23.04.2020.

President Vučić: I thank the members of the military for everything they have done for our country

Today, the President of the Republic and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, the Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin, the Chief of the General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović, the Minister of Health, Zlatibor Lončar, the Mayor of Belgrade, Zoran Radojičić and representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces attended the opening of a new hospital at the “Karaburma” Military Medical Centre for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

At the beginning of his address, after visiting the new hospital, President Vučić recalled that 205 years ago, the Second Serbian Uprising began, and he stressed that today, in a world that is unified in the fight against the coronavirus, we are successfully fighting for the survival of our people and our country.

The President of Serbia congratulated the members of the Serbian Armed Forces on their holiday noting that they "have shown tremendous energy, great love for their homeland, and extraordinary effort in all the difficult moments from 6th March to the present."

- I know that many people perceive it as being their job, but these people also did what has not always, or primarily, been in their job description, without fearing for themselves, without saving themselves. They received the first and most severe blow on our borders and at that time the largest number of them got infected in both Batrovci and Horgoš, when 400,000 Serbian citizens entered the country from abroad. But they were building and establishing temporary hospitals, taking heavy burdens upon themselves all the time, and the military is one of the pillars of our country, one of the pillars of our people and all the citizens of Serbia - said President Vučić.

- I congratulate all members of the Serbian Armed Forces on this holiday and I thank them for everything they did for our country in the previous period. I hope that they will be even more adept and successful in the period to come and that people will be even more satisfied with their work. I also hope that the members of the military will be more satisfied with their status in the society, in the sense of respect they get and their financial status - said the President.

Another important thing, he noted, is the new Covid hospital that has been opened today.

- It's a temporary facility for the next 30 years, at least. It looks beautiful, it has one of the largest intensive care unit rooms in the Balkans with 60 beds, with perfectly divided green and red zones. I am very grateful to “Termomont” company and Mr Burčul for their exceptional support and assistance, for donating, paying for and completing construction work in just 12 days - said President Vučić, highlighting the hospital's excellent equipment and expressing his satisfaction that we were able to do so much on our own in this fight against the coronavirus.

He thanked “Termomont” and partners for "the time they have dedicated, because they have done a great deal for our country and our people."

The owner and director of the “Termomont” company, Dejan Burčul, thanked the partners and companies they worked with in the past few days and stressed that this facility will surely last for another 30 years.

- Two hundred people worked on the construction of this facility daily, we worked hard, it was difficult, but obviously feasible. We were dedicated, worked as much as possible, we knew what our goal was, and that was to provide our citizens with the facility that will allow them to overcome the disease as quickly and as easily as possible. In addition, the facility was built to a high standard and will certainly remain in this place for the next 30 years - said Dejan Burčul, the owner of “Termomont”.

The value of the investment is 37 million dinars. Thanks to the donor’s extraordinary effort, the facility was completed in just 12 days, three days before the deadline, and the construction work was continuous, 24 hours a day. A new 200 m long access road has been built, and apart from the renovation of the old 1,000 square meter facility and the construction of a 300 square meter extension, medical gas supply system has been installed in the hospital for the treatment of patients and the application of mechanical ventilation.

The military health care has used its own funds to equip the hospital with new hospital beds and modern medical equipment, including four respirators and four patient monitors.

When the coronavirus pandemic is over, the new hospital in Karaburma will remain to serve the patients with both military and civilian health insurance and contribute to the advancement of patient treatment.