LATEST: Croatia confirms 39 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday

Vili Beros (Photo: Marko Lukunic/POOL/PIXSELL)

ZAGREB, March 26 (Hina) – Thirty-nine new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Croatia on Thursday, which puts their total number at 481.

“If we compare this increase with the situation on Wednesday morning, we can see that we are still keeping the situation under control. The number of those infected is not growing at an exponential rate, which is very important,” Health Minister Vili Beros said at a news conference of the national civil protection authority.

A total of 3,958 people have been tested for the virus, and on Wednesday alone 566 tests were done, which shows that testing has been stepped up, he said.

Fourteen patients are on ventilators – 8 in Zagreb, 3 in Osijek and 1 each in Rijeka, Split and Dubrovnik.

Beros said that of the total number of patients, 3% were on ventilators, which, he said, was satisfactory as previous estimates had predicted a 5% share.

National police chief Nikola Milina said that two police officers had tested positive for the coronavirus and that 90 employees of the Ministry of the Interior were in self-isolation.

Minister of the Interior Davor Bozinovic, who heads the national civil protection authority, thanked citizens for complying with instructions and decisions of the civil protection authority.

“All those who do not work in vitally important services must slow down so that resources and energy are saved for medical workers, police and security forces. The message to citizens is – stay home, let that be your task, and we are here to do our best to keep everything under control,” Bozinovic said.