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| - Serbia on Tuesday postponed April elections and introduced curfew in a bid to fight the new coronavirus, President Aleksandar Vucic said. "Elections will not be held while we fight corona. Once this is over, we will agree on a new date for elections," Vucic said in a televised address, adding that the decision was agreed with party leaders. The parliamentary elections had originaly been scheduled for April 26. Earlier Tuesday, North Macedonia also postponed its legislative elections set for April 12. Serbia, the landlocked Balkans country of seven million people, has confirmed more than 70 infected people so far and on Sunday declared a nationwide state of emergency, closing schools and its borders to foreigners. The president also said that "starting from tomorrow (Wednesday) there will be a ban on movement between 8 pm and 5 am (1900 to 0400 GMT) to everyone" except those authorised and night-shift workers. "We are introducing this to prevent further spread of the virus," Vucic said. People older than 65 in the cities and over 70 in villages will be forbidden to go out at any time, starting from 10 am on Wednesday, he added. The army will take over control of all border crossings, reception centres for migrants and hospitals, the president said. The new measures in Serbia were introduced after Prime Minister Ana Brnabic complained that older people, who are the most vulnerable group exposed to COVID-19, have ignored government's appeals to stay at home and avoid all contacts. Meanwhile, neighbouring Montenegro, the last European country not to have COVID-19-infected people, confirmed its first two cases of the new coronavirus. str-ks/spm
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