BELGRADE, July 2. /TASS/. The number of coronavirus infections in Serbia increased by 359 in the past 24 hours to reach 15,195, while the number of coronavirus-related fatalities climbed to 287, the national health ministry said Thursday.
Over the past 24 hours, six people died from the virus-related causes, one of the highest daily death tolls since the epidemic broke out. In a single day, 9,013 people were tested for the virus, while 1,996 patients are hospitalized across the country. Overall, 418,879 people were tested nationwide. Serbia’s death rate stands at 1.89%, 81 people are put on ventilators.
On June 29, the national anti-coronavirus council toughened a number of pandemic restrictions, bringing back mandatory masks in public transport and public closed spaces in Belgrade, while debating reinstating limits on public gatherings again. Fines will be issued to perpetrators.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is expected to address the nation in the coming hours to reveal new steps to combat the coronavirus spread, including lockdowns in Belgrade and a number of other cities hardest hit by the virus.
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 10,820,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 519,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 6,000,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.