SARAJEVO, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) recorded 29 COVID-19-related deaths in the past 24 hours, almost double the daily average in the second half of February, according to the official count on Wednesday.

Data from the Institute for Public Health of the Federation of BiH (FBiH) show that 22 deaths were registered in this BiH entity.

BiH had had an average of 15 COVID-19-related deaths per day during the second half of February, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH.

A total of 894 new cases were reported in the country in the past 24 hours, a sharp increase from the average daily count of 350 cases in mid-February.

Edin Forto, the prime minister of Sarajevo Canton, said that 345 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized in this Canton and 205 beds are still available should the situation worsen.

Forto added that his government will meet Thursday with the health authorities to discuss the possibility of stepping up the preventive measures.

In Tuzla Canton, some 120 km north of the capital Sarajevo, all bars and restaurants have been ordered to close before 8:00 p.m. due to the surge in new cases, according to the local government on Wednesday. The new measure takes effect immediately and will stay in force till March 18.

To date, BiH has registered 133,982 cases of COVID-19 and 5,174 deaths, according to the official count.

Mass vaccination has not yet started in BiH as the country is still waiting for the delivery of more than 1.2 million vaccine doses acquired through the COVAX Facility, a global initiative aimed at ensuring rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, as well as vaccines acquired from the European Union (EU).

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in an increasing number of countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.

Meanwhile, 258 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 76 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain, and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Tuesday. Enditem

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