Bosnia has reported a record number of daily deaths from Covid-19 with the capital Sarajevo going into lockdown next weekend for the first time since last May to combat a spike in coronavirus infections.

The Balkan country of 3.3 million, where inoculations using the Russian Sputnik V vaccine have begun only in its Serb autonomous region, reported 1,251 new cases and 48 deaths from the coronavirus, according to health authorities.

According to a Reuters report, Sarajevo, which has seen a daily average of 456 new coronavirus cases over the past week, will be partially shut down next weekend for the first time in almost 10 months as hospital capacities have been overstretched, authorities said. Only food shops, pharmacies and gas stations will stay open.