Could Croatian Public Services Grind to a Halt Under Omicron Pressure?
January the 29th, 2022 - Croatian public services are under a lot of pressure as Omicron puts many ZET (Zagreb electric tram) drivers into self-isolation. Could the situation become unsustainable?
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Omicron is spreading like wildfire through Croatian public services, and due to the large number of employees on sick leave or in self-isolation, some basic functioning issues have been caused.
The most dramatic situation at the moment can be found in Zagreb's ZET, which is lacking as many as 390 bus and tram drivers. Every fifth ZET driver is off work.
"I'm familiar with the problems ZET is dealing with at the minute. The new strain of the novel coronavirus has created some major problems in public affairs. A large number of employees working for Croatian public services are in self-isolation. This is difficult to organise properly as we're learning that drivers are becoming infected literally overnight. Some corrections have been made as far as the lines are concerned, the schedule has been reduced, but all in all, I don't think that people are overly affected by this situation,'' said Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic.
Railway traffic is also in trouble, and HZ passenger traffic (putnicki prijevoz) is afraid that this is just the beginning. One line, on the Osijek-Bizovac route, has already been interrupted.
"On Thursday and Friday, passengers will be transported by buses on that line. There's a noticeable upward trend in the illness of our employees and our employees being put into self-isolation,'' they said from HZ. At the moment, 19 workers who are employed as train staff and 21 workers who are machine staff aren't at work, and another 12 of them are in self-isolation owing to coronavirus infection, Jutarnji list writes.
In Zagreb's Cistoca, on the other hand, a concerning number of 70 workers are currently on sick leave, and there are only 2050 of them all together. So far, they say, this doesn't seriously affect their functioning, but it might. Coronavirus is also being regularly encountered at the Student Centre here in the capital. There are currently 45 workers in self-isolation.
"Existing workers are being redeployed to Student Centre restaurants where the sick leave rate has increased, so we're bridging this situation," director Mirko Bosnjak explained.
The situation is a bit better for the Public Fire Brigade in the City of Zagreb, as there are currently only 3 coronavirus positive employees, and 3 more are in self-isolation.
"We have a total of 330 workers, and we've been lucky, if I may say so, that not too many of them became infected at once, it's been happening little by little,'' revealed Commander Sinisa Jembrih.
Other Croatian public services which don't immediately spring to mind like ZET drivers might are also facing issues. Customs officers are very much struggling with the spread of Omicron. At the moment, 106 of them are infected or in self-isolation, but the Customs Administration has assured Jutarnji list that the traffic of goods and passengers across border crossings, as well as at internal customs offices, is being dealt with regularly.
"Constant chaos"
Varazdin County has had no particular problems with people being off sick or needing to be in self-isolation while working for the Croatian public services there, but it does have a problems with school and education system employees. the students of three schools are still taking online classes due to the spread of Omicron among their teachers. This number is posing an issue every day and recently a further 31 teachers became infected, and 15 of them were placed in self-isolation.
Medjimurje residents have a bigger problem with their local healthcare workers, although so far there are have been no real problems with the organisation of their work. There are about 30 employees currently ''out of service'' due to coronavirus.
Over in Pula, due to the current situation with the spread of Omicron, most of the Croatian public services affected are the General Hospital and the Teaching Institute for Emergency Medicine. According to the director of the Pula General Hospital, Irena Hrstic, this month alone, 155 of their staff fell ill, out of a total of about 900 employees. Of course, these aren't all solely health professionals.
"We're in a state of chaos all the time, so that hasn't changed. But, we're working and covering ourselves as much as we can, so we do double, triple and all kinds of shifts,'' she pointed out.
In the Vukovar-based utility company Komunalac, which provides waste collection services in the city, there are 35 workers out of 223 sick or in self-isolation, which is almost 16 percent of the total number of their employees. However, according to the company's director Igor Strangarevic, they're still managing to do everything they need to do.
In the Osijek Public Utility Company, 10 out of 88 firefighters are off work, which is why, according to Commander Zoran Paksec, they've shifted their work into three shifts, so people rotate more often.
For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.
