A total of 1,972 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, the largest number in a single day since the start of the epidemic in March last year, and 72 infected people have died in the last 24 hours.

After slightly over 5,600 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, the infection was confirmed in 1,286 persons in the Bosniak-Croat Federation entity, 601 in the Serb entity of Republika Srpska and 85 in Brcko District.

Major clusters were registered in the country’s largest cities – more than 500 new cases were recorded in Sarajevo, 270 in Mostar and 155 in Banja Luka.

The infection has continued to spread across the country despite the tight restrictions over the last four weeks. Hospitality establishments are closed in most of the country, and an overnight curfew is in place in the Federation.

Since the start of the epidemic, slightly fewer than 170,000 people have been found to be infected with the novel virus after 780,000 tests conducted. A total of 6,525 people infected with Covid-19 have died, which puts Bosnia and Herzegovina among the countries with the largest number of coronavirus-related deaths.

According to the American Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Bosnia and Herzegovina now ranks seventh in the world, with 193.36 deaths per 100,000 people. Slovenia ranks sixth, with 194.64 deaths, and Croatia 22nd with 144.5 deaths per 100,000 people.