ZAGREB, 13 Jan 2022 - In 2021 the government allocated HRK 14.3 million for relief from the consequences of natural disasters, with HRK 640,000 of the amount going to 14 municipalities and cities in Zagreb County.

Natural disasters were proclaimed in April and July in Zagreb Cunty when frost and sleet caused huge damage to agricultural crops, county authorities recalled.

Government aid for 14 counties

Last year natural disasters in Croatia ranged from sleet, icy rain, frost, drought, and hurricane winds.

The government allocated support for as many as 154 cities and municipalities in 14 counties.

The highest amounts were allocated to Virovitica-Podravina County (HRK 5.5 mn), Bjelovar-Bilogora County (HRK 3.5 mn), and Koprivnica-Križevci County (HRK 1.2 mn).

Damage caused by natural disasters last year valued at more than HRK 2.1 billion

Of the total of HRK 14.3 million allocated as support, HRK 13.9 million was paid to compensate for damage to crops while a small portion or HRK 357,000 was paid for damage caused to buildings.

According to official data, last year natural disasters caused damage exceeding HRK 2.1 billion.

Damage reported to agricultural crops was estimated at HRK 975 million, while damage to buildings and municipal infrastructure amounted to HRK 1.1 billion.

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ZAGREB, 13 Jan 2022 - The rate at which the Omicron coronavirus variant is spreading is alarming and it has started to cause serious problems in the health system due to a growing number of doctors and other medical staff who cannot go to work due to infection or compulsory self-isolation.

According to data from the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ), 800 nurses and 353 doctors who work in medical institutions are positive or in self-isolation, reports Jutarnji List.

The KBC Split hospital operates without 36 of its doctors and as many as 82 nurses, the KBC Zagreb hospital has 29 doctors and 68 nurses who are either positive or in self-isolation, while the KBC Rijeka hospital operates without 17 of its doctors and 37 nurses.

In the KBC Zagreb hospital, 186 workers did not show up for work on Tuesday while on Wednesday 244 did not show up. In the city's KB Dubrava hospital, 65 medical staff were in isolation and self-isolation on Tuesday.

"We are still not in trouble, but if the number of employees who are in isolation and self-isolation continues to grow, that could become a problem. We are concerned. Most of our positive employees are vaccinated so they have very mild or no symptoms but regardless of that, they cannot show up at work," said KB Dubrava director Ivica Lukšić.

The head of Zagreb's Sisters of Charity Hospital, Davor Vagić, is of the same view, and notes that the number of employees who cannot come to work because of infection or self-isolation keeps growing, which, at some point, could become a problem.

KBC Zagreb hospital assistant director Milivoj Novak says the situation is still not alarming but an increase of as much as 76% in the number of positive employees in a single day does not look good.

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.

ZAGREB, 13 Jan 2022 - In November 2021, 204,000 passengers passed through Croatian airports, which is 270.6% more than in November 2020, and the number of flights increased by 55% to 4,354, according to the data provided by the State Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

This is a decrease of 42% compared to the pre-pandemic November 2019, when 351,000 passengers transited through Croatian airports. November 2021 generated 58.2% of the passenger traffic in November 2019.

In terms of passenger traffic, Zagreb Airport ranked first, with 162,000 passengers, 286.6% more than in November 2020. It is followed by Split Airport with 26,000 passengers or 225.9% more while Dubrovnik Airport saw 13,000 passengers or 206.2% more than in November 2020.

The most significant international passenger traffic was to airports in Germany, with 51,000 passengers or 304.3% more than in November 2020, when 13,000 passengers were recorded.

DZS data show that in the first eleven months of 2021, 4.5 million passengers transited through all Croatian airports, an increase of 116.9% from the first eleven months of 2020. In that period there were 56.3% more flights or a total of 80,894. Cargo transport through Croatian airports increased by 13.7% to 7,959 tonnes.

Compared to November 2020, cargo transport increased by 28.3% to 829 tonnes.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

ZAGREB, 13 Jan 2022 - Croatia has logged 9,157 new COVID cases and 23 related deaths in the past 24 hours, with the latest infections putting the number of active cases at 55,500, the national COVID-19 response team said on Thursday.

Among those infected are 1,755 people who are hospitalized, including 216 on ventilators.

Currently, 22,292 persons are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 794,190 people have been registered as having contracted the new virus, of whom 13,006 have died, while 725,684 people have recovered, including 6,685 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 3,941,654 people have been tested to date, including 19,786 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 4,901,094 vaccine doses have been administered, with 56.06% of the total population or 66.76% of adults having been vaccinated.

