A steep rise in COVID-19 cases has resulted in the Mayor’s of some Montenegro towns to ask for additional measures and support.
The country has the highest rate of infection per 100,000 people with some 1257 active cases as of yesterday. Albania is second in the region with 1150, followed by Slovenia with 719.
Mayor of the coastal resort town of Budva, Marko Bato Carevic asked for the whole town to be locked down due to a surge in cases. He accused the central government of ignoring their requests for too long.
He told public broadcaster RTCG:“Those who were supposed to take preventive action to deal with the pandemic did not deal with it until it escalated. Our local medical team did everything it could and we hope that the government will listen to our request for lockdown.”
The Mayor asked that all schools, kindergartens, cafes, and restaurants be closed and that learning take place online. There are some 811 active cases in the town at present.
Stevan Katic, Mayor Herceg Novi also asked for assistance from the authorities. He said the hospital is short of staff and that urgent help is needed.
Recently there have been calls for the resignation of the country’s Minister of Health Jelena Borovinic Bojoc for what they say is her failure to manage the situation. Vaccination has not yet begun and already the health system is showing signs of collapse, say the opposition party DPS.
