Medical workers take swab samples of people at a drive-in COVID-19 testing center in Zagreb, Croatia, Oct. 31, 2020. (Zeljko Lukunic/Pixsell via Xinhua)

 
Croatia's capital Zagreb started on Monday massive free antigen tests for COVID-19 amid the pandemic that has infected over 100,000 people since February in the country.

Local authorities claim that the goal is to test 60,000 people in the first phase, and then, if needed, more. Citizens can apply for a test online, choose one of the 12 locations in the city to conduct a test, and get results within 15 minutes. Health centers appealed to the public to only resort to the test if they have symptoms.

In the last 24 hours, there were 1,973 new COVID-19 cases and 45 related deaths, the Croatian Institute of Public Health announced on Monday.

Medical workers take swab samples of people at a drive-in COVID-19 testing center in Zagreb, Croatia, Oct. 31, 2020. (Zeljko Lukunic/Pixsell via Xinhua)

 
Since Feb. 25, when the first case was confirmed here, more than 100,000 people have been infected in the southeastern European country with a population of 4 million, while 1,398 of them have died. According to the latest results, almost 30 percent of the tests returned with positive results.

Last week, Croatia introduced stricter measures further limiting public and private gatherings to contain the resurgence of COVID-19.

As the world is struggling to control the pandemic, countries across the globe -- among them Germany, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- are racing to find a vaccine.

Croatia has ordered COVID-19 vaccines from several companies via the European Union, and the delivery can be expected in the country as soon as they are registered, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said earlier this month.

Medical workers take swab samples of people at a drive-in COVID-19 testing center in Zagreb, Croatia, Oct. 31, 2020. (Zeljko Lukunic/Pixsell via Xinhua)