Over the past 24 hours, 39 new COVID-19 patients have been confirmed in Croatia and eight have died, the national civil protection authority said on Sunday.

Speaking at the daily press briefing, Health Minister Vili Beros said the total number of patients was now 1,871.

So far, 24,183 samples have been tested, including 2,539 on Saturday, a significant increase on the past few days, and 7.74 percent of the tests have been positive.

Speaking of the latest eight fatalities, Minister Beros said two men aged 55 and 68 died at Zagreb’s Infectious Diseases Hospital, two men aged 70 and 84 and a woman aged 87 died in Split, a woman aged 88 died in Osijek, and a man aged 84 and a woman aged 92 died in Dubrovnik.

All had serious underlying conditions and six were on ventilators, he added.

Twenty-three patients are currently on ventilators.

As of Saturday, 332 patients have been hospitalised, 29 fewer than the day before, 402 have been discharged, 28 more than on Friday, and 307 have completed their recovery at home, 66 more than on Friday, bringing the total of recoveries to 709.

Beros said the novel coronavirus remained a big challenge for all countries and healthcare systems, announcing that measures would be taken to adapt the Croatian healthcare system and provide regular healthcare.

He said very clear instructions would be given to healthcare providers and beneficiaries next week on the new functioning of the system.

The minister also said that a plane from Shanghai with 70 tonnes of protective gear landed in Zagreb this morning and that more planes would arrive in the days ahead thanks to the government’s efforts.