A lab in Bosnia and Herzegovina has detected the UK and South Africa coronavirus strains among the set of 93 samples that previously tested positive for the coronavirus, the Institute for Clinical Microbiology of Banja Luka University Clinical Centre confirmed on Friday, adding that one sample showed the presence of both strains.

The Institute initiated further analyses of the coronavirus tests given the fact that the end of February marked a significant increase in positive tests and the number of those who needed hospitalisation as a consequence of Covid-19.

The first set of samples covering the period of the first half of March contained 93 samples of which 66.66 % showed the presence of N501Y mutation, which makes two-thirds of the total.

One of the samples was positive for both UK and South Africa strains, according to the Institute.

Republika Srpska, one of two Bosnia's semi-autonomous regions, confirmed on Thursday 521 new coronavirus cases out of 1,290 lab test performed over the past 24 hours. The region has so far recorded more than 50,000 coronavirus cases and some 2,500 deaths among Covid-19 patients.