Spiraling infections grip low-vaccination parts of Europe

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Central and Eastern Europe grappled with spiraling coronavirus cases on Thursday with several countries hitting new daily records in the regions, which have lower vaccination rates than the rest of the continent.

Ukraine, Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia reported their highest ever numbers of daily cases, while other countries registered the most infections in months.

Most Central and Eastern European countries have vaccinated about half of their populations or less, which is lower than the European Union average of some 75%.

Anti-virus restrictions have also varied as governments sought to boost vaccination rates rather than reimpose lockdowns and other strict measures that are widely unpopular and could hurt the economy.

In Croatia, authorities reported a record daily high of 6,310 new cases and 32 deaths. Doctors warned that pressure on hospitals was rising in the country of 4.2 million.

Croatian officials said they will announce wider use of COVID passes on Friday but no lockdown. Authorities also ordered an extension of intensive and emergency care capacity.

“The best measure against the virus remains vaccination,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said.

Alarmed by the surge, many Croats rushed to vaccination points in the capital Zagreb to get jabbed, or receive booster shots.

In neighboring Slovenia, the official STA news agency said hospitals were filling up fast, and a new record of 4,511 daily infections was reported Thursday.

Hospitals in the nation of 2 million already have scrapped non-urgent interventions to make space for COVID-19 patients. The country has introduced COVID-19 passes for the working population but the government has said surging infections could force a lockdown.

Jelko Kacin, the pandemic response coordinator,...