COVID pass compulsory in Serbia in hospitality, betting facilities

The Serbian government has given a new ordinance to make COVID passes compulsory from 8 pm in all hospitality businesses and gambling establishments.

The ordinance enforced on Monday (8 November) prescribes that after 8 pm, the users of those establishments are obliged to present a COVID pass. If a business is open 24 hours a day, its patrons can visit without the pass after 6 am.

“A digital green certificate contains proof of a second or third dose of a vaccine, confirming that the vaccination is not older than 210 days, a negative PCR test, not older than 72 hours, a negative antigen test not older than 48 hours, proof of past illness over the past seven months, which is confirmed by a positive IgG test not older than three months, and from a state-run laboratory,” the government said in a release.

The cabinet announced that controls would be “strengthened,” and that the Moderna vaccine will be available at vaccination points as of Tuesday.

On Monday, professor Aleksandra Knežević, at the Microbiology and Immunology Institute of the School of Medicine in Belgrade, said that the 30 samples analysed over the last two weeks did not contain the new coronavirus strain, Delta Plus, but rather confirmed complete domination of the Delta variant.

“Having in mind the high number of infections, we can expect the new strain to be registered in Serbia,” Knežević said in an interview with the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation (RTS).

The Delta Plus variant has been confirmed in more than 40 states, including neighbouring Croatia a few days ago.

(EURACTIV.rs | betabriefing.com)