Face Masks Mandatory in Post Offices, Banks, Hairdressers'
ZAGREB, July 15, 2020 - Wearing face masks has become mandatory in companies and state institutions in Croatia as of today, both for staff and for customers, the national coronavirus crisis response team told a press conference on Wednesday.
The earlier decision requiring masks in retails shops and restaurants has now been expanded to include post offices, banks and all services involving close contact, such as hairdressers or nail technicians, the head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, said.
He said that they had not yet received a reply from Czech health authorities whether Czech tourists had contracted the virus in Croatia or not. He said that among 16 Czech tourists staying in Sisak-Moslavina County one was positive and wanted to remain in Croatia until he recovered while the others want to return home.
The national response team has also been notified that a Swiss family staying in a holiday apartment in Split-Dalmatia County has also become infected, but the team has not contacted them yet and does not know how they contracted the virus.
Bedekovic Confirms She Will No Longer be Minister of Social Welfare
ZAGREB, July 15, 2020 - Minister for Demography, the Family, Youth and Social Policy Vesna Bedekovic on Wednesday confirmed that she will no longer be a minister in the new government and that she would return to her seat in parliament.
"My natural habitat is the academic community. I am returning to the Sabor," Bedekovic told reporters after an inner cabinet meeting.
She recalled that she was appointed minister after chairing the parliamentary Science and Education Committee and reiterated that her natural environment is in the academic community.
Bedekovic added that Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic would advise who will be in the new government in due time and underlined that she has no complaints. "Not at all. It was a wonderful and brilliant cooperation," she said.
Asked whether she was satisfied with what had been done in her portfolio, Bedekovic said "the time was short" and that "as much as possible was done."
I consider that a lot was done, primarily in the social welfare system, she claimed.
She recalled that social welfare workers were given the status of officials and that technical and physical security measures were introduced in social welfare offices.
"We increased the allowance for carers and parent carers and during this crisis, we retained the level of all allowances in the social welfare system," she added.
Croatia Confirms 92 New Coronavirus Cases in Last 24 hours
ZAGREB, July 15, 2020 - In the past 24 hours, 92 new cases of infection with the COVID-19 coronavirus have been confirmed in Croatia, with the number of active cases increasing to 1,204, the national response team said on Wednesday.
"There have been 92 new cases in Croatia in the past 24 hours and the total number of people infected is 3,953," the head of the Croatian Institute for Emergency Medicine, Maja Grba-Bujevic, told a press conference.
There are 1,204 active cases and 2,639 people have recovered.
To date, a total of 97,724 people have been tested for the virus, including 1,804 in the past 24 hours. Currently there are 132 people being treated in hospitals and five of them are on ventilators.
No new deaths have occurred and the death toll stands at 120. A total of 5,002 people are in self-isolation, there are 83 active cases among health workers, and 498 health workers are currently in self-isolation.
The head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), Krunoslav Capak, said that although today's number of new cases is higher than yesterday's, there are no new clusters but that these are contacts of already identified cases and a family in Karlovac County.
66th Split Summer Festival Opens at Peristyle
July 15, 2020 - The 66th Split Summer Festival was officially opened on Tuesday evening at Peristyle with Verdi's opera I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata.
This year's edition, respecting all epidemiological measures, brings art back to the ancient stages under the starry night sky. Mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara pointed out in his speech that art does not stop at challenges and crises, but is the crown of the crisis and everything that comes with it, giving many artists additional inspiration. Like last year, he called to maintain measures and civic decency and not to surrender to the greed that has disrupted human lives:
"Dear respected citizens of Split, esteemed dignitaries and guests, loyal viewers and listeners of HRT and all friends and admirers of Split, art and our Split Summer!
I am happy that we are here tonight and that this great cultural event, extremely precious and significant to all of us, has not been interrupted, despite the unfavorable circumstances. Yes, health and safety are above everything, but life must go on. And we move on. Without fear.
Art does not stop at challenges and crises, on the contrary, it was the corona crisis and a kind of social alienation caused by the necessary social distance that gave space and time to many artists for additional inspiration and an even stronger impulse of creativity that they can't wait to bring to their audience.
