PM Says Government Has Done Utmost to Protect People's Health
ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - Recapping the year-long fight against COVID-19, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday the government had taken appropriate measures and done its best to protect people's health, thanking people for behaving responsibly and understanding a situation no one could have predicted.
The first coronavirus case in Croatia was registered a year ago today. Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Plenković said that from day one the necessary protective equipment had been provided and the continuation of education and activities in culture and the arts taken into account.
The economy has been taken into account the entire time, he said. "Job-retention measures have been very abundant. We never thought we would give so much money to retain jobs in the private sector, to workers, employers."
Pensions have been paid as well and the number of the jobless has been as before the pandemic, Plenković said.
"And we have done all that while ensuring financial stability in such a way that Croatia is keeping its investment credit rating and stepping through the European Exchange Rate Mechanism towards the euro area... We have concluded good financial arrangements both with the HNB (Croatian National Bank) and the European Central Bank, with Croatian banks and pension funds, with all stakeholders who have made it possible for everything to function."
Plenković regretted that certain activities had been restricted. "That's not something we are doing because we want to, it's what all governments are doing, all countries around the world, to protect people's health."
Vaccine distribution needs to be stepped up
Plenković said he would push for stepping up the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines at EU level which, he added, the European Council would discuss today, in order to vaccinate as many people as soon as possible, notably those most vulnerable.
"I'm confident the announcement of 700,000 doses in total by the end of March will be a strong barrier against the spread of the epidemic, and we expect even larger quantities. Our message today will also go to the EMA (European Medicines Agency) to approve vaccines more quickly, first and foremost Johnson&Johnson's, which is under way and which we have ordered in 900,000 doses."
Plenković said the government had reserved the vaccines on time, even more than necessary in order to vaccinate everyone over 18 years of age, with 6.8 million doses ordered to date. "We will continue to make an effort, the responsibility is big."
He extended his condolences to the families of the 5,500 Croatian citizens who have died "of COVID or with COVID."
"Those are great losses. We sympathise with their families. We regret it very much. And I thank all fellow citizens for behaving responsibly and understanding the context which has been going on for a year and which no one could have planned for."
Expectations for Croatia's Economy at Highest Level Since Pandemic Outbreak
ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - Expectations for the Croatian economy increased in February to the highest level since March 2020 reflecting the wave of optimism in the services and retail sectors, as business leaders signalled a lower demand for workers, a European Commission report showed on Thursday.
In February, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) was 94.1 points, or 3.9 points higher than in January, which was its highest level since March 2020 and the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Its value, however, is below the long term average of 100 points.
The greatest improvement was observed in services confidence, increasing by 6.5 points. Retail and industry confidence improved significantly, by 4.8 and 3.3 points respectively, reaching their highest level since March 2020. A mild improvement was registered in construction confidence and in consumer confidence, up 1.7 and 1.6 points month on month.
Business leaders, however, signalled a decline in the need for workers in the coming period, with this index falling to 90.3 points or by 3.4 points m-o-m, which is its lowest level since June last year.
Slight improvement in EU and euro area
Economic sentiment in the EU and the euro area in February registered a mild growth of 1.9 points to 93.1 and 93.4 points respectively, the EC said in its report.
The highest increase in the EU and euro area was in industry confidence, of 2.4 points in the EU and 2.8 points in the euro area.
Services confidence improved by 1.1 points in the EU and by 0.6 points in the euro area.
The slightest improvement was observed in consumer confidence - 0.8 points in the EU and 0.7 points in the euro area while construction confidence remained unchanged compared to January.
Retail confidence deteriorated, with the index falling by 0.5 points in the EU and by 0.6 points in the euro area.
Business leaders expect that they might step up hiring in the coming period so the Employment Expectations Indicator (EEI) increased by 1.7 points in the EU and by 1.8 points in the euro area, the EC report showed.
President Supports Student Association of Mechanical Engineering Faculties Project
ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović on Thursday met with a delegation of the Student Association of Mechanical Engineering Faculties (HSA-SF), who presented their FSB Racing Team, which has been constructing racing cars for 17 years and competing at intentional competitions.
The FSB Racing Team project is one of the biggest student projects in Croatia. It has 117 members from various faculties of Zagreb University and so far it has built nine racing cars and has successfully competed at international Formula Student races, the association's leader and project head, Mislav Bošnjak, explained.
