ZAGREB, March 24, 2020 - Croatian Economy Minister Darko Horvat today said that the government was working intensively to address the shortage of protective equipment against coronavirus and that a "large plane" carrying such goods would arrive to Croatia from China during the day.
Other (supply) routes are being planned, primarily airline routes to transport protective equipment not only from Europe, but also from China and India, as all standard suppliers are swarmed with orders from Croatia, Europe and all over the world.
The need for specific materials makes the start of the production of such goods in Croatia harder.
"Several companies are testing how effective some materials they have managed to obtain are against viruses. If they meet the criteria, Varteks and Calzedonia will soon start the production," Horvat said.
The head of the Croatian Public Health Institute, Krunoslav Capak, said on Tuesday that healthy people did not have to wear single-layer canvas masks when entering shops and other public spaces, since those masks did not protect against the coronavirus.
The National Civil Protection Authority has not made a recommendation that healthy people should wear protective masks nor do they think that this is necessary, Capak told a press conference.
Only specialised respirators with filters that prevent the passage of the virus are effective in protecting against the spread of the coronavirus. In Croatia they are currently used by health care professionals.
The National Authority only recommended that infected persons should wear a three-ply surgical mask with a plastic layer that filters out tiny particles.
More coronavirus news can be found in the Lifestyle section.
