On courage in difficult times

"Courage is grace under pressure".

― Ernest Hemingway

Being an avid fan of Hemingway, during these past months, his saying often came to my mind. Then, there is this one by Mandela: "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

I am sure that almost everyone on Earth has been in the same place of fear, doubt, and uncertainty during the coronavirus. Not only coronavirus struck us, but also the fires in Australia, the undeserved death of George Floyd, earthquakes, tsunamis, political unrest in several countries. 2020 has been harsh on us all.

Courage is not something that only comes in grandiose moments, but also in everyday life. It can be simple and quiet and it can very well reflect in the smallest of our everyday moments. It is ultimately the strength we draw during the most difficult times. To move forward, to take a step towards altering our mindset.

Courage is sometimes just getting out of bed in the mornings when the anxiety overpowers. It is ending the toxic relationship you’re trapped in for so long. It is showing up for someone in this sometimes hostile world we live in. And, in the time of coronavirus, it is our ability to look past this situation, practice empathy, respect each other, show up for our loved ones and stay calm and peaceful with a positive mindset. It is continuing the small steps towards a better life, despite it all.

As much as we had hope for the travels and encounters with amazing people from all over the world this summer, especially since Montenegro became the first coronavirus free country in Europe in May, at this moment, we believe that traveling should be postponed for some better and safer times.

The coronavirus situation will stabilize soon enough and we will again have the world in our palms. Montenegro is waiting for you when all this ends. If you miss traveling as we do, explore your own country and discover all those places you wanted to discover, but did not have time.

Coronavirus update in Montenegro 04.07.2020

Montenegro did everything in its power to preserve the status of a coronavirus-free country, however, due to a large number of imported cases, at this date, 04.07.2020, we have 325 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Montenegro.

In the last 24 hours, the laboratories of the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro (IJZCG) completed the analysis of 475 samples, among which 47 results were positive.

These are patients from Rozaje (17), Podgorica (16), Tivat (5), Danilovgrad (2), Budva, Petnjica, Andrijevica, Bar, Herceg Novi, Cetinje and Niksic 1 patient in each city.

Out of 47 newly discovered cases, 28 are contacts of previously confirmed cases, while 17 patients are looking for a source of infection.

"One death was reported in a patient born in Rozaje in 1953. This is the thirteenth death since the beginning of the novel coronavirus. Since the beginning of June, the total number of registered cases is 339, there are four deaths and the number of active cases is 335," Institute of Public Health announced.

The active cases by municipalities are:

• Rozaje 94

• Podgorica 92

• Berane 28

• Bijelo Polje 19

• Budva 16

• Gusinje 14

• Bar 12

• Pljevlja 10

• Tivat 8

• Cetinje 8

• Danilovgrad 8

• Niksic 6

• Petnjica 6

• Ulcinj 4

• Herceg Novi 4

• Kotor 3

• Tuzi 2

• Andrijevica 1

• Kolasin 0

• Mojkovac 0

• Plav 0

• Pluzine 0

• Šavnik 0

• Žabljak 0