The students said that they had built the first electric racing car in Croatia and in the region, and were now transforming it into an autonomous vehicle so they can be the first Formula Student team in Croatia to build a self-driving racing car.
The students said that their mission was systematic transfer of the know-how which they consider to be the most valuable part of their project.
The project is mostly financed with donations and sponsorships while the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture has supported the team from the very start. Their sponsors also include the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing as well as more than 80 companies from Croatia and abroad which have recognised the potential of the project.
President Milanović expressed his full support for the project, telling the delegation that what they were doing was important and that they should always compare themselves and compete with the best.
Stay Safe in Croatia: New Croatian Travel Label Officially Presented
February 25, 2021 - Stay Safe in Croatia is the new national safety label by the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian National Tourist Board.
HRTurizam reports that the application of safety and health protocols and the vaccination of tourism workers will certainly be an important element of Croatia's perception as a safe destination.
To this end, the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian National Tourist Board presented the national safety label - Safe Stay in Croatia. In addition to the already well-known World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) label Safe Travels, a national label named 'Safe Stay in Croatia' was created.
Through the Safe Stay in Croatia project, business and customer treatment protocols have been designed in tourism and tourism-related activities. The Safe Stay in Croatia label is awarded free of charge to stakeholders from the Croatian tourism sector and others who are part of the travel chain, such as carriers, airports, stations, nautical ports, and marinas, who log in to the system and fill out an admission form of current health and safety recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.
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The Safe Stay in Croatia label enables guests to identify destinations, accommodation providers, transport, tourist attractions, and the like who have adopted national and world standards of health and hygiene protection. The prominent Stay Safe in Croatia label provides information to all visitors that the tourist facility of their interest operates according to the current recommendations of the World Travel and Tourism Council and the Croatian Institute of Public Health.
"During the preparations for this tourist year, in which, unfortunately, we are still followed by a pandemic, we have put the safety and health of our fellow citizens and guests in the first place. It is a project in which the Ministry of Tourism and Sport was supported by leading tourist and professional associations in the Council for the Recovery and Development of Tourism, to realize the 2021 tourist year, and improve the tourist offer. With the prescribed protocols, we have covered more than 200,000 caterers and service providers in tourism," said Nikolina Brnjac, adding that it is important to ensure that the national label is available to all stakeholders in the tourism and travel chain, which has been achieved.
The Croatian National Tourist Board is in charge of the promotional campaign.
"We will carry out campaign activities during March and April in the markets of Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, France, and the Netherlands. In addition to the promotional part, which refers to the positioning of Croatia as a well-prepared and safe tourist destination, this campaign has an educational character because we want to introduce our guests to protocol and epidemiological measures implemented at all levels of tourism to ensure a safe and comfortable stay in our country," said Kristijan Staničić, adding that advertising activities, including through video, will be carried out on online channels and social networks with #SafeStayInCroatia and the most read online portals in these markets.
The Safe Stay in Croatia promotional campaign will be implemented instead of the PPS campaign before advertising the main calling brand campaign, in March and April, in the markets of Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, the UK, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, France, and the Netherlands.
Advertising will be carried out through online channels through social networks with #SafeStayInCroatia (Facebook and Youtube) and the most read online portals in markets such as web.de, t-online.de, oe24.at, krone.at, corriere .it, onet.pl, Daily Mail, The Sun, Novinky.cz, 24.hu, Lefigaro.fr, aktuality.sk, etc., according to the CNTB.
A promotional video of 3 minutes and a shorter version of 30 seconds was created for advertising purposes. Shorter videos will be made covering security protocols by certain categories (accommodation structure, catering, transport, nautical, attractions, etc.).
"Users will have the opportunity to leave their impressions through the form on the website, which is important feedback that we will be able to use for further upgrades," said Brnjac and invited all interested stakeholders in the tourism sector and related activities to join Safe stay in Croatia campaign, download the security labels for free and thus contribute to the perception of Croatia as a safe destination.
It is imperative that everyone in tourism clearly displays the Safe Stay in Croatia label on their facilities. Also, for Croatia to present itself as a safe destination, it is important that the labels, like all other accompanying video and photo materials, are communicated through social channels with the market and guests.
