

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic declaring the state of emergency on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANDREJ CUKIC

President Aleksandar Vucic told a press conference on Sunday evening that he has sent a letter to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping asking for help after the EU imposed limits on exports of medical equipment amid the coronavirus crisis.

“I sent a letter to President Xi, in which for the first time I officially called him not only a dear friend but also a brother, and not only my personal friend but also a friend and brother of this country,” Vucic said.

“As of today, as you know, we cannot even import goods, according to the European Union’s decisions, [European Commission president] Ursula von der Leyen said this a while ago, we cannot import medical equipment from EU countries,” he added.

He said that he had asked China to send Serbia “everything” – “even to send us doctors, [because] our doctors are already tired”.

Brussels on Sunday imposed an EU-wide ban on exports of some medical protective equipment in a bid to keep sufficient supplies within the bloc.

“Such medical goods [protective equipment] can only be exported to non-EU countries with the explicit authorisation of the EU governments. This is the right thing to do because we need that equipment for our health care systems,” von der Leyen said in a video message on Twitter.

Vucic expressed fury that such a decision had been made by EU officials – “the people who gave us lectures here, [telling us] that we should not buy Chinese goods”.

Under the state of emergency measures announced by Vucic, Serbia has banned entrance to all foreigners, except diplomats, people with residence permits, and Chinese citizens “who we will be begging to come and help us with everything”.

People who are allowed to enter Serbia must put themselves in self-isolation for at least 14 days. Violations can be published with sentences of up to three years in prison.

People who are allowed to enter Serbia but come from Italy, Switzerland, Iran, Romania, Spain, Germany, France, Austria, Slovenia and Greece must self-isolate for 28 days.

From Monday, Serbia’s kindergartens, schools and faculties are closed until further notice.

Students will be taught via broadcasts on Radio Television of Serbia’s first channel and via online platforms.

Employers have been advised to restructure working practices so as many employees as possible can work from home.

The public have been asked to remain at home as much as possible, public transport will be reduced and night bus lines cancelled.

As of Monday morning, Serbia had reported 55 coronavirus infections.

Updates on the situation as it develops will be posted on Balkan Insight’s coronavirus live blog.