The Republic of Serbia facing the challenge of preserving the health of citizens amidst falling economic activity and the need for credit

This article reviews the initial experiences of Covid-19 in Serbia in the context of other pandemics during the 20th century. The author reviews the data on life expectancy, with a particular eye on the air pollution from which Belgrade suffers particularly badly and which had reached unprecedented levels immediately prior to Covid-19, as well as the pandemic’s initial impact on mortality and on key life events including marriages and divorces. The main focus is human life and work, as well as the consequences for the economy, and the author reports in detail the response of the government of Serbia in terms of the declaration of the state of emergency as well as the measures set out to mitigate Covid-19’s economic impact. She concludes from prior experience that the Covid-19 pandemic will, one day, be stopped but that what remains as an open question is the consequences it will leave behind across all segments of human activity. Nevertheless, what is quite certain is that, after the pandemic has taken its toll, it will have left the Republic of Serbia with additional credit indebtedness in the long run.