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.

January 13th, 2021 - Rijeka’s biggest annual event was rescheduled for the summer due to epidemiological measures currently in effect

The city of Rijeka was just about to enter the so-called fifth season of the year - the carnival. St. Anthony’s Day on January 17th kicks off the festive season of carnival parades, costumed parties and related traditional customs such as the burning of the Pust effigy.

However, preparations came to a halt earlier today when the City of Rijeka announced that the two central events won’t be taking place in February as they usually do.

The International Carnival parade and the Children’s Carnival Parade were postponed until early summer 2022, as confirmed by Rijeka City Mayor Marko Filipović.

‘Unfortunately, due to the new strong wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the need to adhere to strict epidemiological measures, the Rijeka Carnival cannot take place in its full scope at present, which is why the central carnival events won’t take place at the time they usually do’, said Filipović.

The two parades won’t be cancelled in full this year, but have instead been rescheduled for early summer, a season in which a better epidemiological situation is expected.

‘The International Carnival Parade and the Children’s Parade are postponed until the beginning of the summer and I hope that the pandemic won’t mess with our plans again at that time. The same goes for the Charity Masked Ball, which was also rescheduled for the summer’, said Filipović.

He went on to add that some of the carnival events haven’t been rescheduled, such as the traditional ceremony that kicks off the carnival season in Rijeka: on Monday, the key to the city will be handed over to the Carnival Master.

Petar Škarpa, the director of the Rijeka Tourist Board, also commented on the City’s decision to reschedule the two grand parades.

‘Even though we all eagerly anticipate the carnival season, we’re aware that the present time is particularly challenging, that we have to be responsible and carefully consider the dangers that holding the Rijeka Carnival at this moment could cause. The epidemiological situation is dire all over the country and as long as that’s the case, the Rijeka Carnival cannot take place in the form that we’re used to. The carnival is a festival of costumes, joy, fun and gathering, and this is exactly what we need to give up temporarily, keeping in mind the health of our citizens and guests, as we hope to return to normal as quickly as possible’, said Škarpa.

The Tourist Board director also said that despite all their efforts to come up with an acceptable alternative way of holding the popular parades within the restrictions of the current epidemiological measures, it became clear that any alternative would mean forsaking the essence of the carnival - a day when people don masks to forget all their troubles and enjoy the festivities in absolute freedom.

‘We hope and believe that things will improve by summer and that we’ll be able to focus on sweeter kinds of worries, e.g. what costume to put on when it’s 25°C outside. Let’s use the months ahead to be even more creative and come up with new ideas that will further improve the quality of Rijeka’s best known tourism product’, said Škarpa.

He added that the Rijeka Carnival is proud to host carnival groups and interested visitors from all over the world each year, and expressed his hope that the new carnival dates will be seen as an opportunity by those who have always wanted to see Rijeka, but perhaps had no chance to visit the city thus far.

Small-scale events are moving forward according to schedule, such as the Carnival Days of Laughter, a programme of 4 attractive comedies to be performed at the HKD Sušak.

January 13, 2022 - So where was the most beautiful Advent in Croatia in 2021? The results are in, and a celebration of Slavonia, Full of Life. 

I am still smiling from my 6-day trip to Slavonia and eastern Croatia back in November. Such an incredible, action-packed trip, and I genuinely think it was my most enjoyable week exploring of my 18 years in Croatia. 

In Slavonia.

In November. 

Osijek in particular opened my eyes to a truth that they are not telling you in Zagreb - that Slavonia is actually VERY Full of Life. Or perhaps they don't know. This is entirely possible when the Croatian National Tourist Board publishes 'promotional' articles on inflight magazines and cannot even find the right river that flows through Osijek. Read more in A Slavonian Geography Lesson for the Croatian National Tourist Board.

You can read about the magic of eastern Croatia and our 6-day trip in Time to Tell the Truth about Slavonia Full of Life. I encourage the Kings to read it as well - they might learn a few things about Croatian tourism in the east. 

Thankfully, Slavonia does not have to rely solely on the Croatian National Tourist Board to get its message across, and a very nice bit of PR, powered by the voice of the people, as Osijek has been voted the Most Beautiful Advent in Croatia 2021.

The vote, organised by the website Gradonacelnik.hr (the Croatian word for Mayor) held a 9-day poll of Advent in Croatia in 44 cities and towns, but there was only one winner with the most likes - Osijek. 

Closely followed by another continental Advent in Croatia - Varazdin. I visited both last month, and both were very impressive. 

