COVID-19 UPDATES: Bosnian doctors start getting sick with Covid-19

Reuters/Flavio Lo Scalzo

22.30 Four employees of Sarajevo University Clinical Centre have been infected with the new coronavirus, hospital's general manager Sebija Izetbegovic confirmed for N1, adding that all four are the medical staff of the Gastroenterology Clinic, which is now closed due to the onset of the virus.

22:00 Tuzla University Hospital closed one of its wards after two of its employees tested positive for coronavirus, N1 learned Wednesday evening.

After the Sarajevo University Hospital temporarily closed its gastroenterology ward earlier on Wednesday, Tuzla University Hospital did the same with its skin diseases clinic following the news of two infected employees.

N1 also learned that two employees of the Vrazova health centre in Sarajevo's biggest municipality of Centar tested positive for Covid-19. The health centre provides primary health care to a total of 70.294 residents of this municipality, but also some services to residents from other municipalities as this is one of the best equipped primary health care centres in the nation's capital.

16:28 The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has surpassed 450 already in the first half of the day on Wednesday and health authorities from all over the country keep reporting new cases by the hour.

The latest confirmed coronavirus patients are five nuns from the Monastery in Medjugorje, where health authorities said the situation is alarming because those infected there had a lot of contact with others.

Another four people tested positive for the virus in Sarajevo Canton, bringing the total there to 28, said the head of the Canton Sarajevo Crisis Headquarters, Aida Pilav.

A new COVID-19 patient was also confirmed in the town of Jablanica in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, the head of the Public Health Institute, Nermin Avdic, said, adding that the Canton has seen nine new cases in total in the past 24 hours.

Two more people tested positive in the Central Bosnia Canton as well, in the towns of Vitez and Gornji Vakuf, the head Public Health Institute there, Sead Karkas, confirmed.

The Civil Protection Headquarters in the West Herzegovina Canton, also confirmed that two more people, one from Siroki Brijeg and another from Posusje, have tested positive.  

10:48 Healthcare authorities in Bosnia confirmed Wednesday morning 23 new cases positive for the novel coronavirus, 17 in Republika Srpska (RS) region and six new in the Federation (FBiH).

According to Alen Seranic, the RS Health Minister, health condition of nearly 12,000 persons in this part of the country is being monitored.

So far, 1,806 have been tested and 243 turned out positive.

As for the Federation, two cases were recorded in its Tuzla Canton, which now has 39 confirmed cases, and four more in Herzegovina region.

08:06 Four new patients tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Bosnia, two from the capital Sarajevo and other two from the central Zenica-Doboj Canton, general manager of the Sarajevo clinical centre Sebija Izetbegovic told local media.

Bosnia saw the most rapid increase in the number of the infected on Tuesday, with dozens of new patients in both of the country's semi-autonomous regions, the Federation (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS).

By Wednesday morning, the total increased to 427, of which 17 have recovered.

Milan Buzanin is one of the patients who cured of COVID-19. He was part of a cluster in the southern town Konjic.

As soon as he found out that a man, with whom he recently attended an event, tested positive for the novel coronavirus, he reported it and self-isolated.

Speaking to Radio Free Europe, Buzanin said he was disciplined and never felt fear. He suffered rather minor symptoms with fever, and his treatment included a higher dosage of vitamin C, hot drinks and occasionally paracetamol pills.

With three more casualties on Tuesday, Bosnia's death toll stands at 13.