Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic warned on Thursday that the coronavirus epidemic was not waning and the number of COVID-19 deaths in Croatia had exceeded 11,000, once again calling for adherence to epidemiological measures and vaccination.

“11,000 (dead) is an enormous number,” the prime minister said at the start of Thursday’s cabinet meeting. The situation demands that we continue to adhere to basic epidemiological measures – mask-wearing, physical distancing, ventilation, hygiene and avoidance of large gatherings, he added.

Plenkovic said that over the past week, 474 people died of COVID and as many as 70 percent of them had not been vaccinated. The people who died and who had been vaccinated had other serious underlying conditions, he said.

“The message that it is necessary to get vaccinated continues to be the strongest message we can send, both politically and health-wise,” said Plenkovic.

To date, 2.2 million people in Croatia have received at least one vaccine dose, which is 64.5 percent of the adult population.

Plenkovic once again appealed to all citizens to trust experts and to get a booster dose if they are in a position to do so.