ZAGREB, 11 January, 2021 - An aftershock measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale rocked the Petrinja area at 9.35 a.m. on Monday, the Croatian Seismological Survey said.

A magnitude 3.9 aftershock jolted the area at half past midnight as well.

The Petrinja area was hit by a devastating magnitude 6.2 tremor on 29 December which killed seven and caused enormous damage.

ZAGREB, 11 January, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 230 new cases of the coronavirus infection, there have been 35 deaths, and the number of active cases is 4,976.

There are 2,140 patients in hospitals, 191 of whom are on ventilators.

There are currently 17,679 people in self-isolation.

Since 25 February, when Croatia registered its first case, a total of 220,223 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 4,403 of them have died, while 210,844 have recovered, 718 of whom in the last 24 hours.

To date 1,080,918 people have been tested, including 3,141 in the last 24 hours.

January 11, 2021 - Pula Arena dominates the city's centre these days, but how impressive was the Roman amphitheatre in the past? A stunning 3D animation of the Roman era.  

It is almost 8 years since my first visit to one of Croatia's most interesting and versatile building, the Pula Arena in Istria. 

The year was 2013, and the Croatian National Tourist Board invited me to cover the opening night of Outlook Festival, which was being held in one of the world's largest remaining Roman amphitheatres for the first time. 

The concert was just one of the innovative uses by the Pula authorities of its considerable heritage, as I reflected in my article for a Canadian Google News portal in Preserving heritage through tourism: The case of Pula in Croatia.

Leonard Cohen, Joe Cocker, Sting and a host of other global stars would grace the Pula Arena, and it was also the scene of some quite unusual sprting events, including a football match with Bayern Munich veterans, and even an ice hockey match. 

Reminders of its former use were introduced by the tourist board, as gladiator fights became a popular spectacle during the season. 

An impressive building today, but wondered how it must have looked during the era of the Roman Empire. 

Help is at hand, in the form of modern technology recreating the heritage of the past. 

Yesterday, we featured a wonderful 3D animation by Stipan Ujgur of life in Dubrovnik before the devastating 1667 earthquake, which you can view here. 

In today's feature of Stipan's work, we head even further back in time to Pula during Roman times, when the Pula Arena dominated the city skyline even more than it does today, giving not only an insight in how the arena stadium looked, but also what the warren of rooms and corridors below the surface were used for. 

For more features on Pula, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

ZAGREB, 11 January, 2021 - Assistant Education Minister Momir Karin said on Monday the second semester would begin on 18 January and that efforts were being made for it to start also in the earthquake-hit region, though the model was yet to be decided.

"We are gathering all the relevant information so that we can organise classes. There are 48 schools in the earthquake-hit region, 28 are undamaged, nine are unusable and 12 are temporarily unusable," Karin said on Croatian Radio.

"In total, 912 inhabitants have been evacuated from that region. We'll list the children among them and ensure online classes, and the ministry will provide them with all the necessary equipment."

Karin said the first day of the new semester in Zagreb schools would begin with earthquake evacuation drills.

For the latest information on the earthquake emergency, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

ZAGREB, 11 January, 2021 - Construction Minister Darko Horvat said on Sunday Hotel Panonija in Sisak would undergo quick reconstruction after it was established that it was structurally safe to accommodate 160 people from Sisak and its environs who lost their homes in the 29 December earthquake.

In a statement from his ministry, Horvat said the reconstruction was arranged with the mayor and that local entrepreneurs would work on it.

He said the hotel would accommodate some of the people currently staying in a school gym and that it would ensure all the necessary COVID measures and food.

The minister added that ensuring temporary and lasting housing for people who lost their homes in the tremor was the priority of his engagement and his ministry.

Horvat went on to say that the contribution of cooks and bar and restaurant owners who had been preparing and distributing food on a voluntary basis in the earthquake-hit region was unmeasurable and undeniable, adding that everyone was grateful to them.

He also highlighted the contribution of the Croatian Red Cross, local civil protection, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts, saying they too "promptly... started preparing hot meals."

He said the new organisation of food preparation as of Monday would relieve those cooking, sorting and supplying groceries, adding that the volunteers who wished to do so were welcome to continue to help as much as they could.

The most important thing is to ensure meals for all those in need, primarily the elderly and the disabled and those whose homes are so damaged that they can no longer live and cook in them, the minister said.

He added that no one whose home was demolished would remain without a hot meal.

Horvat went on to say that in cooperation with domestic construction companies and hoteliers, his ministry was working on ensuring as soon as possible sufficient housing units for those who need them.

He said they were also looking for the optimal solution for reconstruction and the provision of lasting housing in cooperation with Croatia's entrepreneurs and academic community.

