Serbia's tourism and air transport have been the sectors of the country's economy that have been the most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, while all sectors have been affected in some way, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Zoran Djordjevic told Sputnik
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2020) Serbia's tourism and air transport have been the sectors of the country's economy that have been the most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, while all sectors have been affected in some way, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Zoran Djordjevic told Sputnik.
"The sectors of the economy that were hit the hardest are certainly tourism and hospitality industry, air transport, small entrepreneurs, and all others surely feel the consequences of the crisis," Djordjevic said.
The minister stressed that Serbia, like Russia, had a good policy related to agriculture and the food industry, "which meant relying on own capacities when there was no crisis, and this allowed for the market in Serbia to be fully supplied, and that there is not a single food article missing and that the aisles in the food stores look the same as before the crisis."
Djordjevic underlined that the coronavirus has affected the global economy, including Serbia's, and the consequences of this have yet to be felt.
"Certainly, alongside the fight for each life, the economy is one of the most important things we have to consider at the moment. Life has to continue after the fight with the epidemic, and the strength of the economy at the end of this pandemic will be the basis for the development and speed of the growth of our country. Aleksandar Vucic, the President of the Republic of Serbia, presented the measures Serbia will undertake in order to come out of this crisis with as few consequences as possible," he stressed.
The minister shared that since the introduction of a state of emergency, 2,920 workers have lost their jobs, according to the National Employment Service data, which "demonstrates how good these measures are."
"As our President said, we are not satisfied with this and we will work on it so that no one is left without a job in Serbia, and those who are will be taken care of, and have a great chance to get a new job very soon," he added.
According to Johns Hopkins University, Serbia has confirmed 1,624 cases of COVID-19 so far, with 44 fatalities.
