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| - There are no more hospital beds available for Covid-19 patients in Serbia's capital Belgrade, a minister warned Thursday as the country and its Balkans neighbours struggle with record numbers of cases. "No one has been left without care," but some patients have been sent to hospitals elsewhere in the country, Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar said. A total of 3,343 virus sufferers are currently in hospitals throughout Serbia, including Belgrade. However, the minister, speaking to lawmakers, did not specify whether the lack of beds included a large field hospital reopened last month for patients with milder symptoms. The country of seven million people on Wednesday confirmed record 3,536 daily cases and 21 deaths. Serbia now registered over 70,000 infections and 955 deaths from the respiratory disease since the pandemic began. President Aleksandar Vucic in a televised address to the nation on Thursday said Serbia had "secured" 1.8 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, the first of which should be available by the end of the year. "We will do our best to secure as much vaccine as possible and end the fight against Covid as one of Europe's most successful countries," he said. US government scientist Anthony Fauci said Thursday that the coronavirus vaccine "cavalry" is coming, while cautioning that "it isn't here yet". Neighbouring Croatia and Bosnia have in recent days also reported record numbers of virus cases and fatalities. On Monday Bosnia registered a record 73 deaths while Croatia on Thursday had its highest daily number of infections, 3,082 cases. "We are now facing the most difficult moment of the pandemic," Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told a government session Thursday and urged the respect of restrictive measures to fight the spread of virus. The Balkans region, one of Europe's poorest with the most fragile medical infrastructure, has registered more than 300,000 Covid-19 infections. The disease has claimed some 6,500 lives in the region with a population of more than 20 million people. mbs-ljv/pvh
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