History of Kotorska Pašta

Kotorska Pašta Festival

No one can rule out the second wave of COVID-19

Montenegro ready to face the risk of opening borders

Seafarers from green corridor go home, rest must be isolated

Government releases video of COVID-19 testing in IJZ

Stathis: This crisis is an opportunity for tourism changes

Airports open doors, no airplanes yet

Expecting strategic measures and support for SMEs from 3rd stimulus

June 3, 2020 - The astronaut photograph of Lake Skadar in Montenegro and Albania on the last day of May had the status of a photo of the day on the NASA Earth Observatory website, the online publishing outlet for NASA. Lake Skadar caught the attention of astronauts due to the circulation of dark and light sediments around its center, and the photo was taken on February 21.

Earth Observatory: Lake Skadar, Montenegro and Albania

Astronaut photograph ISS062-E-40353 was acquired on February 21, 2020, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a 400 millimeter lens and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center.

Dark and light sediments swirl around in the center of Lake Skadar (also known as Lake Shkodra), the largest lake on the Balkan Peninsula. This pattern captured the attention of an astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Lake Skadar is a karst lake that straddles the border of Montenegro and Albania. It is an example of a cryptodepression, where parts of the lakebed extend below sea level. The curved, spine-like ridges running parallel with the southern shore are part of the Dinaric Alps, which are comprised mostly of easily erodible rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and other carbonates.

The swirling plume in the center of the lake is likely the mixing of sediment that has been transported downstream from higher elevations via snow-melt water and other mountain runoff. A major source of this sediment inflow comes from the Moraca River; its wide delta occupies much of the Montenegro shoreline. Smaller river deltas along the northern edges of the lake also contribute sediment. The Drin River and the Bojana River converge just south of the ancient lake-front city of Shkodër, which lies on the small delta of the Kir River. The lake and these rivers all ultimately drain into the Adriatic Sea.

As with many large freshwater lakes near cities, many of the native plants and animals in Lake Skadar became endangered due to human activity. Montenegro has since made the western portion of the lake a national park, and Albania declared its section as a nature reserve. Both efforts were made to protect many species of birds, microorganisms, and aquatic life, including eels, snails, and endemic fish species.

Astronaut photograph ISS062-E-40353 was acquired on February 21, 2020, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a 400 millimeter lens and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 62 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by Sara Schmidt, GeoControl Systems, JETS Contract at NASA-JSC.

Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov

End of COVID-19 epidemic, but not risk, remarks by Senad Begic

Rakocevic: Imported COVID-19 cases a certainty, we must not relax

Travel Info

Voucher or cash, agreement with guests

Up to €200m in loans to the economy?

Montenegro as a corona-free country has precious advantage

Luca Zelioli, Ambassador of the Republic of Italy in Podgorica, returned to his old love - comics

June 1, 2020 - One day remains in the countdown to the end of the COVID-19 epidemic. The director of the Institute of Public Health (IJZ), Boban Mugosa, announced on 24 May that Montenegro would declare an end to the coronavirus epidemic on 2 June if no new cases emerged.

Montenegro opens borders to all neighbors

Kindergartens

Although the NKT had announced that kindergartens would be allowed to reopen today, this refers only to private kindergartens that meet all IJZ recommendations. Public kindergartens will not open until Thursday, 4 June.

Passports and other ID documents

The Ministry of the Interior’s division for passports and other identification documents begins normal activities under its usual schedule today. The NKT calls to mind that expired licenses and permanent and temporary residency permits for foreigners will remain valid until 1 July.

Country safe list updated: Ireland and Northern Macedonia removed

The government updated yesterday its list of countries allowed entry into Montenegro without quarantine. Ireland and Northern Macedonia are no longer on the list as newly confirmed cases have raised the infection rate in those countries above the 25 per 100,000 limit set by Montenegro. The safe list, which was updated last night, currently shows 131 countries and is accessible on the Institute of Public Health’s website here.

Radovic: Healthcare workers showed health system should be left to them

Teamwork and good coordination among healthcare workers as well as the support and responsibility of citizens allowed Montenegro to become the first corona-free nation in Europe, says Dr Sasa Radovic, a member of the Medical Crisis Headquarters of the NKT. Radovic says coordination of all segments of the health system and the community at large was key. He says enormous energy was displayed by healthcare workers including doctors, medical technicians, pharmacists, support staff, as well as by members of the army, police, customs service, the business sector and the media.

COVID-19 gathered families around table and increased closeness

A new study by Professor Dragan Krivokapic of the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education of the University of Montenegro shows that isolation during the COVID-19 epidemic in Montenegro contributed to bringing families closer together during meals. The study surveyed 1,232 parents of children in primary and secondary schools from all three regions of the country. Krivokapic says parents spent much more time with their children during the lockdown period than before containment measures were introduced.

Tourists have begun entering Montenegro

Tourists began entering Montenegro last night immediately after midnight, the moment measures for entering without quarantine took effect for safe-listed countries. Most of the travelers were mainly from western European countries, media report.

Hoping that IMF, WB and ECB will be generous

The price of money in the coming period, primarily interest rates, will depend on its availability, but also on international events and measures of organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Central Bank. Authorities are optimistic - they say they believe that international financial institutions will come out with favorable loan conditions due to Covid-19. Analysts are more cautious and say that everything will depend on each country, ie its ability to respond to the new challenges.

