Serbia’s doctor: New Year’s mass festivities on a par with premeditated murder

He added that would lead to several thousand newly infected daily after Orthodox Christmas, celebrated on January 7 according to Julian calendar.

“The rise comes because people have relaxed, and the omicron strain is highly contagious. Besides, many vaccinated or those who had COVID-19 have their immune response weakened. So, we are entering the new year with a vulnerable population,” he said.

Radovanovic has been a bitter critic of the country's Crisis Response Team from the very beginning, accusing its medical part of listening to the politicians instead of their profession.

He added the existing anti-epidemic measures were “ridiculous,” almost non-existent, and even as such, not implemented in practice.