About a third of all coronavirus tests taken in Croatia in the last 24 hours came back positive, Health Minister Vili Beros warned on Thursday, saying that hospitals around the country would be mobilised to cope with the increase in hospitalisations.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Beros said that nearly three quarters of those infected and hospitalised over the past week had not been vaccinated. Among Thursday’s new cases, 27 percent were people under the age of 20 while 60 percent were aged 20-40.

“The health system is preparing for new, additional burdens,” he said, and the Ministry’s crisis management team concluded on Wednesday the number of beds and intensive care units in Zagreb must be increased.

Arena Zagreb centre for treatment of COVID-19 patients is also set to reopen.

The ministry has instructed county civil protection teams and health centres to reopen COVID departments to relieve the pressure on hospitals.

Beros said there was increased interest in vaccination, with 3,790 more people receiving the first dose in the first three days of this week compared to last week.

He said 56 percent of adults and over 88 percent of doctors have been vaccinated, and urged everyone, notably the elderly, to get vaccinated. More than 14,000 persons have received a booster shot, he added.

The head of the national COVID-19 crisis management team, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, said the increase in new cases showed that people did not comply with COVID rules as much as they should.

That is why police, civil protection, and state inspectors will step up the monitoring of compliance in public transport, hospitality establishments, shopping centres, and at public gatherings, including weddings, Bozinovic warned.