92 percent of Montenegrin citizens support the imposed measures of physical and social distance

The measures proposed by the National Coordination Body of the Government of Montenegro for the threat of the spread of corona viruses have the support of almost all citizens of Montenegro, with the largest support being for the ban on all private and public gatherings (97%), self-isolation (97%), quarantine (97%) and closing of catering establishments (96%).

This is shown by data from a nationally representative public opinion poll conducted by Ipsos this week with the support of UNICEF.

Deputy Prime Minister and NKT President Milutin Simović expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the citizens for their high support to the Government of Montenegro in establishing a National Corona virus Coordination Body and for adopting a set of measures expressed by as many as 95% of citizens.

“The expressed responsibility, community and solidarity in the previous weeks are the best guarantee that with consistent compliance with all prescribed measures we will contribute to the protection of health and life of citizens, as the highest goal,” said Vice President Simović.

Almost all Montenegrin citizens, 92 percent of them, believe that maintaining physical and social distance is the only way to slow the spread of coronavirus and thus prevent too much pressure on the health system and allow every infected person to receive adequate medical care.

92 percent of citizens say they adhere to these measures, and citizens believe that most (75%) of the people in their area do the same.

“Although 75% of citizens say that people in their area adhere to the measures, we clearly detect 20% of them who partially respect these measures. This is the greatest danger, because we think that our behavior is not risky, and it is. The main reasons for not adhering to the measures are the belief that corona virus is not so dangerous, ie. people think it’s not terrible to even get infected, as some people still have to go to work, and perhaps the most dangerous reason is people’s belief that they can’t actually infect anyone” said Vladimir Raičević, Ipsos’ director for Montenegro.

Nearly two-thirds of citizens believe doctors and medical staff in their place are ready to successfully deal with corona virus. On this topic, citizens most trust the information coming from the Institute of Public Health and the Ministry of Health.

Just over 4/5 of Montenegrin citizens are concerned that they or their loved ones may be infected with a corona virus. Everyone else knows that they should call 1616 if they have symptoms or have been exposed to a corona virus.

“The national SOS line 1616 for the new corona virus is intended for all those suspected of being infected. The role of the Institute and our operators is to advise these individuals on how to act on this situation” said Senad Begić, epidemiologist and deputy director of the Institute of Public Health.

Just over three quarters of Montenegrin citizens believe that corona virus will affect their financial situation. Almost two-thirds of citizens believe that buying domestic products strengthens Montenegro’s economy.Most citizens are familiar with the economic measures of the Government of Montenegro to assist citizens and businesses during the corona virus pandemic. Financial assistance, subsidies and account forgiveness are the three new economic measures most commonly proposed by citizens.Social distance measures have increased the use of online services and thus stimulated the development of the digital economy.

Since the onset of the corona virus crisis, one fifth of citizens have been using e-banking more frequently, and one in ten citizens is shopping online more often. More than half of citizens have expressed their willingness to use various online services – volunteer engagement to help the elderly and sick, medical counseling, food delivery, language learning, psychological support.

Measures of physical and social distance are a challenge for education systems around the world that have had to organize classes via TV and the Internet in a very short time. That the efforts of the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and numerous teachers are successful is confirmed by the fact that over 80 percent of citizens are satisfied with the quality of the content of the TV channel Learn Home.

The survey was conducted on a nationally representative sample of 812 Montenegrin citizens between March 28th and March 31st of the current year.

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