Forty-eight new coronavirus infections have been confirmed in Croatia on Thursday, bringing the total in the country to 1,011, health authorities said, while the death toll reached seven after one more person has died from the virus-related complications.

The seventh victim, a 90-year-old man with severe underlying conditions, died on Wednesday in Zagreb’s Dubrava hospital.

Health Minister Vili Beros said that to date, 8,352 samples have been tested, 672 in the last 24 hours, adding that the current situation regarding managing the outbreak in the country was good, mainly because citizens were complying with the health authorities’ recommendations.

“There is room for optimism, but we cannot get complacent,” he said.

He also commented on reports from the southern cities of Zadar, Split, and Sibenik, which showed that young people there continued to gather in cafes, despite the strict social distancing measures imposed nationwide earlier in March which included closing all restaurants and bars as well as banning all public gatherings.

“That behaviour is not acceptable. They are endangering not only themselves, but also their families and the health of the entire nation. I’d urge everyone to be patient and wait for this to end. There will be time for relaxing together, but until that time, we must all be disciplined and extremely cautious,” Beros said.

To date, 8,352 samples have been tested, 672 in the last 24 hours.

Death toll in Serbia reaches 31, Bosnia reports new cases

Serbia reported 111 newly confirmed cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 1,117 on Thursday, with three more deaths recorded in the same period, according to the country’ official tracker website.

With the latest three deaths, the death toll in the country now stands at 31.

Earlier in March, Serbia introduced draconic measures, among the strictest in Europe, aimed at battling the outbreak. A nationwide 12-hour curfew was rolled out on March 19. The country’s military also took over the management of hospitals and border crossings.

On Wednesday, the government decided to limit the flow of information by ordering public and health officials at all levels to report to the central epidemic task force exclusively, i.e. eschew all media enquiries. After the move was met with strong criticism, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced on Thursday the decree limiting release of information would be revoked.

Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic, announced on Thursday evening that additional curfew would be introduced from Saturday at 1 pm until Monday 5 am, on top of the already existing curfew, in effect from 5 pm to 5 am every day.

Bosnia and Herzegovina reported 73 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 532, while three more people died from the virus since Wednesday. So far, Bosnia reported 16 fatalities altogether and 20 people have recovered.

In neighbouring Slovenia, 56 new cases were reported on Thursday, bringing the country’s total to 897, with 16 deaths reported to date.