BELGRADE, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Montenegro confirmed 221 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday by performing 980 tests -- which local experts said was a serious, 22.55 percent increase in the infection rate.
Data from the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro show that the number of new cases doubled compared to the previous week, when the country with a population of some 600,000 registered less than 100 new infections per day.
Igor Galic, director of the Institute of Public Health, told public broadcaster RTCG that the infection rate increased as a consequence of frequent contact between people and non-adherence to the preventive measures.
The country has maintained its face mask mandate on public transportation and in medical institutions.
The coronavirus-related hospitalization rate and death rate are both decreasing in the country, making the situation better than last summer, according to Galic.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,729 people have died of COVID-19 in Montenegro, where 239,989 infections have been confirmed so far.