The video materials present safety protocols that respect the guidelines of the Croatian Institute of Public Health and the World Council for Travel and Tourism, refer to all categories in tourism - accommodation; nautical; catering; tourist attractions; tourist guides, agencies, and information centers; traffic; attractions; sports and recreation.
Find out more about the national safety label - Safe Stay in Croatia on the official website www.safestayincroatia.hr. It is important to point out that the web platform has been translated into eight foreign languages and the Croatian language.
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Government Says All of Earthquake Relief Donations to be Spent on Reconstruction, Housing
ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - All of the HRK 101.5 million collected in donations for earthquake relief will be spent on housing reconstruction - the demolition of damaged houses and construction of new ones - in the earthquake-struck areas, the government said on Thursday.
The government adopted a decision on the distribution of donations to the state budget for earthquake relief, allocating that money to a special account of the Central State Office for Reconstruction and Housing.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković denied media reports that only 40% of the donations would be used to rebuild quake-damaged houses and that the rest would be allocated to four ministries.
"I wish to deny media reports that appeared today. The distribution of the funds will be completely different from what has been reported," said Plenković, adding that the donations collected would be "spent on reconstruction in the earthquake-struck areas."
"There must be no unclarities about that," said Plenković.
Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said that by 24 February a total of HRK 101.5 million had been collected in donations and that the money would be allocated to the Central State Office for Reconstruction and Housing. It will be used to remove damaged houses and build new ones as well as perform other work within the remit of that office, he said.
Any donations that are received subsequently will also be allocated on a monthly basis to the central reconstruction office, he said, adding that the office is obliged to report to the government each month as to what the money has been spent on as well as publish this information on its web site.
"We have been informing the public in the most transparent way of donations received and will continue to do so," said Marić.
He said that an assessment of the damage caused by the 29 December earthquake in Sisak-Moslavina County is being made and that it was likely to exceed by far that for the Zagreb earthquake.
The main source of financing for the reconstruction process will be the state budget, that is, taxpayers' money, and there is also money from the EU Solidarity Fund and international financial institutions, he said.
PM Appeals for Caution Despite Better COVID-19 Situation
ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that Croatia's weekly COVID-19 numbers had been falling for the past ten weeks, dropping almost eleven-fold.
"In relation to last Thursday, we are registering a certain growth on the weekly level, but at the moment we can't say with certainty what the causes of this trend are, whether it was because of the cold, the relaxation of measures or a broader relaxation in the model of behaviour," he said at a cabinet meeting, appealing for continuing to be very cautious.
He said that together with Denmark, Croatia had the lowest weekly incidence of new infections in the EU.
"We have several smaller clusters in a couple of counties so we shouldn't be too relaxed at the moment," Plenković said.
"We are trying to protect health, the economy, keep up financial stability, salaries, pensions, job-retention aid, and everything we are doing, we are doing in the interest of Croatian citizens."
Minister Says 28,000 COVID-19 Patients Hospitalised to Date
ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Thursday today was one year since the first COVID-19 case was registered in Croatia and that over 28,000 COVID-19 patients had been hospitalised and that a little under 13,000 health workers had been infected.
"The health system was ready for the virus and continued healthcare has been ensured through good reorganisation and adjustment," he said at a cabinet meeting.
"The health system's resilience is also characterised by the ability to plan for and adjust to unplanned circumstances in order to maintain a vital activity. Although occasionally significantly overwhelmed, the health system remained stable and vital functioning was not in danger. That shows the strength of our profession, the medical personnel and organisation."
Beroš went on to say that last year saw a rise in cancer hospitalisations and that this showed the health system's special care for those patients.
251,070 vaccine doses in Croatia to date
Regarding the current epidemiological situation, he said there was a mild increase in new coronavirus cases.
To date 251,070 COVID-19 vaccine doses have arrived in Croatia and 135,756 people have been vaccinated - 77,245 once and 58,511 twice. In Zagreb, 926 older persons and chronic patients have been vaccinated as part of the second vaccination stage.
To date 991 side effects to the vaccines have been reported, mainly mild and passing reactions, Beroš said.
Summer is Coming: Aeroflot Flights to Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik and Maybe Pula!
February 25, 2021 - Summer is well on its way, with the announcement of Aeroflot flights to Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, and maybe Pula!
Croatian Aviation reports that Russian national airline Aeroflot plans to resume traffic to Croatia at the end of April.
