Media in German: Serbia exhausts trust in authorities

"When Serbia's Prime Minister (Ana Brnabic) faced people in Novi Pazar, the angry crowd could not calm down. They yelled the names of their relatives who died from COVID-19 due, according to them, bad handling and corruption. Some medical staff turned their back (to Prime Minister). The numbers (of infected and dead) are made lower; the situation is worse than presented," ZDF said.

After quoting Brnabic, the TV showed amateur footage from the town's hospital.

"The footage showed that the health system was overburden. There is a lack of material and personnel since many of them were infected," ZDF added.

It said that the number of coronavirus cases started raising ahead of Serbia's June 21 general elections."

"The relaxation of measures helped President Aleksandar Vucic's ruling party to win. They celebrated with brass music and three Governemt's members got sick," the TV added in the report.

Vienna Standard wrote that "the (Austrian Government) warning against travelling to Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Kosovo was justified since the number of newly infected has greatly increased in the last ten days."

The paper added that "there is panic in some places in Serbia, and it  is absolutely beyond comprehension why the European Union still keeps that country on a travelling green list."

Since it is just a suggestion, Standard writes, "only Austria and Germany do not follow it out of the sense of responsibility."

"There is no more trust in the authorities" (in Serbia)," Standard wrote, recalling the difference between the officially reported number related to the epidemic and those published by independent media.