Croatia's Covid-19 case count rose by 37 in the last 24 hours, reaching 1,741 on Wednesday, and two more people died since Tuesday from the infection, bringing the death toll in the country to 33.

This is the lowest single-day increase in cases recorded in Croatia since March 20.

On March 19, strict restrictions were rolled out nationwide to enforce social distancing. All non-essential stores and businesses were closed, as well as bars and restaurants. Individuals were ordered to keep a distance between each other of at least 2 metres indoors and one metre outdoors and social gatherings were banned. 

All the measures were introduced for a period of 30 days, a deadline which expires on Sunday. Head of Croatia’s crisis management team in charge of dealing with the crisis, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, said on Wednesday evening that the measures would most likely be extended, but did not specify for how long. 

“As we have said again and again, the most important thing is that we’re following expert advice. Epidemiologists say that there needs to be a drop in new cases for five to seven days in a row before we can relax any measures,” he said. 

Last week, Slovenian government had also said it was considering relaunching production in some industries after Easter, provided that the people continue to comply with the restrictions put in place to enforce social distancing. 

However, Slovenia’s epidemiologists have recommended on Monday that restrictions should remain in force, saying the situation in the country was not yet stable enough to consider relaxing any measures. 

On Wednesday, 28 new cases in Slovenia were confirmed, bringing the total to 1,248, while the death toll rose to 61 after five more people have died in the last 24 hours. 

Case count in Bosnia continued to rise as well, standing at 1,110 on Wednesday at noon, with the death toll at 41. 

Serbia remains the worst-hit country in the region, with more confirmed cases than Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia combined. 

On Wednesday, the health authorities in the country reported a single-day increase in cases of 408, bringing the total case count to 4,873. Five more people died since Tuesday, and the death toll in the country now stands at 99.

Mid-March, Serbia had introduced some of the strictest measures in Europe in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus, banning all inter-city transport, closing most border crossings, as well as imposing a nationwide curfew.

North Macedonia also confirmed new cases, 66 since Tuesday. The official case count in the country now stands at 974 with 45 deaths.