Greek Church to celebrate Easter with doors closed

The Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church has announced that its churches will remain closed throughout the Easter holidays because of the coronavirus epidemic. The Synod invited believers to pray at home and said that "it would broadcast the Holy Liturgy with the means of new technologies." In a country with more than 90 percent Orthodox Christians, two weeks ago the government made the difficult decision to suspend all worship at churches except for funeral services.

Donation campaigns are raising political tensions in Turkey

Media in Turkey have reported that at a critical moment in the fight against the coronavirus there was disturbing political tensions surrounding some donation campaigns. The Turkish interior ministry has blocked donation campaigns undertaken by the opposition Republican People's Part. According to Karar daily, the ministry’s decision raised the question of whether it was worthwhile to induce polarization at this point, and suggests that everyone focused on cooperating in combating the epidemic. Opposition newspaper Sözcü writes that the ban did not apply to municipalities controlled by the ruling Justice and Development Party. President Erdogan's campaign, titled "We are self-sufficient, Turkey", continues with full speed, Milliyet newspaper reports.

Albania extends restrictive measures until end of epidemic

Albania's health minister has announced that schools, cafes, restaurants and other public establishments in the country will remain closed and restrictions on social and economic activities will continue to be in force until the end of the coronavirus epidemic. At the time of the announcement the number of deaths in the country had reached 15. More than half of the infected are in the capital city of Tirana. Albania's borders are closed to foreign nationals and a 16-hour curfew and a 40-hour ban on going out in the weekend are in force.

Serbia expecting epidemic to subside after Easter

In an interview with Danas daily epidemiologist Branislav Tiodorovic predicted that the epidemic curve in Serbia will start to fall down after Easter. Tiodorovic called on everyone to keep iron discipline and added that Serbs should learn from the bad example of Italy and Spain.According to him, adults were showing more responsibility than young people. The expert believes the country's health system is fully prepared for the peak of the epidemic.

Dramatic situation with Covid-19 infection among Romanian medics

Gandul daily writes that 357 medics and medical personnel in Romania have been diagnosed with Covid-19. Out of them 99 are doctors, 127 are nurses, 35 sanitary workers, 11 janitors and 85 support staff. Adevărul reports that the management of Suceava regional hospital has resigned after it was confirmed that 200 healthcare workers at the hospital were infected and more than 30 patients treated at the health facility died because of Covid-19. A quarter of all cases of infection in Romania have been confirmed in this region.

Humor during coronavirus pandemic at Slovenian museum

The Slovene Ethnographic Museum plans to gather a collection of jokes that have flooded social networks since the introduction of emergency measures because of the coronavirus epidemic, Tanjug agency reported. After the epidemic is over, the museum will publish the collection as a testimony to the spirit of the nation in difficult times. Psychologists are convinced that jokes have positive effects in cases of anxiety and are helping people stay united in stressful situations.

Psychologists, however, commented that "humor is a healthy, effective protective mechanism and a means of overcoming stress, provided it is not offensive and aggressive."

English: Alexander Markov