This year's special Split summer opens with I Lombardi. There is a lot of symbolism in this powerful Verdi opera imbued with tenderness, piety, determination and patriotic enthusiasm. From here, from the Imperial Peristyle, we will symbolically pay tribute to the attacked people of Lombardy and send a message of strength and invincibility of art and creation, but also the victory of all of us.
Last year, I invited you to take back public spaces again, when no one even dreamed that the coronavirus and the crisis caused by it would bring us back to the city and nature, which, thank God, has regenerated. Despite the trouble, or rather, precisely because of it, we returned to family and the enjoyment of everyday life that we often took for granted. The epidemic reminded us of true values, we focused on the essentials, and we successfully adapted and learned to tame the virus that we do not allow to take over our lives. I’m sure we learned this lesson.
I wish these circumstances also reminded me of my last year’s thought and plea not to succumb to the greed that has disrupted our lives and distorted natural priorities. I have called and am now calling to maintain the measures, and that we have civic decency and respect for everything around us, and above all, the person next to us. Are we humble enough to accept that lesson? Split recognized that. I am convinced of that.
We live one strong warning. One hundred years ago, during the Spanish flu that plagued our city as well, my predecessors took care of the future of the City. And they endeavored with the citizens, after that terrible warning, altogether turned to creation and beauty which had a healing effect.
In the last century, young people, athletes, and especially artists regenerated our city. Jedinstvo was also founded, and our theater flourished, so, for example, our alleyways and city streets were filled with the music of maestro Tijardovic," Opara said, and continued:
"The art of living with measures and the necessary restraint in the new circumstances was transformed into this year's Split Summer. And it is the fruit of the courage and determination of the people who, despite threats, have returned art to our squares and streets, where it has always belonged and where it will always belong. It is up to us to give art an additional well-deserved place. It is needed for our City and me to recover.
I invite you, dear citizens of Split, to enjoy the diverse and rich program of this year's Split Summer, in compliance with all recommendations and precautions. I once again congratulate the artists, organizers and all participants and thank them for their courage and determination.
In the desire to remember him for his exceptional artistic achievements, and to infect everyone only with the joy of creativity and beauty, I am pleased to declare the 66th Split Summer open."
During the opening ceremony, the Cultural Art Society Jedinstvo and Glazba Split performed the most famous Split dance Monfrinu, and the festival flag was raised by members of KUD Jedinstvo, Paola Demarchi and Drazen Bosnjak. This was followed by the premiere performance of Verdi's opera "I Lombardi" performed by soloists, orchestra, choir and ballet of the Croatian National Theater Split under the direction of maestro Ivo Lipanovic and directed by Robert Boškovic.
This year's Split Summer brings the best Croatian and foreign opera soloists and orchestras led by top conductors, ballet performances and a rich concert and drama program. There will also be four film screenings and two exhibitions. The Split Summer will have a total of 32 titles in 44 performances, so the Festival will turn the city into the summer theater capital of this part of the Mediterranean.
To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
SDP Reports Fewer Donations than Democrats, Sovereignists, We Can!
ZAGREB, July 15, 2020 - The Social Democratic Party received HRK 59,700 in donations in the first half of this year, less than the Democrats, We Can!, Reformists, Hrast, and Croatian Sovereignists, according to statements on donations made public on Wednesday.
With the exception of the Homeland Movement, all major political parties published statements on their half-yearly donations.
The Democrats received HRK 68,000, the We Can! political platform HRK 83,000, Reformists HRK 103,000, Hrast HRK 123,000 and Croatian Sovereignists HRK 152,000.
The deadline for submitting statements on donations to the State Electoral Commission is midnight today. All 167 registered political parties, independent MPs and independent local councillors must do so. The parties which do not risk fines ranging from HRK 10,000 to HRK 100,000 and independent MPs and councillors from HRK 2,000 to HK 20,000.
Many parties stated they did not receive any donations, including the Independent Democratic Serb Party, the Croatian Pensioners' Party, the Istrian Democratic Party, the HDSSB and Let's Change Croatia, as did independent MPs Vladimir Bilek, Veljko Kajtazi and Zeljko Glasnovic.
