"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been carefully following the global situation concerning coronavirus while making efforts to provide assistance to all Serbian citizens in affected areas.

The State Department has informed us that Grand Princess cruise ship, on board of which a number of persons infected with COVID-19 was identified on its itinerary from Hawaii to San Francisco, included 34 citizens of the Republic of Serbia, 33 of whom are crew members and one is a passenger. One Serbian citizen - Ivan Sofronijevic - is among those infected. He has been quarantined and is feeling well at the moment as he receives medical care and keeps in touch with his family.

Out 46 persons on the ship who were tested so far 21 have been found to be infected, 19 of whom are crew members.

The ship is supposed to anchor at Oakland today and a transfer of passengers will follow – U.S. citizens will disembark to medical centers, and foreign citizens will be repatriated to their countries of origin, on which matter we are expecting to receive new information. All crew members – about 1100 of them will not leave the ship that will remain anchored at sea not far from the shore, over a 14-day quarantine period.
The State of New York has declared a state of emergency on 8 March 2020.

There has been no indication so that any Serbian national in the U.S. other than Ivan Sofronijevic was infected with coronavirus.

When it comes to our citizens who were onboard Diamond Princess (Yokohama) as crew, the Japanese authorities have informed us that 9 Serbian citizens would be released from quarantine in the city of Wako. After a final PCR test and a health examination it is planned that nine Serbian citizens be discharged from quarantine in three stages, namely: on 10 March – 4 Serbian citizens, 12 March – 2 Serbian citizens, 13 March – 2 Serbian citizens and 1 citizen of Montenegro, and on 15 March – 1 Serbian citizen.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been closely monitoring the situation in Italy as well. So far there has been no indication that any Serbian citizens were registered in Italy as infected.

The Serbian national who had been on Diamond Princess crew, having been evacuated from Japan on an Italian Government-chartered flight, left Italy for Serbia on 6 March 2020 following a 14-day quarantine."