Balkan Countries Step up Restrictions as Local Hospitals Get Overloaded

Struggling with surging COVID-19 infections, several Balkan countries said on Wednesday that they would step up restrictions in hopes of easing the pressure on their overburdened health systems.

Doctors in Bosnia's capital of Sarajevo warned that infections have "exploded" in recent days and urged people to comply with pandemic regulations. Illustrating the rise in infections, long queues of people waiting to see doctors formed outside COVID-19 wards and outpatient clinics in the city.

On a positive note, the first AstraZeneca vaccine doses donated by neighboring Serbia, were administered in Sarajevo on Wednesday.

Bosnian authorities said that all bars, restaurants and non-essential shops in the Sarajevo canton will be shut during this weekend.

More than 1,000 new infections and 37 deaths over the past 24 hours were reported on Wednesday.

"These are hard days, and once again we appeal to citizens to be maximally vigilant and to take care so they can help us to keep the health system stable," said Ismet Gavrankapetanovic, head of the Sarajevo General Hospital.

In Serbia, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the government-appointed virus crisis body most likely will meet on Thursday to decide on tighter measures for the upcoming weekend.

The country of 7 million has given more than 1,5 million people at least one dose from an array of vaccines including China's Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Russia's Sputnik V, and Astra-Zeneca, placing Serbia among countries with the highest vaccination rates in Europe. Nonetheless, Serbia is reporting more than 4,000 new infections daily and doctors have described the situation as alarming.

The government has launched a campaign to encourage people who have not yet been inoculated...