Plenkovic Bringing Milanovic Signatures Supporting Him as PM-Designate on Thursday
ZAGREB, July 15, 2020 - Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) president Andrej Plenkovic will bring President Zoran Milanovic at noon on Thursday 76 signatures by elected MPs supporting him as prime minister-designate.
Before that, representatives of the State Electoral Commission will bring the president the official results of the July 5 parliamentary election.
Today Plenkovic is meeting with MPs who support him as PM-designate, including ethnic minority MPs, Croatian Social Liberal Party president Dario Hrebak, Reformists leader Radimir Cacic, and Croatian People's Party leader Predrag Stromar.
It is expected that on Thursday Plenkovic will present the new government's ministries. Unofficially, their number is to be reduced to 15 or 16.
Plenkovic will then go to Brussels for a European Council meeting. On Monday, he will present the new government to HDZ bodies.
According to announcements, the new parliament will be inaugurated on July 22.
Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Ways to Discover Bibinje
July 15, 2020 - Tourism was on hold when we started this series of articles, but most of us still have plenty of time. So let's look at the virtual resources available to explore Croatia virtually. We continue our new Virtual Croatia series with the tools to discover Bibinje, one of the many picturesque small towns near Zadar.
A few weeks ago I wrote that being a tourism blogger in the corona era was about as useful as being a cocktail barman in Saudi Arabia. I feel less useless now, a few weeks later, and I am encouraged by the number of Croatian tourism businesses who are contacting us wanting to start thinking of promoting post-corona tourism.
One of the challenges of writing about tourism at the moment is that there is nothing positive to write about. With people confined to their homes and tourism in Croatia currently not possible, many have decided to go into hibernation until it is all over.
I think that this is a mistake, and I have greatly enjoyed the TCN series by Zoran Pejovic of Paradox Hospitality on thinking ahead to tourism in a post-corona world. You can find Zoran's articles here.
Way back on March 14 - several lifetimes ago - I published an article called Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Ways to Discover Zagreb. The way I saw things, now was an OUTSTANDING opportunity for tourism promotion. People have time, they yearn for their freedom and former lives, so give them the tools to thoroughly research and enjoy your destinations, and you will have then longing to be there. And when they do come, they will have a deeper understanding of the destination due to their research.
South Africa and Portugal were the first to do their post-corona tourism promotion videos several weeks ago (Post-Corona Tourism Planning: Lessons from South Africa and Portugal), a trick which has been followed by other tourism countries, the latest being Croatia with the national tourist board campaign, #CroatiaLongDistanceLove, going live yesterday.
But while these campaigns create longing and market presence, they don't really educate. People now have time to really get into destinations. And dreams of escape to somewhere more exotic are high on the list of priorities of many.
So TCN has decided to help with that education with a new series called Virtual Croatia, where we will be helping you discover many of Croatia's destinations with all the best virtual tools available on your self-isolating sofa at home.
We started with Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Tools to Discover Hvar.
After this, we put our a press release (which you can read here in English and Croatian) offering a free article to any local tourist board in Croatia who would like the free promotion in our Virtual Croatia series.
The Sinj Tourist Board was the first to respond, and now you can see just how rich the tourism offer is in this proud Alka town - your virtual tools to Discover Sinj. This was followed by Discover Opatija, Discover Brela, Discover Rogoznica, Discover Stari Grad, Discover Omiš, Discover Lumbarda, Discover Jezera, Discover Šolta, Discover Cavtat and Konavle, Discover Koprivnica, Discover Pašman, and Discover Gradac.
Marijana Kovač from the Tourist Board Bibinje helped us put together a series of resources to introduce Bibinje.
Let's begin!
Discover Bibinje - the Beach Gems
A postcard of Bibinje in 4K
Another video postcard, featuring mostly beaches
Tourist Board produced promo video
Bibinje from the air, earlier this year
Bibinje from the air, during the high tourist season
Tourist-recorded video of their vacation Bibinje
What to do in Bibinje
Catching squid in Bibinje
Bibinje fishermen
Good Friday procession
Local food competition in Bibinje
Local Bibinje traditions
Discover Bibinje Websites
Tourist Board Bibinje website has a great website, which will help you experience Bibinje before you even arrive there. Their Facebook page is also quite active, and they'd love to answer any questions you might have.
