President Hashim Thaçi has called on everyone to follow recommendations against Covid-19, after a recent spike in new cases and deaths related to the virus in Kosovo.
The latest report from Sunday showed 75 deaths and 3,508 cases in total.
Kosovo was among countries with the most rapid spread of Covid-19 in Europe from 12 to 26 June.
“The increase in the number of deaths in recent days is evidence that the risk of Covid-19 pandemic is still high […] The citizens of Kosovo must show great care and strictly respect the recommendations of the National Institute of Health and Kosovo institutions, in order to overcome this global challenge as easily as possible,” Thaçi wrote on Facebook on Monday.
Kosovo had 30 deaths and 1,142 cases when the Hoti Government took power about a month ago, on June 3.
The head of the medical staff union, Blerim Syla told RFE/REL that doctors and nurses are exhausted and overloaded due to the spike in numbers and deaths. Moreover, about 300 of them are infected with Covid-19.
Thaçi’s call on Kosovars to just stay safe by adhering to guidelines comes several months after active pressure on the previous government to support him in declaring a state of emergency. Kosovo had registered only a couple dozens of cases and no deaths at that time.
When the government refused his approach and ordered a lockdown a few days later, Thaçi called for civil disobedience.
His calls for a state of emergency, which would have given him more executive power over the government, were instrumental in bringing down the Kurti Government on March 25, a few days after Thaçi announced he had signed an emergency situation order which never reached the parliament.
After the new government took power, Thaçi claimed that he was pushed by political parties to ask for a state of emergency. However, he failed to name any party coming forward with such a request.
On Monday, the Kosovo government brought back movement restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus.
