Podgorica, Montenegro – At a meeting organised by video conference, Deputy Prime Minister and President of the National Coordination Body Milutin Simović informed Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe Dr Hans Kluge and Head of the WHO Country Office in Montenegro Ms Mina Brajović about the measures taken by Montenegro, in order to protect public health in confronting the COVID19.

Dr Kluge voiced his full support for the content and dynamics of the comprehensive and numerous measures taken.

Deputy Prime Minister Simović recognised that the health system‘s response management capacity is an area, which requires more intensive expert assistance of the WHO.

Director Kluge expressed his full readiness to expand cooperation and announced that he would immediately appoint an operational team to communicate with our operational team, take daily measures to limit the spread of the virus and preserve the lives and well-being of the citizens of Montenegro.

Therefore, Director Kluge recalled the importance of measures to detect, treat, isolate and monitor contacts, as a vital for breaking the chain of infection. He especially highlighted the significance of equipping hospital facilities with a particularly emphasis on protecting health professionals, as a vital link in the fight against the pandemic and praised the timeliness and content of the measures taken by Montenegro. In particular, he pointed out that such measures are never too many in circumstances of a pandemic, when every country and every individual is threatened.

Continuing talks, the Deputy Prime Minister discussed possibilities of cooperation with the WHO in implementation of the EU support, aimed at strengthening the capacity of responding to COVID19.

As the conversation moves along, Director Kluge suggested Montenegro, as a country with remarkable results in dealing with COVID19, to launch a regional initiative at the level of heads of government, in cooperation with the WHO.

“Montenegro is pleased to accept the role of the initiator and host of numerous regional initiatives and will be happy to do so on this proposal, especially bearing in mind that we have already taken steps towards this direction,” DPM Simović concluded.