Beach rental prices to depend on season

Tenants of 84 beach areas have asked the Agency for Coastal Zone Management to suspend rents this year because of the extremely difficult financial situation they are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 398 leases were signed for the period 2019–2023, with only 70 annexes signed for this year. Budva beaches are practically deserted despite the fact that summer is fast approaching. These beaches should already have been prepared and opened but many tenants have not even concluded annexes to their contracts for this year precisely due to uncertainties over the season.

May 31, 2020 - Seafarers who will come from the countries from the NKT list of open traffic will enter Montenegro without quarantine. Acknowledging that the seafarers were already in quarantine, the NKT will consider the possibility that those coming from other countries be tested after the first week of isolation, announced the Twitter account of the Government.

Markovic and the leaders of the Union of Seafarers of Montenegro - President Nedjeljko Radulovic and Vice President Vlado Vucetic agreed today on steps to take to overcome the challenges and improve the status of our seafarers whose tradition and professionalism are recognized in Montenegro and around the world.

The Union of Seafarers' remarks on the treatment of its members returning to Montenegro during the COVID-19 pandemic initiated the meeting. It was pointed out that the National Coordination Body for Infectious Diseases (NCT) has taken the most principled and epidemiologically justified position to treat all citizens in the same way.

Following this principle, which was respected, among others, by our top athletes, scientists, educators, and medical workers and entrepreneurs, institutional isolation is necessary for seafarers as well as all other citizens when returning to Montenegro.

All complaints of persons placed in quarantine facilities, especially seafarers, were responsibly considered. It was emphasized that the competent bodies dealing with quarantine and conditions of accommodation would, as before, act daily on complaints.

It was pointed out that from tomorrow, June 1, when the measure of entering Montenegro without isolation comes into force, if the passenger comes from a country where the rate of confirmed active cases of coronavirus is below 25 per 100,000 inhabitants, seafarers coming from and through the countries on the list will not have to in isolation. Considering the specific position of seafarers, who spend time in isolation even before the start of the voyage, and in some cases are tested for coronavirus, NKT plans to provide seafarers coming from off-country countries to be tested after one week of isolation and released in case of a negative test.

The meeting discussed the positions of the Union of Seafarers regarding strategic documents, legal solutions, tax policy, and treatment of the maritime profession in general. It was pointed out that it is understood that the Government, whose mandate is marked by dialogue with all segments of society, is ready to address all challenges in partnership with the representatives of our seafarers and find the best solutions to overcome them. In this context, the Government is prepared to collaborate with seafarers' associations to find the best solutions that will facilitate the boarding of our cadets on foreign ships.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and President of NKT Milutin Simović, Director of the Institute of Public Health Boban Mugoša, Director General of the Directorate for Quality Control of Health Care and Improvement of Human Resources in Health and Head of the Operational Staff for Coordination of Measures to Prevent Coronavirus Spread. Secretary of the Ministry of Interior and Head of the Operational Staff for activities related to the return of Montenegrin citizens from abroad and Director General of the General Directorate for Maritime Economy Maja Mijušković.

May 31, 2020 - The National Coordination Body for Infectious Diseases (NKT) decided that, from tomorrow, June 1, Montenegro will open all road border crossings to neighboring countries that were closed as part of measures against the spread of coronavirus.

At midnight, the further border crossings open:

With the Republic of Albania:

- Grnčar - Baškim, on the road Plav - Shkodra and
- Sukobin - Murićan on the way Ulcinj - Shkodra.

With Bosnia and Herzegovina:

- Šćepan Polje - Hum, on the road Plužine - Foča,
- Šula - Vitina, on the road Pljevlja - Foča,
- Sitnica - Zupci on the road Herceg Novi - Trebinje and
- Meteljka - Metaljka on the road Pljevlja - Čajniče.

With the Republic of Croatia Kobila - Vitaljina, on the road Herceg Novi - Vitaljina - Dubrovnik.

With the Republic of Serbia:

- Ranče - Jabuka, on the road Pljevlja - Prijepolje,
- Vuče - Godovo on the road Rožaje - Tutin, and
- Čemerno on the road Pljevlja - Priboj.

The Government announced that the traffic of passengers and goods at these road border crossings would take place following the measures of the NKT. The new measure adopted on Thursday stipulates that when entering Montenegro, the quarantine measure does not prescribe to Montenegrin citizens and foreigners with permanent or temporary residence in our country entering from countries rates of confirmed active cases of coronavirus infection less than 25 cases per 100,000 inhabitants from the list of the Institute of Public Health as well as foreign nationals who are residents of countries on the list and enter from countries on that list.

On the list of countries that currently meet the epidemiological criteria are: Slovenia, Iceland, Croatia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Albania, Austria, Norway, Monaco, Kosovo, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Israel, Northern Macedonia, the Republic of Ireland, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Estonia.

The road border crossing Vraćenovići - Deleuša with Bosnia and Herzegovina on the road Nikšić - Bileća, which was closed on February 27 due to the construction of border infrastructure, remains temporarily closed.