First Person: Vatroslav Belan, A COVID-19 Story
My name is Vatroslav Belan.
I'm an adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister
for Economic Policy and Financial System.
Basically, I'm in charge for international economic relations
in our cabinet.
How has the pandemic impacted your country?
The most important policy, if I may say,
was the timely and decisive adoption of protection measures
and actions.
The first measures against the spreading of COVID,
we implemented already in January.
The government took information and suggestion
of our healthcare system and health authorities
very seriously.
We didn't want to risk the lives of our citizens.
We have closely monitored the spread of the virus
in the world, in Europe and in our region.
Thanks to that approach, we were the last country in Europe
to record the first case of infection.
Now, we are very proud that we are the first Corona-free
country in Europe.
We do not have any - we have zero new infections
and zero active cases.
What policies has your government implemented to protect people, stimulate the economy, support incomes and promote social dialogue?
Before the World Health Organization
made the recommendation for the necessary activities,
which was in March,
we have already implemented that.
We already started to implement those measures
having in mind information that we got
from the very beginning from China
and then from European region, as I said. For example,
as it was listed in the
World Health Organization recommendation,
we expanded, trained and engaged additional health workforce,
we have created a system
for finding all suspicious cases at the community level.
We increased testing availability,
identifying them, and equip the facilities
needed for the treatment
and isolation of patients, organizing the quarantines,
developed quarantine plans and as it was recommended and we knew it.
We focused the work of the whole government
on reducing and controlling the pandemic.
We have a very clear aim to support and restart our economy.
Up to now, we implemented two sets or two packages of economic measures
to support both citizens and businesses.
That means to support thousands of entrepreneurs,
micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises
in which more than 100,000 employees operate or work.
The scope of those packages is very wide
and involves employees in enclosed
and dangerous activities,
employees on paid absence,
employees in quarantine and self-isolation,
up to subsidies for the employee.
The main goal with the first two sets of the measures
was to target those who need it most,
and with the aim to preserve the substance of our economy
and not to lose any chance for the future development.
What are the lessons learned so far?
My personal view, and allow me to say that
we as a Montenegrin society,
learned again that, for us, the sky is limit
when the circumstances and crisis drive us,
and that in those kinds of situations
we actually know how to respond,
how to be responsible,
how to be organized and efficient.
Find out more: ilo.org/covid19