• Number of confirmed coronavirus cases reaches 16 (media)
• President considering state of emergency (Indeksonline)
• Thaci urges citizens to stay at home (media)
• Health Institute: Go out only for emergency cases (media)
• KSF raises readiness due to coronavirus (Koha)
• Pristina Mayor: Stay at home! (Klan Kosova)
• US Embassy calls on leaders to set aside differences (media)
• Malisheva Mayor: Every village has visitors from Italy (media)
• Hundreds of Kosovars from Italy came to Restelica (Indeksonline)
• "If citizens aren't totally isolated, disastrous consequences" (media)

Number of confirmed coronavirus cases reaches 16 (media)

Most news websites report that there is another confirmed case of coronavirus in Kosovo totalling now to 16 cases. According to Indeksonline, a Kosovo national that arrived from London on Monday was confirmed to be infected with the virus.

President considering state of emergency (Indeksonline)

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci is considering declaring a state of emergency in the country after the increased number of coronavirus cases, sources in Thaci's office told the news website on Monday.

Thaci urges citizens to stay at home (media)

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci took to Twitter to call on the citizens to stay home due to the coronavirus.

Closely following the #COVID19 situation in #Kosovo. State institutions are taking precautions to minimize further spreading. I call on citizens to remain calm & #StayAtHome. We’ve built strength, solidarity & trust from challenges in the past & together we’ll come out stronger!

Health Institute: Go out only for emergency cases (media)

Kosovo's National Institute for Public Health said this morning that citizens need to have increased caution, keep distance from one another and go out only for emergency cases.

Health Minister Arben Vitia also called on the citizens to help manage the created situation and to follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and the National Institute for Public Health.

KSF raises readiness due to coronavirus (Koha)

The news website reports that the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) has raised its operational readiness and created an on duty unit based following the decisions of the Kosovo Government and the order of the KSF Commander, to handle the situation created with the coronavirus.

Pristina Mayor: Stay at home! (Klan Kosova)

Pristina Mayor Shpend Ahmeti in a video interview to the news website from his home called on the citizens of Pristina to avoid going out except for emergency cases.

Ahmeti criticised two groups of citizens. "We have two extremes. One group of citizens who are not afraid and are not taking the situation seriously and another group that is making great panic. We are dealing with a virus that has a low fatality rate but with a very wide spread. "We need to be careful not to spread the virus to those who are more exposed," he said.

US Embassy calls on leaders to set aside differences (media)

The United States Embassy in Prishtina issued the following statement on Monday evening:

Viruses know no borders.  Now is not the time to let domestic and regional political differences keep us from helping one another in this collective time of need.  As President Trump recently said, “We are all in this together. We must put politics aside, stop the partisanship, and unify together as one nation and one family. Our future remains brighter than anyone can imagine.  Acting with compassion and love, we will heal the sick, care for those in need, help our fellow citizens, and emerge from this challenge stronger and more unified than ever before.”

We urge all leaders locally and in the region to set aside political differences and focus on the needs of their citizens.  Working together and supporting one another is the answer to this challenge.

Malisheva Mayor: Every village has visitors from Italy (media)

Malisheva Mayor Ragip Beqaj said on Monday evening that every village in this municipality has visitors from Italy. He said Albanians from the diaspora in Italy came to Kosovo for visits. "We need additional engagement. We are expecting aid from the government," he said. Malisheva has been placed in quarantine since Saturday.

Hundreds of Kosovars from Italy came to Restelica (Indeksonline)

The news website reports that hundreds of Kosovars living in Italy recently came for visits to the village of Restelica, in Dragash municipality. Dragash Mayor Shaban Shabani confirmed the information but said all necessary measures have been taken by the municipal authorities.

"The Restelica diaspora mainly lives in Italy. Many families have returned but we have taken all necessary measures. We have launched the emergency service. The majority of returnees have been checked and so far there are no persons with symptoms of the coronavirus," he said.

• "If citizens aren't totally isolated, disastrous consequences" (media)

Several news websites quote an Albanian professor living in Italy as saying that if the citizens of Kosovo are not totally isolated and stay at home during this period, "there will be catastrophic consequences".

"Two weeks of sacrifice are nothing. If you dont learn from the lessons of China and North Italy, then you are irresponsible people," she added.