Health Minister Vili Beros said on Friday after a visit to Pula General Hospital that the number of coronavirus infections per one million inhabitants was still lower in Croatia compared to the European Union's average, but due to the rise in the number of new cases, there was no room for relaxation.

According to Minister Beros, Croatia’s 14-day rate of new cases was at 33%, but he added that the figures were not yet alarming.

There is a trend of growth, but Croatia has 338 cases per one million inhabitants, which is lower than the EU average of 630 cases. The figures are even higher in some countries. For example, in Germany there are 1,200 and in Slovenia 700 infections, Beros said.

Variants Ba4 and Ba5 have accounted for over 60% of cases in Croatia over the past few weeks, added Beros, inviting citizens, especially older people with chronic diseases, to get vaccinated.

The existing vaccines, too, protect from the new variants and more severe infections, the minister said, adding that Croatia would get vaccines for new variants in September.

Beros also confirmed there was an increase in the number of hospitalised patients and those on ventilators, but he said that the ratio of hospital patients to the number of active cases was much better than last autumn.

The minister also announced that next autumn, the Croatian health system would get a new IT system with referrals for oncology patients, thanks to which patients with a suspicion of malignant disease would get a specialist examination within three weeks.