Ryanair's David O'Brien: We Opened 80 Croatian Routes, Hired 180 Staff
January the 29th, 2022 - Ryanair's arrival in the City of Zagreb has been a fantastic move for all of us residents of the capital who are keen to travel elsewhere in Europe for next to nothing. With only Croatia Airlines and their often unjustified ticket prices for basic economy flights being the only option for many for years, the Irish low-cost carrier's presence is reassuring for frequent flyers. David O'Brien of Ryanair has stated that the company has opened more than 80 new Croatian routes, and hired 180 new staff members.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, although the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic has led to changes and temporary reductions in some Croatian routes, Ryanair has almost fully met its expectations since last year's opening of its Zagreb Airport base.
This was confirmed by David O’Brien, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ryanair Group for Lauda and Malta Air - the aircraft under this brand have been stationed by Ryanair at Zagreb Airport.
"Zagreb is a metropolis of one million inhabitants within its surroundings, and so many more people gravitate to it. Based on our rich experience I can say with certainty that the planned 3.5 million passengers per year is a very conservative estimate. It will probably grow even more in the coming period,'' said O'Brien, who visited Zagreb recently and announced some new Croatian routes and three more aircraft to be based there.
Ryanair were observing Zagreb for a very long time...
He added that the Croatian capital has been in Ryanair's focus for a long time now and that he is happy that they finally managed to open up a base here, not only the route, but also the base.
"We've long viewed Zagreb as Lufthansa's backyard because the fact is that, although there are other carriers, you actually have to use Lufthansa and its partners to go anywhere in Europe. Ryanair wants to change that and be a quality competition that will give Croatia's residents and passengers coming to Zagreb a much better and cheaper service,'' stated O’Brien.
He added that Ryanair currently has six routes to Croatia country this year - Zagreb, Zadar, Rijeka, Pula, Split, Dubrovnik, of which there are bases in Zagreb and Zadar where it holds three aircraft.
“We've opened more than 80 Croatian routes and created 180 direct jobs. This is a total investment of 600 million US dollars from Ryanair in Croatia, and all this without a single euro of any state subsidies from the government, unlike the 12 million euros that Croatia Airlines receives annually,'' he explained.
He added that Zagreb as an air destination differs from the other five in Croatia because it is the capital city, which is a model that, for airlines, means that it has a year-round interest in travel, and also that it can represent a short trip of just several days.
For the base in Zagreb itself, O'Brien pointed out that this is an investment totalling 300 million US dollars, given that three aircraft are or will be based there, each worth about 100 million dollars
"We've remained in operation throughout the entire coronavirus pandemic and our aircraft occupancy is solid, standing at over 85 percent. However, the emergence of the Omicron strain has led to certain disorders - France and Germany previously banned arrivals from the United Kingdom, Morocco banned arrivals from many European countries, and many other European countries introduced their own individual travel restrictions.
Therefore, we had to temporarily reduce the number of flights by about 30 percent, which was followed by reductions in flights related to Zagreb, but we expect a recovery from March onwards and that in the summer of 2022, we should reach 100 million passengers,'' assured David O 'Brien.
For more on Croatian routes by air, land and sea, check out our travel section.
Normal Croatian Easter Tourism This Year? Good Pre-Season Expected
January the 29th, 2022 - Could Croatian Easter tourism this year look anything like the ''old normal'' from back in pre-pandemic times this year? It seems so as optimism for the pre-season is high.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, this may not be being indicated by the current booking rates, which have slowed down and in some unfortunate cases stopped due to the current epidemiological situation, but the pre-season in Croatia will certainly still function according to the last minute model, without significant organised traffic to speak of.
"This year, we're entering the pre-season under significantly different circumstances than we did over the past two years, which gives us a sense of optimism. If the pandemic starts to subside in the spring, with the vaccination rate being higher than last year, then we have plenty of time to prepare for Croatian Easter tourism, as Easter will fall relatively late this year, and that’s a good circumstance.
