ZAGREB, 17 Dec 2021 - It would be safer for everyone to attend outdoor New Year celebrations and for the faithful to follow Mass on TV, the head of the national COVID-19 response team, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, said on Friday, warning that the new, Omicron variant was much more infectious than the Delta variant.

"The Delta variant spreads much faster than the previous variants while Omicron spreads much faster than Delta. We have a mix of those two variants and we must bear that in mind," said Božinović.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the coastal city of Zadar, he said that the number of new infections was growing in all four Dalmatian counties, calling on citizens to spend as much time as possible outdoors.

"We are entering the winter, people will tend to spend more time indoors and it is tremendously important that everyone takes care of themselves and not underestimate the situation," he said.

No relaxation of restrictions considering situation in Europe

Božinović noted that the latest epidemiological rules were introduced because of the situation in Europe and that there could be no relaxation of the rules.

"If the figures do not grow and if their mild decline is maintained, we will talk. It would be irresponsible of me to say anything else now because nobody knows what will happen in the next few days. It is a fact that we have a certain number of cases of infection with the Omicron variant and it is realistic to expect more rather than fewer cases. We should wait and see if the large figures in Europe result in more hospitalisations," he said.

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