Russian airline Aeroflot suspended traffic to Croatia in the spring of 2020 and has not operated on regular flights to Croatian airports since. However, in the summer of 2021, the company plans to return to Croatia, with the announcement of a new route to boot.
The company currently plans to resume traffic on the Moscow-Zagreb-Moscow line from Thursday, March 11, once a week. From Thursday, April 29, daily flights are available between the two cities with A320 aircraft.
Aeroflot previously announced the start of traffic on this route and then postponed it, but this summer there should be a direct airline between the capitals of Moscow and Croatia. Interestingly, Aeroflot resumed traffic to Ljubljana a few days ago and has been operating to Belgrade for a long time.
From June 1, the Moscow-Split-Moscow should be in traffic again, also daily in the summer flight schedule. As in previous years, Aeroflot will use a larger aircraft on this route - A321.
The company plans to re-establish the Moscow-Dubrovnik-Moscow route in the upcoming summer flight schedule, but the schedule has not yet been confirmed and tickets on this route are not yet on sale on the company's official website.
A positive surprise could be a Moscow-Pula-Moscow line, but Pula airport confirmed that negotiations are currently underway and that they hope that Russia's national carrier will decide to establish a line to and from Pula this summer. As soon as the traffic on this line is confirmed and the tickets are on sale, Croatian Aviation will announce the news.
Aeroflot is the national and largest airline in the Russian Federation. The company was founded in 1923, which makes it one of the oldest in the world. According to the announcement from February 1, 2021, the company's fleet consists of as many as 236 aircraft with an average age of only 5.7 years. The fleet consists of:
19 B777,
47 B737,
01 A350,
16 A330,
33 A321,
72 A320,
48 SSJ100.
The company mainly uses A320 and A321 aircraft on the routes to Croatia, while on the route to Zagreb, the Russian SSJ100 is mainly planned in the winter months. In addition to point-to-point passengers, Aeroflot transports a significant number of passengers (mostly tourists) from China, South Korea, and Japan, so the occupancy of aircraft to Croatia will largely depend on passenger restrictions to and from these countries and their ability to travel.
Under normal circumstances, Croatia Airlines operates in the summer flight schedule on the Zagreb-St. Petersburg-Zagreb route. However, this route has not yet been announced by the Croatian national airline for this year's summer flight schedule.
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Croatia Reports 544 New COVID-19 Cases, 12 Fatalities
ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - In the past 24 hours 544 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia and 12 COVID-19 patients have died, the national COVID response team said on Thursday.
Currently there are 2,933 active cases, including 790 hospitalised patients, of whom 70 are on ventilators.
A total of 12,869 people are self-isolating.
To date 1,327,769 people have been tested for the virus, including 6,433 in the past 24 hours.
Since 25 February 2020, when the new virus was first registered in Croatia, 241,592 people have been infected, of whom 5,489 have died.
A total of 233,170 people have recovered, including 278 in the past 24 hours.
Prime Minister Plenkovic: Cafe Terraces Can Open on Monday
February the 25th, 2021 - Prime Minister Plenkovic has announced that Croatia's cafe terraces will be able to finally open again as of Monday, which is likely to delight many who are missing coffee culture.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, in addition to information on the current situation related to the spread of the ongoing coronavirus and earthquake, the agenda of a recent government session also includes the decision on the distribution of the donations of funds paid into the Croatian state budget in the action called "Assistance for reconstruction after the earthquake", which you can read more about here.
At the beginning of the recent government session, Prime Minister Plenkovic, as as become usual, summarised everything that had been taken up until that point.
"Our [coronavirus] numbers have been falling for ten weeks now. When compared to last Thursday, we've unfortunately had an increase,'' he said.
''Whether this is down to the cold weather, the easing up of our anti-epidemic measures, or some wider easing, we must continue to maintain a great level of caution. Along with Denmark, we are the country with the lowest incidence in the entire EU,'' said Prime Minister Plenkovic in the introduction.
"After a series of consultations with all departments, the intention is to enable the operation of catering ans hospiality facilities on their terraces and in their open spaces from March the 1st with the prescribed epidemiological measures implied," said Prime Minister Plenkovic, adding that indoor sports activities will also be enabled.
He also spoke about extending economic assistance to Croatia's enfeebled enterprises, which he says will be discussed in more detail.
''We mustn't be overly relaxed. If the situation gets worse again, more restrictive measures can always be taken," he concluded.
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