English

PM Marković: No compromise with those who don’t follow rules

Montenegro has neither the surplus human lives nor citizens! Therefore, from now on, there will be no compromise for those who do not follow the rules. There will be no forgiveness, no tentativeness – not even one percent. I myself will make sure of it, Montenegro’s Prime Minister, Duško Marković, addressed the nation over the coronavirus pandemic.

“Over the past two months, the National Coordination Body, in countering this threat, has taken the most comprehensive measures to slow and reduce the risk of an epidemic. And we believe those decisions have produced results so far. In addition, the govt. measures I announced three days ago only make sense if we keep the number of patients under absolute control,” Mr Marković said.

According to him, the situation in which Montenegro is today, leaves far-reaching consequences on the Montenegrin economy, on the budget, and what is especially painful – it has consequences for every citizen, that is, for every family.

“I am aware that the limitations we introduced represent a long-term threat to the economy and quality of life, and that the first weeks and months of resistance to the epidemic might resemble the poverty we, as a country, have left behind not so long time ago. But we accepted that risk in order to save lives, to save each one of you, and then to move on healthy and united, and recover our economy,” PM Marković said.

This is just the beginning of our fight against the coronavirus.

He continued: “I am grateful to everyone proving that we are solidary and united over the national interest. The entire state is grateful to healthcare staff, as well as to members of the police and security services, sanitation and utility services, our pilots, flight attendants and airport staff, employees in pharmacies, trade companies, our Army, the Red Cross and volunteers. All of them are directly exposed to risk. We will talk about them and many others when the danger passes.”

He recalled that in times when the whole Europe has been struggling against the coronavirus pandemic, when nearly 800 people died in one day in Italy, when countries closed their borders, Montenegro has kept its borders open and brought thousands of its citizens out of vulnerable areas.

“And the only obligation of those who arrived to Montenegro is – self-isolation and quarantine. Unfortunately, a number of citizens is trying to avoid this obligation and put all of you in jeopardy. That is why we decided to disclose identity of persons in self-isolation. Understanding the reasons for criticism, we consciously decided that our citizens’ lives are the top priority, and assessed that the right to health and life was above the right to unconditional protection of personal data. We will discuss the eventual omissions once this all is behind us. And in order to be able to discuss, we must survive first, and that’s why this is not the right time for legal discussions but for saving lives,” the Prime Minister noted.

According to latest data, Montenegro has reported 16 coronavirus cases so far, while more than 5,000 people have been under surveillance.

 

 

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