

An employee of a medical laboratory receives a sample to test for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Photo: EPA-EFE/ROB ENGELAAR

The health minister of Bosnia’s Serb-led entity has confirmed the first two coronavirus cases in the country – one for a man who works in Italy and the other for his child. Both tested positive for Covid-19 virus, the Republika Srpska Health Minister Alen Seranic said in Banja Luka on Thursday.

The minister said the man was hospitalized at the University Clinic in Banja Luka after he reported himself to the hospital with symptoms of the disease. The minister urged the public to remain calm and avoid panic.

Currently, no cases of Covid-19 cases have been reported in the country’s other entity, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Seranic said he expected more cases, as many Bosnians work in Italy, which is one of the world’s worst affected countries, along with China, South Korea and Iran.

According to him, the authorities contacted the school attended by the sick child to try to identify potential new cases. The school has been temporarily closed. The wife of the adult patient tested negative.

Bosnia does not check persons crossing the border for Covid-19 symptoms. However, border police have been instructed to collect contact information from people arriving from China, South Korea, Iran and Italy. The police also advise persons arriving from those countries on the steps to take if they experience any symptoms associated with Covid-19.

In Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, local authorities on Wednesday issued stricter recommendations for vulnerable groups, hoping to prevent a coronavirus outbreak.

Schools were advised to cancel field trips to countries and regions with reported cases. The authorities also advised against visiting nursing homes for the elderly to minimize the health risks for that part of the population.

So far, the Balkans has been generally unscathed by the outbreak. By Thursday, over 95,000 cases had been reported worldwide. But the vast majority are in China – about 80,000 – followed by South Korea, Iran and Italy. In most other countries, only handfuls of cases have been reported. In the Balkans, cases were confirmed in Croatia, North Macedonia and Romania.