Croatia decides new restrictions as virus surges

By DARKO BANDIC
Associated Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian authorities will limit gatherings and widen the use of COVID-19 passes to curb soaring infections after the numbers of infected people reached new records again on Friday. The country’s crisis team says the new rules for gatherings will apply starting Saturday while the use of COVID passes will take more time to prepare. Like much of Central and Eastern Europe, Croatia has seen a huge rise in infections and hospitalizations in the past weeks due to low vaccination rate and relaxed virus rules. Most countries in the region have vaccination rates of about 50% or less, lower than EU average.