Return of the crossing with Montenegro due to unclear instructions – Society

Many citizens of Serbia were sent back from the Montenegrin border, because, after the Montenegrin authorities relaxed a few days ago the measures for the entry of our citizens into that country, instead of ELISA tests, they had the results of a simple serological test for the corona virus.

The Government of Montenegro, on its website on Thursday, September 3, announced that “The National Organism for the Coordination of Infectious Diseases (NCT) has decided, at the suggestion of the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro, to mitigate, according to the epidemiological situation in neighboring countries conditions for the entry into Montenegro of residents of the countries of the region “.”, and that for this requires “negative PCR, negative IgM test or positive IgG test”.

However, as the statement does not indicate what kind of test is needed, a part of the citizens of Serbia took and paid for an ordinary serological test and was returned from the Montenegrin border.

The same statement states that “residents of all countries on the ‘yellow list’ (which also includes Serbia, author’s note) can enter Montenegro with a negative result of a serological IgM antibody test, which is a first. compared to restriction. Furthermore, the condition is that “the person did not stay in one of the ‘red list’ countries in the 15-day period before entering Montenegro, that is, in one of the countries from which entry into Montenegro is not allowed. “

Since PCR costs 6,000 dinars and there was no question about it, citizens wanted to save money and run a cheaper IgM antibody test. The confusion arose because the statement did not state that they should obtain ELISA tests for IgM and IgG.

In another statement by the government of Montenegro, on the same date, this inaccuracy was removed and it was stated that the results of IgM and IgG tests must be “obtained by serological ELISA test”.

Due to the inaccuracy in the first statement, which was also broadcast by the media in Serbia, citizens rushed to the laboratories and did tests that are not in the ELISA class.

At the Uzice Institute of Public Health, Danas was told that his epidemiologists, due to the large number of citizens who came to request the test, but also out of doubt, called his colleagues from the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro and that they They said yes. “confusion” about the type of test.

“After consultations with colleagues from the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro, we told citizens that to enter that country they need to take an ELISA test and that this type of test is not done in any state health institution in the Zlatibor district “, said. Today, Dr. Marija Baralić from the Užice Institute of Public Health.

Precisely for this reason, the Institute discouraged citizens from carrying out a simple serological test and they were not allowed to do so, but instead went to other laboratories, without saying why they needed the test.

“At the Institute we do PCR tests, but not ELISA tests because a special device is needed for that. We carry out a serological test through a screening method, which determines whether or not a person has IgG or IgM antibodies. On the other hand, the ELISA method is more detailed and shows the numerical values ​​of the antibodies ”, explained Dr. Marija Baralić to Danas, adding that the problem arose from inaccuracies in the statements of the Montenegrin authorities and the lack of information from our citizens.

Today he has not been able to officially find out from the Montenegrin state authorities how many citizens of Serbia have been returned from the Montenegrin border so far, as well as the cause of the inaccuracy on the mitigated measures to enter that country.

Even after four days, after telephone calls and written requests, no answers and clarifications came from those responsible for the Government, the Institute of Public Health, the Directorate of Inspection Affairs, the Department of Health and Sanitary Supervision, the Police Administration and the Border Police Sector of Montenegro.

On the other hand, at the Serbian Interior Ministry, Danas was told that the Serbian police had no data on whether and how many of our citizens were returned from the Montenegrin border, recalling that the Serbian police are not in charge of controlling the border of another state.

Coexistence

A source in the Montenegrin border police unofficially told Danas that citizens of Serbia, although they do not have the required results of the ELISA IgM test, can cross the border with the results of a regular serological test.

“People are also released with tests that are not ELISA. I do not know if anyone has decided not to be rigid, but people can cross the border.” Officially, ELISA tests are required, which are controlled by health and sanitary inspectors, but people look at each other with their fingers, because I checked it at two border crossings, because people from Serbia call us and ask about the conditions for crossing the border, “said Danasov. source.

However, it was not possible to verify this information because the Montenegrin Inspection Affairs Administration, ie the Department of Health and Sanitary Inspection, did not react to our letter.

Test 1,800 to 2,400 dinars

In private laboratories, the price of an ELISA test for IgM costs between 1,800 and 2,400 dinars. A private laboratory in Uzice, where tests cost 2,100 dinars, was packed until Tuesday, as citizens rushed to Montenegro for a few days at sea, visit relatives or some other occasion.

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