Easter is closer this year to May the 1st, and we'll have, if we're lucky, the theme of filling up in terms of tourist numbers for the rest of May, as was the case back during normal years. Moreover, it could positively surprise us because our partners are confirming that people's desire to travel is very strong, and customers are now just waiting for the administration procedures to loosen up,'' said Boris Zgomba, president of the Association of Travel Agencies at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK).
In this sense, the new rules of the Council of Europe have already been well received in the sector, according to which the individual status of passengers will be looked at instead of just going by larger epidemiological maps. It is also to be expected that the chances of the country ending up in a very bad situation pandemic-wise will fall further and further as we head towards spring.
The Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) expects further growth in interest in travel and even a better pre-season than last year, and this includes Croatian Easter tourism numbers. "This is being indicated by the current course of tourist traffic. In Croatia, more than 502 thousand overnight stays have been realised so far this year, which represents 98 percent of the results from the same period back in 2019.
The highest number of overnight stays was recorded by local guests, followed by those from Germany, Slovenia and Austria. At the level of the whole of 2022, we expect the realisation of about 90 percent of the results from the record year of 2019, and the results achieved in the pre- and post-season periods will play a big role in that,'' believes Kristjan Stanicic.
When it comes to promotional activities for the pre-season, in the German market on the most important and largest travel and booking platforms such as Weg, Expedia, Reise reporter and Urlaubspiraten, a campaign will be conducted during the month of February to target those who tend to book holidays much earlier.
"There is great interest in the German market for early travel reservations. Promotional activities will be carried out in other markets that will be assessed to likely have the best response to those promotional activities, and additional optimism is being provided by information and announcements from certain European markets, such as the United Kingdom and Denmark, which will introduce much more lenient epidemiological protocols as of February which will go hand in hand with the revitalisation of the travel industry,'' added Stanicic.
More lively air traffic
From the beginning of April, a higher intensity of air traffic is expected, as well as a reduction of restrictions, ie the simplification of measures related to international travel. The Croatian National Tourist Board expects that Croatia will record a larger number of flights in the rest of the year than it did in 2021.
"The interest of airlines in programmes to Croatian destinations is at a high level, which is, among other things, certainly due to the fact that Croatia has been at the top of the Mediterranean for two years in a row in terms of the interest of tourists and tourist traffic," concluded Stanicic.
For more, check out our travel section.
Milanović Accuses Plenković Government as Most Corrupt Yet
ZAGREB, 28 Jan 2022 - President Zoran Milanović on Friday accused the government of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković as the most corrupt Croatian government yet.
"Plenković is protecting the people who are simply corrupt. I cannot call it any other way," Milanović said in an interview with RTL television.
Milanović said that Plenković's chief of staff Zvonimir Frka Petešić had deliberately registered his residence on Dugi Otok island so that he could qualify for a state-owned apartment in Zagreb.
Frka Petešić "is fully aware that what he has done is punishable under the law, yet he enjoys the prime minister's protection," he added.
Milanović rejected the idea of his being an opposition leader in Croatia. "Not only am I not, but I feel bad in this position. All this that I am saying, which I have to say and will keep on saying, is just an unnecessary burden to me. This should not be my job."
For more, check out our politics section.
ZSE: Crobex Indices Up
ZAGREB, 28 Jan 2022 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices went up on Friday, the Crobex by 0.09% to 2,125 points and the Crobex10 by 0.27% to 1,296 points.
Regular turnover was HRK 4.6 million, about 1.5 million less than on Thursday.
The most traded stock and the only one to cross the million kuna mark was Atlantska Plovidba shipping company, which turned over HRK 1.14 million. It closed at HRK 387 per share, up 4.03%.
Thirty-seven stocks traded today, with 15 increasing and 12 decreasing in price, while ten were stable.
(€1 = HRK 7.526395)
For more, check out our dedicated business section.
Croatia Had a Poor COVID Vaccination Campaign, Panel Says
ZAGREB, 28 Jan 2022 - Croatia's COVID-19 vaccination rate is lower than the EU average, and the vaccination campaign should have involved more health professionals and fewer footballers, a conference on the future of health care in Croatia was told in Zagreb on Friday.
