28.04.2021.
Foundation stone for new Covid hospital laid near Novi Sad
The President of the Republic and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces Aleksandar Vučić laid the foundation stone for a new Covid hospital in the urban neighbourhood of Mišeluk near Novi Sad today.
President Vučić laid the foundation stone together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, Minister of Health Zlatibor Lončar, President of the Government of AP Vojvodina Igor Mirović, Provincial Secretary for Healthcare Dr Zoran Gojković and the Mayor of Novi Sad Miloš Vučević.Addressing the gathering, President Vučić pointed out that the construction, reconstruction and modernization of the Clinical Centre of Vojvodina alone cost 50 million euros, and emphasized how important it was that Serbia started the construction of Covid hospitals on time.
- The healthcare system would have collapsed if it hadn’t been for the Batajnica and Kruševac Covid hospitals. The situation today would be like in India and other parts of the world. It was as if we had a premonition of what would happen. But we were able to do that thanks to hard-working builders who worked in the rain and sun, in cold weather. They will have a nicer weather now and I am convinced that they will finish this wonderful hospital by 1 September - said President Vučić.
According to him, the whole of Vojvodina has 170 ICU beds, and the new Covid hospital in Novi Sad will have 220 ICU beds, which is another reason why the construction of this hospital is important.
Emphasizing the importance of Covid-19 vaccination, President Vučić says that more than two million people in Serbia have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and that more than one million and four hundred thousand people have received the second dose. He invited people to get vaccinated, because it is the best way to avoid the most severe consequences of the disease.President Vučić also points out that in addition to the previously purchased bamlanivimab, another medicine, regeneron, which is used to treat Covid-19, arrived in Serbia today.
- We have bought 20,000, so we have a better chance of saving people’s lives. It has to be administered to patients in the early stage of the disease. We are one of the four European countries that have these medicines. But the vaccine is the most important, the vaccine brings salvation. It is something that will save us. The people in need of intensive and semi-intensive care will be treated in this hospital after the Covid pandemic is over. I am proud that we are able to build hospitals in such a short period of time, which even much more developed countries than Serbia have not been able to do - said President Vučić.
According to him, significant results have been achieved over the past few years, thanks to attracting major investors to Novi Sad and employing thousands of people.
- We have managed to bring all those investors over the past few years, to employ thousands of people, to show that Novi Sad is a great place to invest in. And we have done all that together. We couldn't do it without each other. Thanks to that, we have more money in the budget, so we can facilitate development and reconstruct all the valuable things we lost in the NATO aggression in 1999, such as the building of the Radio Television of Vojvodina, which is magnificent today, and many other things. What I am especially proud of are the hospitals that we have built in Serbia and the ones we are building today - said President Vučić.
President Vučić congratulated on the start of construction, and asked Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović and Minister of Health Zlatibor Lončar to make frequent visits to the construction site to make sure that the work is done in the best possible way, because the new Covid hospital will mean a lot to Novi Sad, Vojvodina and Serbia.The modern Covid hospital in Novi Sad will have 19,500 square metres, 600 beds, 220 of which ICU beds, and the completion date is 1 September 2021. The investor is the Ministry of Defence and the Military Construction Centre "Belgrade", while the contractor is the Military Construction Institution "Belgrade" with the subcontractor "Termomont", the company that built the hospitals in Batajnica and Kruševac in record time last year.
The foundation stone-laying ceremony was also attended by State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Branko Živanović, Head of the Infrastructure Department, Colonel Slobodan Starčević and Dejan Burčul, the CEO of the “Termomont“ company.
