The number of people infected with the coronavirus in Croatia is growing for the fifth week in a row, Health Minister Vili Beros warned on Thursday, adding that Croatia is witnessing an epidemic of the non-vaccinated population, who make up the large majority of those newly infected, hospitalised, or killed by the virus.

In the past two weeks, of the nearly 3,700 new infections, a staggering 85.7 percent were confirmed in unvaccinated people, Beros said. Out of 221 patients who were hospitalised with the virus, more than 87 percent had not been vaccinated.

“The number of the infected persons has gone up 50.6 percent in the past week,” Beros said, warning that the slow rate of vaccination remains cause for great concern.

Between late June and August 17, 254 people have died of the infection, 80 percent of whom had not been vaccinated. None of the 20 fatalities under 60 years of age had been vaccinated, Beros said.