Bosnian doctors brace for new wave as virus rages in region

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Watching with fear as the coronavirus rages in neighboring countries, doctors in Bosnia are bracing for a new wave in the Balkan nation, which has a low vaccination rate and has been among the hardest hit countries in Europe earlier in the pandemic.

In the northwestern town of Banja Luka, staff in the COVID-19 ward of the city's main hospital warn that hospitalizations have been increasing in the past days and could explode soon.

Other low-vaccination countries throughout Central and Eastern Europe already have been grappling with a surge in infections that has lasted for weeks now, including Bosnia's neighbors Serbia and Croatia. Some countries have seen the highest numbers since the start of the pandemic, forcing the authorities to reluctantly contemplate tightening of anti-virus rules.

“What we have noticed in past days is that the epidemic situation is getting worse, we can surely say that,” said Danijel Djokic, head of the COVID-19 ward at Banja Luka's University Clinical Center.

“Looking at the situation in neighboring countries we can say that our numbers will increase too,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The hospital has a basic 300-bed capacity for COVID patients, and 223 have been filled already, including 32 in intensive care. During previous surges, the hospital has managed to gradually expand its capacity to some 700 beds when needed.

An increase in new infections has been reported in other parts of Bosnia too, with around 1,000 new daily infections confirmed on Thursday.

In response, authorities in the capital Sarajevo have expanded vaccination possibilities, instructed schools to organize vaccination courses and announced that they are monitoring the situation for possible new restrictions if infections...