27.03.2020.

Minister Vulin: The State of Serbia and the citizens of Serbia can rely on their armed forces

The Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin, accompanied by the Mayor of Novi Sad, Miloš Vučević and the Provincial Secretary for Healthcare, Zoran Gojković, PhD, today visited the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and volunteers engaged in unloading and setting up beds in a hall of the Novi Sad Fair in order to provide conditions for the reception and accommodation of persons with the symptoms of Covid-19.

- The Serbian Armed Forces will carry out every order of their Supreme Commander and the Crisis Staff. It is clear to everyone that the Serbian Armed Forces can and must carry out all these major undertakings and complete this major work, and we will continue to do so. The State of Serbia and all its citizens can rely on their armed forces, and I ask the citizens of Serbia to appreciate and respect the work of the armed forces, the daily exposure of these soldiers to the dangers, and to help them and show how much they appreciate their work by staying at home and taking care of themselves and their families - said Minister Vulin.

Talking about today's visit, the Minister of Defence pointed out that a reception centre would be established in the hall of the Novi Sad Fair for persons infected by the coronavirus who do not require intensive treatment.

- This reception centre can accommodate 1,000 people and all the conditions for an undisturbed life, nutrition and adequate medical care will be provided - said Minister Vulin, adding that an area for daily activities will also be provided, TV sets and everything else that is needed for the patients to spend the time as comfortably as possible. Hospital privacy screens will also be provided, as well as bedside lockers for storing personal belongings, and the Serbian Armed Forces will provide clothing supplies.

According to the Minister of Defence, life in this facility will be organised in accordance with military rules, and everyone who comes there will be taken care of.
- I ask all the citizens of Novi Sad and Vojvodina, since this place is intended for all the citizens of Vojvodina, to take care and stay at home. The armed forces that work here, the police, the volunteers who are here, the doctors who will be here, none of them can stay at home so that you can. Be disciplined and show respect for the work of these people - said Minister Vulin, adding that exposing all of these people to the dangers does not make sense if citizens do not follow the advice of doctors and competent services.

The Minister of Defence pointed out that no country in the world is capable of providing medical care to hundreds of thousands of people, if it comes to that.

- The State of Serbia shows that it can deal with this situation because it is organized, because it has its own armed forces and police force, healthcare and local self-governments and because it is able to cope with this horrible disease, but only if each of us is disciplined. We must understand that the fate of Serbia depends on each individual. Each of us can be a transmitter of the disease, a source of infection and we can all destroy ourselves, our families and the people we care about. But we can also look after ourselves and protect ourselves - emphasized Minister Vulin.

The Minister of Defence pointed out that the facilities at the Belgrade and Novi Sad Fair will have equal conditions for the accommodation of people, noting once again that these are not hotels and that there will be no hotel conditions there. These are facilities intended for the treatment of people and a large number of people is supposed to spend time there and be exposed to a minimum of health risks, which is a priority.

- I would like to thank the local self-government and the City of Novi Sad not only for the large number of volunteers provided, but also for the space, the measures they have taken and the seriousness with which they approached this terrible crisis. I would also like to thank the Provincial Secretariat for Health Care for coordinating all these efforts and making sure that all this is successful - said Minister Vulin.

The Mayor of Novi Sad, Miloš Vučević emphasized that, due to its infrastructure and numerous entrance routes, the Novi Sad Fair has the best capacity to accommodate people in that city. He thanked the Ministry of Defence, the Serbian Armed Forces, the employees of the Novi Sad Fair and the volunteers for all their assistance, and once again asked all citizens to stay home.

- This is the only way you can be heroes and help medical workers, soldiers, public utility companies and all those who expose themselves to danger so that others do not have to endanger their lives and health - said Vučević, adding that, in order to create the best possible accommodation conditions, mobile shower cubicles and additional toilets have been rented.

The Provincial Secretary for Healthcare, Zoran Gojković, explains that the space at the Novi Sad Fair is intended for the infected patients who do not require intensive treatment and whose clinical picture does not require the most serious treatment at the hospital.

- With the capacities available at the moment, we will be able to manage, but only if everyone follows the advice of medical professionals, who are sending us a clear message - stay at home and follow the instructions available on the websites of the Ministry of Health and the Provincial Secretariat of Healthcare.
Because of the people who do not have the internet, Gojković said, the instructions on how to act to protect against the coronavirus will soon be delivered to citizens’ home addresses. He points out that there is enough protective equipment, but that we must not allow the health system to collapse by behaving irresponsibly, putting too much pressure on it and infecting healthcare professionals who treat us.

Retired Lieutenant General Đokica Petrović came to the Novi Sad City Headquarters immediately after the outbreak of the crisis offering to help with his experience in this difficult situation.

- We worked, along with the employees of the Novi Sad Fair, to create the infrastructure to provide additional accommodation facilities for the mildly ill patients. Today, our armed forces and our volunteers are here, so there is no reason to doubt that we will succeed in what we are doing - said General Petrović, urging citizens to comply with the prescribed measures for protection against the coronavirus.

Major Nedeljko Nedeljković, of the Command of the 1st Army Brigade, is now the Deputy Head of Works at the Novi Sad Fair.

- Working together, the members of the 1st Army Brigade and the volunteers of Novi Sad are carrying out the task of setting up beds at the Fair. We will put about 600 beds in the “Master Centre”, and tomorrow we will put another 500 beds, so that more than 1,000 beds will be provided at the Novi Sad Fair - said Major Nedeljković.

The Commander of the 1st Army Brigade, Zoran Nasković also visited the Novi Sad Fair today.

Based on the decision to introduce a state of emergency throughout the territory of Serbia, the Serbian Armed Forces have been further engaged and, taking new measures, the Serbian Armed Forces have put under control all border crossings; they are securing and monitoring all reception and asylum centres and all major hospitals.