Coronavirus: New cases rise by 30%, hospitalisations up 15% on weekly basis

Furthermore, a share of the British variant of the virus is increasing, he added.

In the last seven days, there have been 5,669 new cases of the infection as against 3,966 in the week before that, which is a rise of 30%, he said.

"We cannot be satisfied with the latest developments since we have already shown that we could fare better," Beros said.

"We are the only ones who can turn this negative trend around," the minister said, appealing for compliance with the advice given by "professionals who insist that only discipline and adherence to measures and vaccinations have no alternative."

To date, 219,231 Croatians have been vaccinated with one dose of the two-dose vaccine, and an additional 73,897 have been inoculated with both doses against the coronavirus infection.

The HALMED regulator has received 1,818 reports of suspected side-effects.

Considering the occurrence of reported side-effects there are no differences between Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots, the minister said. The occurrence rate is 0.5% and a majority of side-effects are mild, he added.

Croatia has procured an additional 169 ventilators which have been distributed to 29 hospitals.