necessary actions to prepare for the admission of patients suspected of having the disease caused by this virus. On January 29, 2020, the Public Health Institute of FBiH sent this instruction to all cantonal public health institutes, and through the Federal Ministry, on January 30, 2020, to all cantonal ministries of health.

An agreement was reached with the WHO office in BiH to send samples of suspected cases for analysis to one of the reference laboratories in Europe, and arrangements are being made to obtain tests for confirming potential cases in laboratories in the Federation of BiH.

On January 30, 2020, the Federal Minister of Health appointed a Coordination Body for monitoring the emergence of the new coronavirus, which was recommended to cantonal ministries of health on the same day via correspondence. It was also proposed to cantonal ministries of health to immediately analyze the status of protective and other medical equipment, infection prevention and control strategies in hospital settings, and to proceed with urgent procurement accordingly.

Also, on January 30, 2020, a meeting was held of the Expert Advisory Body of the Federal Ministry of Health for the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases, as well as the directors of cantonal public health institutes.
The Expert Advisory Body adopted several conclusions, one of which is the possibility of introducing a visa regime to control entry into the country.

For BiH citizens returning from affected areas of China, as well as for Chinese citizens working in BiH, self-isolation and monitoring by the competent epidemiologist for the next 14 days have been proposed. Our citizens are advised not to travel to China. Among the conclusions is that all cantonal public health institutes should provide the phone number of an on-call epidemiologist who will be available 24 hours a day.