This week we will begin to remove buildings in the earthquake-hit region that pose a health and life hazard, he added.

For the latest information on the earthquake emergency, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

January the 11th, 2021 - The Croatian earthquake which struck Sisak-Moslavina County has seen an outpouring of help, donations and support. Tehnix Containers, which were made in Croatia, are present in the affected Banovina area, oh, and in Antarctica.

As Vecernji list/Ivica Beti writes, two beds, a table and two chairs, a kitchen with a refrigerator and a stove, a shower, an electric boiler with a capacity of 50 litres, a sink,a toilet, electric heaters, LED ceiling lighting, air conditioning for heating and cooling, complete plumbing and electrical installations, and more.

All of the above is boasted by the housing containers designed for two people produced by the company Tehnix from Donji Kraljevec in Medjimurje County. More than ever before, there has been a need for such a quick fix for the thousands of victims of the recent Petrinja whose homes have tragically been destroyed, and they urgently needed a roof over their heads and a bed to sleep in in which they wouldn’t need to fear any new tremors. Croatian companies are ready to produce them and deliver them to the affected towns and villages.

‘’Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic clearly said that as many housing containers as possible should be delivered. He begged us to make as many of them as possible. We’re ready. We already have a finished project that we worked on for Croatian Caritas, of which we contracted a hundred pieces, as well as slightly larger housing containers with four beds, covering an area of ​​18 square metres. After the earthquake in Banovina, several companies engaged in this production agreed on a standard for the areas affected by the earthquake. We don’t perceive our competition to be enemies, but as friends,’’ said Djuro Horvat, the director of Tehnix.

‘’We promised to produce and deliver 200 pieces in January, and another 300 in February. We will reduce the deliveries we’ve planned for export, we’ve increased the number of working days, so we will work from 07:00 to 16:00, and even on Saturdays will be working, all in order to produce the agreed quantities and to help these people,’’ added Horvat.

150 people have been working on the production of Tehnix containers for days, and all 500 employees will now be returning from their collective vacation. Tehnix will also receive 20 workers from neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina who will also be housed in the company’s very own housing containers for the duration of the work. Otherwise, Tehnix has been making containers for more than ten years now, but mostly for export.

 For more news on Croatian innovation and startups, follow the TCN Made in Croatia section.

January the 11th, 2021 - Croatian startups have been popping up like flowers among the rocks of an otherwise difficult economic picture, and BioCro is one which places emphasis on all the right places.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, much like other crises which have occurred throughout human history, the current one we’re knee-deep in has become a proverbial warning sign and a trigger for change, pointing to the weaknesses and fragility of the global system and the inevitable importance of sustainability, health and environmental protection, which proved to be a good opportunity to kick off the BioCro startup, owned by Vicenco Matijaca and Jure Ivandic.

The BioCro startup is an international platform that offers the sale and purchase of sustainable products, circular economy services, sustainability schooling, seminars, education, investment in renewable energy sources and a wide range of innovations.

“It’s one green meeting place that guarantees a good price, quality and a shift to something better, something sustainable and cost-effective not only for the end user but for the entire business ecosystem and all users.

Imagine having a place that guarantees a personalised approach, excellent products that you’re sure are sustainable (from their production and their delivery to their very use) and where every transaction contributes to certain sustainable goals - from drinking water to building schools and donating for medical purposes,’’ say Matijaca and Ivandic.

Croatian cooperation with the Greeks and Canadians…

The BioCro startup idea has been under construction since back in November 2019, and six months later, in May 2020, they launched a startup based in London due to, they explain, "an administrative stalemate, bureaucracy and unjustified additional costs in Croatia."

Vincenco is otherwise an environmental technician with a degree and a certificate from the USA for hotel management who has been travelling and working all over the world since the age of 18, and Jure has a master's degree in finance and is the owner of the organic restaurant Pikanterija. This project was born from many years of experience and a commitment to sustainability.

So far, the BioCro startup has invested around 17,000 euros in personal savings to register, start and establish initial contacts between partners and customers, as well as for market research and basic marketing. Within the first few months of doing business, they had more than 30 partners from Croatia and from across the world.

“A consumer ecosystem has been created that is interested in what is happening with our business, when and how. We achieved MVP within the first two months of operation and performed more than 50,000 kuna in transactions through the basic sales model.

We have established contacts with some international schools of sustainability, national environmental agencies, and negotiated the installation of an energy park in Greece with one of our sustainable energy partners from Canada. We marketed some products and helped the sales for several Croatian family farms, negotiated the installation of electric delivery in Split, offered natural cosmetics products from domestic exhibitors from Croatia to the world and a few days ago had more than 1,000 kuna transactions within 24 hours.

