Epidemiologist Opposes Introducing State of Emergency, Says People Should Where Masks Outside

Dr Predrag Kon (BETAPHOTO/Serbian Government/Slobodan Miljevic)

Epidemiologist Predrag Kon said on Oct. 29 that he did not believe that the authorities should introduce a state of emergency due to rising numbers of Covid-19 cases and that "the first and basic thing" was for people to respect existing measures and that he favored wearing masks outside, especially in pedestrian areas.

Kon told the Prva TV station that epidemic was picking up momentum and that it could not easily stopped, although it was not spreading in places where the government's measures were being respected.

"The number of infected has rising with each day, especially in Belgrade" and that this was a reason for concern, Kon said. He added that every day hospitals were accepting more and more Covid-19 patients and that the "flattening of the curve" had not happened yet i.e. the number of new cases was not the same each day.

He also said that penalties for those who were not respecting measures could not be enforced "because the legal framework does not allow" for offenders to be sanctioned. "This is not a medical theme. So far everything allowed by the law has been done," Kon said, adding that "the first and basic thing is for all measures to be conducted."