Although the delta variant of coronavirus has spread to a large extent in Europe and is dominant in many European Union (EU) countries, no cases of this highly contagious and dangerous formof COVID-19 have been registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) since the beginning of July.
The first cases of the delta strain in BiH were discovered at the beginning of July, two in the municipality of Ljubuski and one in Citluk, but no new cases have been confirmed in health institutions in both entities since then.
The Institute of Public Health of the Federation of BiH (FBiH)confirmed that they were not reported new results of sequencing after July, and mentioned that 137.653 people got infected with COVID-19 in this BiH entity from the beginning of the pandemic to August 23rd this year, while 5.570 died of this virus.
Also, the Institute for Public Health of the Republika Srpska (RS) confirmed that currently, they do not have a confirmed delta variant in this BiH entity, but that there is a gradual increase in the number of newly infected and hospitalizedpeople.
“If all epidemiological measures are not respected and if citizens are not vaccinated in the planned scope, for which a sufficient amount of vaccines is provided, we will continue to mark the increase in the number of infected people,” said Nina Rodic Vukmir, head of the Epidemiology Service at the Institute for Epidemiology of the Public Health Institute of RS.
She warned that the increase in the number of patients is a consequence of insufficient compliance with epidemiological measures, contact with persons with sources of infection, and these are patients who became infected either abroad or in this area.
“On this occasion, we call on all citizens to be vaccinated as soon as possible, in order to stop this trend of increasing the number of infected people,” stated Rodic Vukmir.
At least 211.689 people have been infected in BiH since the beginning of the pandemic, while 9.770 people have died as a result of COVID-19, according to the state Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) estimated in a report published in late July that the delta variant of coronavirus would make up to 90 percent of all SARS-CoV-2 viruses circulating in the EU by the end of August, Buka writes.
E.Dz.
