Croatia's northern Varazdin County is among Europe's most affected regions in terms of coronavirus cases, with the seven-day incidence of 500 cases per 100,000 population, the head of the county coronavirus task force, Robert Vugrin, said on Thursday.

Vugrin visited a vaccination point in a high school in the town of Varazdin on Thursday morning, where 1,500 people were expected to get vaccinated during the day.

Vugrin said that there had been 145 new cases confirmed in the county over the past 24 hours and warned about the increase in the number of new cases after Easter. In two weeks since 1 April, the seven-day incidence went from 250 to 500 per 100,000 people.

The numbers of people needing hospital care also rose, with 132 patients currently housed at the Varazdin General Hospital, including 19 on ventilators.

However, death rates dropped compared to November and December 2020, with 15 fatalities in March and 19 so far in April, he said.