Over the past week, new coronavirus cases in Croatia increased 25 percent week-on-week, so the existing anti-epidemic measures will remain unchanged after 15 March, the country's Covid-19 task force said in a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday.

Interior Minister, Davor Bozinovic, said that he hoped that the restrictions would not have to be ramped up. “The numbers are growing. However, there aren’t any particular (outbreak) hot spots,” he added.

Over the past 24 hours there were 7,499 coronavirus tests conducted, and 962 . or 12.8 percent – returned positive. There were also four more deaths, increasing the total death toll to date to 5,625. Currently, there are 3,981 active cases, including 807 hospitalized patients, 82 of whom are placed on ventilators.

The head of the country’s public health service HZJZ, Krunoslav Capak, said that the 25 percent rise in cases was mainly due to “family and private gatherings.”

He added that 429 samples out of 1,200 sent from Croatia to the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) have been genetically sequenced so far – 123 samples were identified as belonging to the so-called British strain of the virus, and another 115 to the Czech strain. More results are expected next week.

Capak said he estimated that if vaccinations continue according to plan, Croatia could have half of its 4 million population immunized by the summer.