Professor Stjepan Orešković from the Zagreb School of Medicine said that Croatia has nearly 3,500 COVID deaths per million, while in Finland this number is nearly ten times lower. He said that Croatia should look up to countries like that and their strategies.
"If you ask nurses why they don't want to get vaccinated, you will get some very rational answers, such as fear for a future pregnancy. At the start of the pandemic, we should have answered their questions and led the vaccination campaign through them rather than through, for example, footballers," Orešković said.
He said it was important not to take people who refuse to get vaccinated for fools because such an attitude would only diminish trust in the medical and pharmaceutical professions.
What nearly all European countries did at the start of the pandemic was close their borders, said Professor Iris Goldner Lang from the Zagreb School of Law, adding that several things should be considered when imposing restrictions.
"If we invoke health care, we should examine whether it can be achieved with less restrictive measures and ensure that such measures do not discriminate against anyone on the ground of nationality," she said.
Tomislav Sokol, a member of the European People's Party group in the European Parliament, supported the idea of joint purchases of expensive medicines. "Currently we have a situation where different member states pay different prices for the same medicines. However, we can certainly expect great opposition from the pharmaceutical industry."
Sokol said that Croatia should use all available EU funding to improve the equipment of its hospitals and create better working conditions for its doctors so that they would no longer emigrate to western countries.
Student Mateja Lisjak said that based on what she had learned from other panelists, the situation in most of the health care systems of EU member states was bad. She concurred with Professor Orešković that a solution should be sought in learning from the countries that have been more successful in containing the pandemic.
For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.
COVID-19 Team Head Says Shortening of Self-isolation Being Considered But...
ZAGREB, 28 Jan 2022 - Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, who heads the national COVID-19 response team, said on Friday that the team was considering shortening the period of self-isolation but that the current wave of the epidemic had still not reached its peak.
"Considering the still high numbers of new infections, we cannot say that the epidemic has reached its climax, especially when compared to other countries," Božinović told reporters at an event at which 28 vehicles for traffic police were handed over at the Police Academy.
Božinović said that one should be optimistic regarding the spring and hope that a new variant of the coronavirus would not emerge.
Commenting on the recommendation by the European Commission on shortening the validity of COVID certificates for citizens vaccinated with two doses, he said that the certificates could be issued under rules applicable to all 27 EU members.
"We must issue certificates as regulated by the EU, otherwise you are not able to cross the border. That also means shorter validity for two doses and recovery," he said, adding that a solution would be sought not to change anything for Croatian citizens.
A number of countries have shortened self-isolation to five days
Commenting on the possibility of shortening the period of quarantine, Božinović said that an important meeting would be held on Saturday between the national COVID-19 response team and representatives of the "Dr Andrija Štampar" public health institute.
"There is room for arranging things differently at the national level. Intensive talks are underway and confirmation is expected on Saturday," he said.
He added that one was considering shortening the period of self-isolation because research increasingly justifies it.
A number of countries have shortened the period of isolation to five days so as not to jeopardise their public services and the functioning of the state, he said, adding that his department did not have problems with labour shortages due to self-isolation and sick leave.
"We are not at risk but we have been thinking about it," he said.
For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.
Opposition Says There Won't Be Reconstruction as Long as Horvat is Minister
ZAGREB, 28 Jan 2022 - Opposition parties said in parliament on Friday they were submitting a motion for the replacement of Construction Minister Darko Horvat over the slow pace of post-earthquake reconstruction of Zagreb and Sisak-Moslavina County and insufficient absorption of funding from the EU Solidarity Fund.
GLAS party leader Anka Mrak Taritaš said all citizens were aware that Horvat could not do the job of reconstruction.
"PM Andrej Plenković will defend Horvat but deep down he, too, is aware that he cannot do this job. As long as Horvat is in this post, there will be no reconstruction," Mrak Taritaš, who launched the motion, said at a news conference attended by representatives of all parliamentary opposition parties.
55 signatures collected so far
"Two years have passed since the earthquake in Zagreb and one since the earthquake in Banija. Much has been said but little has been done," Mrak Taritaš said, noting that it was time for Horvat to go and that her motion was supported by 55 MPs.
Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Peđa Grbin said Horvat's incompetence was causing huge damage to the country.
"Tenders are not being conducted and again there are some firms that are being investigated by the European Prosecutor's Office over corruption scandals, as well as firms that will be given millions for reconstruction. This is a typical HDZ story and one must put an end to it," said Grbin, adding that once the deadline for the absorption of EU funds expired, Plenković's responsibility would be discussed as well.
Sandra Benčić of the Green-Left Bloc said that on 15 January the government triumphantly said that the first houses damaged in the earthquake in Krapina-Zagorje County would be demolished in the spring, exactly two years after the earthquake.
"If that is not reason enough for the main coordinator of the reconstruction process to step down, I don't know what is," she said, adding that the motion was not about muscle-flexing but about whether citizens would spend a third winter in containers and those in Sisak-Moslavina County a second. "Has the state really rebuilt fewer houses than one foundation, more specifically Solidarna," she said.
Bridge: PM assuming responsibility
Ivana Posavec Krivec of the Social Democrats group said the issue of Horvat's replacement was a matter of Croatia's future.
"If PM Plenković is not willing to replace the weakest link in his government, he is assuming full responsibility, and all those who vote for his stay assume the responsibility of inactivity. The Opposition is calling on the PM to act sensibly, this is the last moment to replace this weakest link and set reconstruction in motion. The ball is in the PM's court," she said.
Marija Selak Raspudić of the Bridge party said that by defending Horvat, PM Plenković "believes he is demonstrating his power over the Opposition, because this power play, let's be honest, is the only thing he is interested in."
She added that Plenković was assuming responsibility and gambling with his post by defending Horvat.
Selak Raspudić also pointed to the drastic, 40% increase in domestic violence across the country during the coronavirus pandemic, noting that the figure was even worse for the earthquake-struck Sisak-Moslavina County, where people were forced to stay in small housing containers.
The motion for Horvat's replacement was also supported by Emil Daus of the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS), Katarina Peović of the Workers' Front, and independent MP Damir Bajs.
Bajs said that neither the government nor its coalition partners were satisfied with the pace of the reconstruction process.
"This is the first time a minister facing replacement enjoys only conditional support from the coalition partners and the HDZ itself. Let us do something and help people start living normally," said Bajs.
For more, check out our politics section.
Croatia Near Top in EU Security-Wise, Interior Minister Says
ZAGREB, 28 Jan 2022 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Friday Croatia was near the top in the EU in terms of security, and announced the procurement of new police vehicles and equipment.
That would not have been possible had we not embarked on a comprehensive procurement of everything the police need," he said at a ceremony at the Police Academy at which 28 traffic police vans worth HRK 13 million were handed over.
Božinović announced the procurement of motorcycles and interceptor vehicles worth HRK 40 million, saying that it was an investment in comprehensive security so that Croatia could stay near the top in the EU in terms of security of its own citizens and foreign tourists.
"Besides all the equipment, we put the most trust in Croatian police officers who are on the street, in their offices, round the clock, and who at this moment, when temperatures are well below zero, are on Croatian roads and borders. All of that is a complex job coordinated by the General Police Directorate," he said.
(€1 = HRK 7.5)
For more, check out our politics section.
New Medical School Building in Pula Inaugurated
ZAGREB, 28 Jan 2022 - The completion of construction on a new HRK 61.7 million ( €8.2m)Medical School building in Pula and the start of classes were inaugurated on Friday, with Science and Education Minister Radovan Fuchs attending.
"This school is of strategic interest for the city and the county, as well as the wider area, as evidenced by student trends on the labor market after they graduate from this school, notably in primary healthcare and health tourism," the minister said.
The new premises with modern equipment will provide students with better upbringing and education conditions as well as a higher quality of acquiring knowledge and skills in demanding jobs in healthcare, he added.
The construction of the new school building, completed in less than two years, was a joint project by Istria County and the City of Pula, with both financing it equally.
Istria County head Boris Miletić said the school was near the new building of the Pula General Hospital, which was completed in December, and that a future hospice will be located nearby.
For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.
