More lockdown measures imposed in Bosnia, Serbia

All non-essential shops, bars and restaurants have been closed over the weekend in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia due to rising coronavirus infections.

Authorities in Bosnia imposed measures after doctors warned the virus has "exploded" in recent days, and urged people to respect the restrictions already in place.

Bosnia has so far confirmed more than 5,000 deaths related to COVID-19.

Authorities on Saturday said a further 42 people have died in the past 24 hours, with 1,058 new infections in the country of 3.3 million people.

Vaccination in Bosnia has been slow with the stalled arrival of jabs through the COVAX program.

The Balkan nation has received 10,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Serbia, while the country's Serb-dominated region has acquired Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.

In neighbouring Serbia, authorities also ordered non-essential shops to close for at least the weekend in the face of rising case numbers.

The government-appointed crisis body said the measures will take effect on Friday evening and last until Monday, when authorities will decide on how to proceed.

Belgrade resident, Branko, who didn't give his last name, said he believed "they (bars and restaurants) should be closed for longer period of time".

Meteja Bijelic, who also lives in the capital, said it was "better something than nothing, but I think we are late with measures."

Serbia has recorded more than 4,000 new infections each day over the past week, with doctors warning the number of hospital patients is rising despite the success of the national vaccination program.

The country of 7 million so far has vaccinated more than 1.5 million people with at least one dose of a COVID-19 shot, which is among the highest rates in Europe.