At the end of next month, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) announced the tightening of epidemiological measures, which include the VPT rule, a proof that people have been either “vaccinated, recovered, or tested.”This means that employees in the health, social sector, and public administration will have to meet one of these three conditions in order to enter their office. In Republika Srpska(RS), they are considering the same measure. While epidemiologists agree that this is the only way to return to normal life, citizens have divided opinions.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, BiH has held infamous records in the number of deaths from Covid-19, and the number of those infected reaches at least a thousand every day. Citizens have divided opinions on the latest measure of the FederalGovernment.
”This is too much, when they all receive what they give us, then we will all get vaccinated”;
‘‘I support it anyway. Some things you just do;
‘‘I support it. Everyone should be vaccinated, both for their sakeand for the sake of others’‘;
”Soon, there will be no free man”;
‘‘It’s a shame. We are not animals to be sorted and forced ”, say some of the surveyed BiH citizens.
When it comes to the introduction of similar measures in the second BiH entity, for now, they are just thinking about it.
“From an epidemiological point of view, this measure can help us live with full lungs, as much as possible in an epidemic, and in a safer way. If people want to get together, they know that these people have either been vaccinated, recovered from the virus, or they have been tested, which significantly reduces the possibility of virus transmission, “ stated Jela Acimovic from the RS Institute of Public Health.
Epidemiologists pointed out that this is a measure applied by most of the developed world, so there is no reason not to introduce it in BiH.
“The reasons for adopting these measures are to protect the health of the population and prevent the spread of coronavirus. I hope that this will have a stimulating effect on those who have not decided whether to be vaccinated or not,” said Zenica-Doboj Canton Health Minister, Adnan Jupic.
“You have several choices – one is to get vaccinated, and the other is to get tested. At the moment, no one is satisfied with that situation, but that is something we have to go through,” said Andrea Juric from the Public Health Institute of West Herzegovina Canton.
The caterers are also dissatisfied with the new measure of the Government of the Federation. They emphasized that this will be a new blow to their business.
“The catering and tourism industry has been on its knees for a long time now (for two years). Many facilities have been shut down, as well as jobs. I appeal to the authorities to help this industry survive,” stressed Amir Hadzic from the Association of Hotels and Restaurant Operators of BiH.
According to the data of the American University “John Hopkins”, BiH is the third most endangered country in the world, after Peru and Bulgaria, with 367 cases per 100.000 inhabitants. In BiH, 12.000 people have died since Covid-19 so far.
E.Dz.
Source: BHRT
