The paper analyzes the specificities of Serbia’s response to coronavirus. Two most important issues during the pandemic were the role of the State and the management of migration flows. Being placed in the China–Russia–EU triangle shaped the response on the crises but also the image of the country in the world. Two phenomena shaped mobility patterns. Citizens returning from abroad were caught between accusations of spreading the virus and a plea for healthcare and other key workers from the Serbian diaspora to help in Serbia. The issue of refugees and migrants attracted significant amounts of positive public attention, but in parallel with that xenophobia arose as a new attitude as part of aggressive campaigns against them. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.