And with Vinkovci in third and Slavonski Brod in fourth, it was a strong showing for continental and eastern Croatia. Having travelled a lot around Croatia, I can honestly say that the Advents away from the coast in general have a lot more soul, and apart from Zagreb, no other city comes close for winter living and life than Osijek. 

There is a LOT of ignorance about what can be found in eastern Croatia, both in Zagreb and the rest of the county. There is SO much more to the east than war, Vukovar, and emigration. It is time that that story was told in full. Small little awards like this are one tiny step in that direction. Congrats to all concerned. 

To learn more about Osijek, check out the Total Croatia Osijek in a Page guide. 

January 13, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia with more bad news for Zagreb Airport as 5 Ryanair Zagreb lines have been canceled and KLM reduces the Amsterdam-Zagreb line until the end of January. 

Croatian Aviation reports that Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair canceled 12 scheduled flights from Zagreb in January this year. The number of weekly departures to 4 more international lines has been further reduced, and the airline has now made additional changes and canceled 5 more lines until the beginning of March!

Passengers were sent notices about the canceled flights last night, in which it is clearly stated that they are not entitled to compensation in accordance with EU 261 regulations. Of course, the airline offered passengers a free change of date or refund, but the bigger problem is that according to most cities where the cancellation occurred, there is no option of a direct flight with another airline from Zagreb.

Route cancellations until March:

Zagreb - Dusseldorf Weeze, from March 2,

Zagreb - Frankfurt Hahn, from March 4,

Zagreb - Naples, from March 4, 

Zagreb - Oslo Torp, from March 2,

Zagreb - Sofia, from March 2. 

By canceling these flights, Ryanair will have 88 fewer return flights from Zagreb Airport in February, and consequently 15,840 fewer seats.

Croatian Aviation also reports that Dutch KLM has reduced the number of weekly flights on the scheduled flight between Amsterdam and Zagreb. Until January 10 this year, KLM operated twice a day between the two mentioned cities, arriving in Zagreb in the afternoon and evening.

Due to reduced demand, KLM has canceled certain evening flights to Zagreb, which depart from Zagreb to Amsterdam at 6 am the next day.

Namely, until the end of January, KLM will operate from Amsterdam to Zagreb in the evening flight three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, while afternoon flights between the two cities remain in daily traffic. In total, by the end of January, the airline will have 10 weekly flights between the capitals of the Netherlands and Croatia.

According to the schedule, KLM should operate 14 times a week or twice a day between Amsterdam and Zagreb at the beginning of February, but the realization of flights will depend exclusively on passenger demand, which is still determined by the pandemic and passenger restrictions in Europe.

The Croatian national airline, Croatia Airlines, operates daily between Amsterdam and Zagreb in the morning, with aircraft from the A320 family.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

January 13, 2022 - Great news for Marin Čilić as he has advanced to the Adelaide International semis for the second week in a row. 

Marin Čilić will play in the semifinals of the ATP Series 250 tournament in Adelaide for the second week in a row! In the quarterfinal match, he celebrated against American Tommy Paul, the 41st player on the ATP list, 6:4, 2:6, 6:3.

The decision fell in the third set after a break in the eighth game, in which Čilić came to his second victory in his second match against the American player. Čilić recorded 14 aces during the match with a first-serve percentage of 58 percent and used two of the eight break points. 

His opponent in the fight for the final will be the winner of the match between Kokkinakis and Vukić.

Recall, Marin Čilić lost in the semifinal of the Adelaide International 1 last Saturday. The best Croatian tennis player lost to Karen Khachanov (ATP 29) 7:6 (3), 6:3. This was the first victory for the Russian in their third meeting. Čilić was better in Cincinnati in 2018 (7:6, 3:6, 6 4) and last year in St. Petersburg, where he beat Khachanov 6:4, 6:7, 6:4 on the way to the title.

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo advanced to the final of the same tournament last weekend but lost to Rohana Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan. However, Dodig and Melo have advanced to the semifinal of the Adelaide International 2 and will face Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski on Friday.  

In other news, Ana Konjuh lost in the quarterfinal match in Adelaide against Cori Gauff.

Third-seeded Cori Gauff, the 19th tennis player in the world, was too high an obstacle for Ana Konjuh in the quarterfinal match of the WTA 250 Series tournament in Adelaide. The American player came to victory in two sets - 6:3, 6:4.

Ana kept the score in the first set to 2:2, and in the second to 3:3, after which Gauff created an unattainable advantage. The Dubrovnik native recorded a total of five aces with a first-serve percentage of 54 percent and used two of the three break points (the American four of 11).

Source: HTS

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