August 23, 2020 - The Institute of Public Health has registered 68 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Montenegro over the weekend. Yesterday, 427 samples for the new coronavirus were analyzed, of which 36 were positive. Today, 32 new cases of COVID-19 were detected by a PCR analysis of 267 samples.
Today, there were no deaths related to COVID-19. Yesterday, two patients died, both born in 1942, treated at the General Hospital in Kotor, and the Clinical Center of Montenegro. The total number of deaths related to COVID-19 since the beginning of June is 75. Since the beginning of the first wave of the epidemic, 84.
Yesterday, the recovery of 52 patients was reported, and today another 23 recovered. The total number of active cases of COVID-19 in Montenegro is currently 903, the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro announced.
The Clinical Center of Montenegro is currently treating 15 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection, four of whom are in a life-threatening condition.
Mugoša: COVID-19 epidemic under control, compliance with measures still necessary
The Director of the Institute of Public Health, Boban Mugoša, assessed that the epidemic in Montenegro is under control and that it has been stabilizing for ten days. However, he warns that some members of the public are not adhering to the measures, which means that the epidemic is still a threat.
"We have seen concerts, weddings, religious gatherings. I'm afraid that the consequences of these will be felt 15 to 20 days after those events," said Mugoša.
He added that all this affects life across the whole of Montenegro.
"Fortunately, the number of recoveries is constantly growing, and we are now below 1,000 active COVID-19 cases. Of course, we will insist on even greater respect for the measures because only they can curb the epidemic and reduce further the number of daily infections," said Mugoša for TVCG.
He recalled that a certain number of people are allowed to gather at political rallies but under specific prescribed conditions.
The RTCG portal reports that Mugoša stated that there could be two or three thousand people at the events if the rules are followed.
Action plan for guests with COVID-19 infection
The Director of the Institute of Public Health pointed out that Montenegro was cautious about how it would open its borders.
"You see what is happening in Croatia, they opened up completely, and now they have big problems. We took care of how to open the borders and assessed the risk in our country, and in the countries where we expected the most guests to come from. We took care not to endanger guests, but also made sure that the guests did not cause problems for us. We have provided all the possible conditions for the guests. The action plan related to this area foresaw this. We are doing well. We had only seven infected guests from abroad. They were all treated in the correct way following this action plan. Some were treated in Montenegro; some immediately asked to return to their countries, for which they were provided assistance. In any case, we have shown that we are kind hosts, that we can provide guests with a safe environment to which they can come, but that also means that we set some conditions that ensure this situation," said Mugoša.
Mugoša: Postponing the beginning of the school year due to the COVID-19 epidemic is the right decision
Mugoša assessed that postponing the beginning of the school year for October 1 is a very responsible decision.
"I think that the decision is the correct one. We assessed all aspects and all risks, and everything indicated that it was the smartest thing to postpone the beginning of the school year until October," said Mugoša.
He added that the Institute does not only analyze the situation in Montenegro.
"We look at what's going on outside as well. The latest example is from North Carolina, where classes started in schools, but they stopped after seven days. There's a lot of experimentation in all countries. There are always a few directions and working models to consider. We also looked at several models and had meetings with the Ministry of Education and all other relevant partners from the governmental and non-governmental sectors. I hope that tomorrow the Institute will be able to present concrete recommendations when it comes to teaching at the beginning of the 2020/21 school year," said Mugoša.