We’re very pleased with what we’ve achieved so far, especially if we take into account that our main product (platform) is still under construction, and on which the Sisak company Maracom is working. We can do better and we can do it faster, but for that we need professionals in certain sectors and investors,’’, they point out from the BioCro startup.

They are also cooperating with another startup from Croatia, Ecolo food packaging, in order to realise the project of starting the production of certain sustainable products in Slavonia. In negotiations to start cooperation between certain environmental agencies and their programmes, and sustainability schools from no less than the beautiful Canary Islands.

The BioCro startup is cooperating with the opening of the Nefali Tours travel agency (sustainable family trips in Zadar County). They have already exported tens of thousands of kuna of domestic products to Canada, Great Britain and the EU, and recently they have been engaged in market research for the export of additional natural cosmetics products. They are currently trying to realise cooperation with the huge car company - Audi.

When it comes to the sales side, it all consists of all sizes of “green” entities with legal certifications and who have passed the personal verification system, and who trade, produce, provide services and educate. Their customers are all those who are interested in the environment, health, sustainability and quality - the millennial generation, organic food buyers, enthusiasts for a healthy lifestyle, organisations that want to become more sustainable and a full range of environmentally conscious entities,’’ said Ivanic and Matijaca.

After establishing initial contact through the platform or through various available channels with eligible individuals and companies, the BioCro startup enters into communication and personal verification of their products.

After review and approval, the products and services of the provider are listed on the website, advertised and offered to all customers and specially targeted groups depending on the product and service.

“There’s the possibility of lifelong free advertising if certain products are sustainable and in some ways avant-garde for our current society. We think that in Croatia, there could be a ‘green turnaround’, in terms of general education, a change of established attitudes and behavioral conventions with an emphasis placed on new generations. This is all needed because it is easier to define an individual from the start than to change later and thus ensure a ‘green’ future,’’ they concluded from the BioCro startup.

Find more news about Croatian innovation and startups in the TCN Made in Croatia section.

January the 11th, 2021 - Professor Alemka Markotic, the director of Zagreb’s ‘’Dr. Fran Mihaljevic’’ Clinic for Infectious Diseases, has discussed the good news surrounding both of the approved coronavirus vaccines for Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Professor Alemka Markotic has stated that one piece of good news lies in a study undertaken by Moderna where they showed that even after four months after complete coronavirus vaccination, people still have high levels of antibodies that don’t diminish quite so quickly or easily, which means that protection could very likely be longer-term than previously assumed.

“Another bit of good news is Pfizer’s research, where they showed their vaccine also protects people against these newer mutant strains of these viruses which are spreading up to 70 percent faster and have caused problems in the UK and Africa. The first research done on it indicates that,’’ she stated.

Professor Alemka Markotic also stated that it is good that both vaccines were created using the same concept, so that this research should be very much valid for both of them. However, it is not yet possible to estimate exactly how well the vaccine should protect people against the disease.

"It's hard to say because we don't have enough long-term research to look at. Moderna is now planning thirteen months of monitoring it and looking at the possible long-term side effects and protection, but we expect, according to preliminary research, that this could last for more than a year. Some people, who are more optimistic, expect it to last for several years,’’ said the director of Zagreb’s Clinic for Infectious Diseases.

Reports of people contracting the novel coronavirus more than once should be looked more deeply into. 

"These are individual cases that aren’t that common. We’ve declared every positive finding to be an infection, and we’re aware that some of these findings are just the presence of the virus in the nose,’’ said Professor Alemka Markotic, adding that in such cases, additional research should be conducted.

The new strain of coronavirus

The new British strain has not yet been recorded in Croatia. If it does come, it will spread faster, as it has done everywhere else. Here is what Markotic said about it:

"In Ireland, there’s been a sudden jump in new infections. All countries have recently detected these strains and as a result, caution has been further increased. Either measures are being introduced by those who have relaxed them previously or some are tightening things up, such as what’s happening Germany. It's still early. We’re in the winter months, we have to endure two more months of this cold weather and spending much more time inside.’’

She also commented on the decline in the rate of infection that Croatia has been experiencing and is thankfully continuing to record:

"Croatia is, once again, among the European countries that are doing better now. Fortunately, there are fewer deaths, there’s less pressure on hospitals, which is very good. But it isn’t the time to relax any measures now, looking at other countries… There is a possibility of new strains beginning to spread. We’re monitoring the situation and we will react to it with concessions when the time comes," concluded Professor Alemka Markotic.

 For the latest on coronavirus in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.