Serbia on Thursday reported that more than five million COVID vaccine doses had been administered in the country since the start of the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout plan.

The country’s authorities today started lifting restrictions on opening hours and allowing sporting events and gatherings with a limited number of spectators and participants.

EU ambassadors agreed on Wednesday that Serbia should be placed on the list of safe countries from which travel to the EU was allowed, along with the United States, Albania, North Macedonia, and Taiwan.

The Serbian health authorities said that since the start of immunisation on 24 December 2020, a total of 5,029,548 doses of vaccines against the coronavirus had been administered. Of this number, 2,668,973 people received the first dose and 2,360,575 both doses.

About 44.3 percent of the population have received at least one dose while 40.07 percent have received both doses. The City of Belgrade leads in the vaccination campaign, with 52.2 percent of its residents vaccinated.

As one of the measures to stimulate the vaccination campaign, the government on Thursday started paying out 3,000 dinars (25 euro) to all citizens who had been vaccinated by 31 May.

One of the decisions by the national coronavirus crisis management team to ease COVID-19 restrictions is a regulation allowing foreign tourists cruising along the Danube to enter Serbia with a negative rapid antigen test. This is an important step towards the recovery of the economy, Tourism Tatjana Matić said.