The head of Zagreb's University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Alemka Markotic, said on Monday that analyses would soon begin to see if a new strain of the coronavirus had already reached Croatia.

The new strain, discovered in the United Kingdom, spreads faster and causes more severe complications.

“Very soon we will start analysing samples from more severe patients. We will compare swabs taken in areas where the infection spread fast, such as those in the north of the country, with those from other areas of Croatia as well as with those from the first wave,” Markotic said

She said that larger numbers of coronavirus infections and related deaths had been reported across Europe, including Croatia, in the second wave of the epidemic.

“We can see that the second wave of the epidemic in Europe and Croatia differs in terms of intensity and the number of infections and deaths and that it cannot always be explained in terms of epidemiological measures. There is a wide range of factors that need to be taken into consideration,” Markotic said.

She added that the mutation in the virus identified in the UK could be responsible for severe conditions caused by the coronavirus, including severe cases of pneumonia.

Markotic said there were no indications that the COVID-19 vaccines developed so far would be ineffective against the new strain.