Will your next visit to Bibinje be a day-trip from Zadar, or a longer, relaxing vacation in a place with amazing beaches?
To discover more of virtual Croatia, you can follow this series in our dedicated section, Virtual Croatia.
If you are a local tourist board in Croatia and would like your destination featured in this series for free, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Virtual Croatia (and destination name)
Plenkovic Negative for Coronavirus
ZAGREB, July 15, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic was tested for coronavirus on Tuesday and the result was negative, government spokesman Marko Milic told Hina.
Plenkovic was tested because on Monday he was in a meeting with Science and Education Minister Blazenka Divjak, who was ordered to self-isolate and get tested as well. Her result was also negative.
Plenkovic was tested because of the responsible office he holds, Milic said.
Flights to Croatia: easyJet Boosts Traffic to Split with 7 New Routes
July 15, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Split Airport.
Croatian Aviation reports that easyJet announced a new set of lines to Split. After the company launched the first six lines to Croatia, which started operating from the beginning of July, the low-cost airline announced the start of operations on another 7 lines.
As we announced earlier, easyJet launched six lines to Split at the beginning of July, which you can read more about it HERE.
From the end of July, the company will significantly increase the number of routes to Split Airport, by introducing another 7 international routes, which will allow easyJet to operate to as many as 13 international destinations from Split. Traffic is established on the following lines:
Lyon - Split line is introduced from July 20, twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays,
Bristol - Split is introduced from July 21, twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays,
London Gatwick - Split line is introduced, from July 18, five times a week (every day except Monday and Friday),
Mila - Split line is introduced from July 22, twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays,
Naples - Split is introduced from July 24, six times a week (every day except Wednesday),
Paris Orly - Split line is introduced from July 24, twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays,
Manchester - Split line is introduced from July 25, twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Also, specific routes that are already in operation will have an increase in the number of weekly flights:
Amsterdam - Split will operate five times a week, instead of two times,
Geneva - Split will run three times a week, instead of once.
This is still a significantly smaller number of weekly flights and routes to Split compared to the 2019 season, but given the situation, we can be satisfied with this flight schedule.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages
2020 Regional League: Jug and Mladost to Fight for Title
July 15, 2020 - Zagreb water polo club Mladost and Dubrovnik's Jug AO have advanced to the final of the Adriatic Regional League, which is being held at the Gruz swimming pool in Dubrovnik.
HRT reports that Jug AO was better than Jadran Split with a convincing score of 19-11 (5-2, 4-2, 6-3, 4-4). Dubrovnik was led by Hrvoje Benic, who scored five goals, and Loren Fatovic and Marin Tomasovic, who scored three goals each, while Antonio Duzevic and Zvonimir Butic were the best for Jadran, scoring three goals each.
As hosts, the Dubrovnik club confirmed their status as favorites and had no problems reaching the victory. Jug furiously started the meeting and gave the Split club little hope from the beginning.
Until the middle of the first quarter, Jadran stayed afloat, losing 3-2 with two attacks to equalize, but Toni Popadic stopped the attempts of Marin Delic and Andelo Setka.
With the goals of Lozina, Benic and Obradovic, Jug went to 6-2, and even then, it was clear that Jadran would struggle to return to the game.
The host continued to increase their advantage and had the highest in the last quarter when a goal by Marin Tomasovic made it 18-8. By the end, Jadran managed to reduce the gap to the final 19-11.
The title defenders Mladost Zagreb met in the first semi-final match, defeating Jadran Carine from Herceg Novi with a score of 14-12 (1-3, 3-3, 6-4, 4-2). The Zagreb team came to victory in the second half after the Montenegrins won the first half 6-4.
The absolute hero of the duel was Luka Bukic, who scored an impressive seven goals for Mladost, while Milos Cuk added two, and Cosmin Radu, Konstantin Harkov, Josip Vrlic and Lovre Milos added one each. Vladan Spajic was the best for the Herceg Novi club with four goals.
Jug will thus fight for their fifth title, while Mladost will try to defend the title they won in the 2018/2019 season.
The final is scheduled for Wednesday at 8 pm in Dubrovnik.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
