May 11, 2020 - No new cases of Covid-19 have been registered since yesterday’s final count. The total number of registered cases remains 324, while the number of recoveries is now 290. There are currently 25 active cases in the country, by the city as follows: Ulcinj (10), Podgorica (6), Bar (3), Gusinje (3), Plav (1), Herceg Novi (1), Bijelo Polje (1).
Disinfectant, masks, distancing on buses
According to instructions from the Institute of Public Health, adequate means for disinfecting the hands must be made available at the entrance to public transport, which is compulsory both when entering and exiting buses. Both drivers and passengers are required to wear masks. Passengers can also use a cloth to cover their nose and mouth. Anyone with any symptoms such as a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing is not allowed to board public transport. Also, no passengers can ride standing, and no more than two passengers per row will be allowed, i.e., one passenger can be seated by a window on one side, and another on the other side of the aisle.
Awaiting decision on the duration of containment measures
While there was talk that restaurants and cafes in Montenegro might open as early as today, this didn’t occur. According to the latest official information, these businesses should be allowed to reopen as of 18 May.
Hospitality facilities in Serbia opened last Monday and should open today in Croatia. Judging by the containment measures put in place by health authorities in those two countries, it is to be expected that Montenegrin hospitality facility owners will similarly be required to arrange distance between tables and guests as well as means for disinfection.
Several Montenegrin restaurant owners told Pobjeda newspaper they are waiting impatiently to reopen their businesses but are also worried about whether they will be able to sustain operations if specific measures last for an extended period.
Lazar Lekovic, the owner of the Kod Miska restaurant in Bojani, considers it pointless to limit the number of tables and guests as guests come to relax, and this will be difficult in such an atmosphere, writes CDM. He adds that businesses cannot carry out temperature checks on their guests and that they should be allowed to operate normally or not at all.
KCCG: Normal operations as of today, Call Centre stops functioning 12 May
Clinical Centre of Montenegro (KCCG) announces that in line with the improving epidemiological situation in the country, the state hospital will begin regular operations today. KCCG informs that the Call Centre activated on 21 April for critical patients not infected with Covid-19 will stop functioning on Tuesday, 12 May.
COVID-19 crises took millions, but ACG ready to welcome planes
After the opening of borders, apart from Montenegro Airlines, Air Serbia, Wizz Air, and Ryanair will soon start their routes as well, says the executive director of Airports of Montenegro (ACG), Danilo Orlandić, in an interview for Vijesti. EasyJet, LOT, and Turkish Airlines will do the same a short time later.
“I believe that our friends from the Russian Federation will soon have the situation with the new coronavirus pandemic under control and that we will have them by the main season, that is, in the second half of July and in August. Probably with somewhat smaller capacities, and even some canceled flights, but the air traffic will return”, Orlandić says. He stresses that ACG has taken many steps to ensure it is among the first to be contacted by airline companies.
MA registers multimillion losses due to COVID-19 lock-down
The new executive director of Montenegro Airlines (MA) Vlastimir Ristic says in an interview for Dan that there is no doubt the crisis caused by the coronavirus has had severe, or rather devastating consequences for the aviation industry and all related businesses.
“We are facing the most severe crisis of commercial aviation since its inception, with the still unpredictable duration of these circumstances. Every day that planes are grounded is costly, costs are being generated, and not only can they not be stopped, but they are multiplying as the crisis continues,” Ristic explains. These losses reach millions.
“We have been grounded for two months now. Sales and commercial activities have been completely stopped. On the other hand, we have a lot of fixed obligations”, says Ristic, who adds that he will have more detailed data on the effects of the crisis on MA after the end of the period with no commercial flights.
Forecast uncertain, cruising stopped
All cruise ship arrivals scheduled for May to Kotor Bay, a total of 71, have been canceled, as well as most entries announced for June, precisely 51 so far, says a representative of the Luka Kotor company, Maja Danilovic. It means about 200,000 passengers who were supposed to visit the port. The forecast is completely uncertain at this point as the global cruising industry has come to a complete halt, Danilovic says.
The cruise system is driven by a large mechanism depending on individually organized national counter- COVID-19 measures, including itineraries and secondary movements of passengers involving airports, railways, and international cross-border flows. The logistics required to carry cruise passengers from port to port must be exempted from travel restrictions, Danilovic explains. She says it is very likely that health measures such as temperature checks for passengers will be introduced ahead.
