BELGRADE – There are many more COVID -19 infected every day, and it is known that the number of deaths and the number of patients has been reduced several times, said a retired epidemiologist Zoran Radovanović, assessing it as a “moral decline” of his fellow epidemiologists, Nova.rs reported.
Radovanović, former professor at the University of Belgrade, said that there are clear and definite criteria that are being violated in Serbia. He stated that on 2 July, the number that was officially announced did not match the actual number of deaths that day from the consequences of the Coronavirus.
“If I were to tell you that on 2 July there were officially six deaths in Serbia and that the actual number was 52, then you will ask me how I know that, and then I have to reveal the identity of a colleague from the Infectious Diseases Clinic who fought for eight hours and recorded a number of deaths, and he knows how many are in other hospitals “, said Radovanović.
According to him, every day there are more people positive than originally published, and that in those seven to nine thousand tested, not only PCR, but also serological tests should be included.
BIRN editor: Serbian citizens have been receiving false information for a month
A day after the parliamentary election, an article shocked the Serbian public with data from the official state information system obtained by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN, according to which the number of deaths and infections in Serbia from Coronavirus is many times higher than publicly announced data.
BIRN also stated that the number of newly infected people in the week before the parliamentary elections was several times higher than reported, from which part of the public concluded that official data were concealed so that the elections, with preferably higher turnout, could be held on 21 June.
When asked about the findings published in the BIRN article, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said “he is quite sure” that the data on a large number of the dead is incorrect and that he talked about it with people from the Batut Institute.
The Institute of Public Health of Serbia “Dr Milan Jovanović Batut” condemned the allegations that call into question the credibility of the data on the number of infected and deceased persons as a result of COVID-19.
In a statement issued only on Thursday, 2 July, Batut stated that it “denies information” that is “sensationally placed in the public” and which is claimed to be inaccurate. Vučić also said that they were asking “members of the Crisis Staff” more about that topic.
BIRN editor Milorad Ivanović said in TV show Utisak nedelje that he had asked the Crisis Staff to explain how the number of 38 deaths from Coronavirus shown by “Batut” Information System was reduced to 6, as announced by the Crisis Staff at a press conference.
“In order for epidemiologists to make the right decisions, they should also have the right databases,” said Ivanovć, showing a chart made on the basis of the Information System database and official data.
Ivanović explained that the data announced by the government until 4 April were identical to those in the Information System, while from 4 April there was a sharp jump and a difference in the reported data.
“The curve reaches its peak on April 12 and 13, when we have 23 dead from COVID-19, and officially announced number is 6,” said Ivanović, stating that it is written in the database to which all members of the Crisis Staff and the Minister of Health had access.
He stated that the Batut Information System recorded on 13 April that 38 people had died and that only six deaths had been announced to the public that day.
“We are just looking for an explanation why this was done and for the Crisis Staff to explain to us how to get from number 38 to number 6”, Ivanović concluded.