March 21, 2020 - The latest news about the spread of coronavirus in Croatia from the morning press conference.
10:00 ADDITION TO THE PRESS CONFERENCE information below - there are now 168 cases, and ferries will only be available for islanders and to transport goods and supplies in Split-Dalmatia County at least (this from an ongoing press conference in Split). More in our daily update.
Yesterday's rolling update of the coronavirus in Croatia was fully updated late last night. You can see the full day's events here.
There are two recommended maps to follow. The first is the official government one on the Koronavirus.hr website.
This is broken down by country in terms of numbers, and Health Minister Vili Beros has announced 29 new cases overnight, bringing the number to 157, of which 5 have recovered. The locations of the new cases will be made available later today.
The other is by Index, which breaks everything down by destination. Of the two, in general, I find Index is updated quicker. Index reports one death, while the government site reports none. The reason for this difference is the death of a restaurant owner in Istria which was announced as coronavirus, is still being confirmed by official sources before going on the official website. It has been counted in the global numbers by respected sources.
At the press conference, Beros said he was no longer requesting people to abide by the instructions, but requiring them to do so.
The Spaladium Arena in Split is being prepared for the third phase.
A Croatian Airlines flight from Dubai has arrived, carrying masks and equipment from the UAE Government, for which Beros expressed his thanks. After Beros, Interior Minister Bozinovic spoke
"The main problem is adherence to all the decisions made by the HQ. They were intended so that everyone adheres to them, but the facts show otherwise. There are minorities who are a danger to themselves and others. We will have to take more rigorous actions. The Croatian police will ensure the measures are implemented and will react every time that implementation is not adhered to. It is all based on one premise: people stay home. Do not leave the house. Except for those who have to go to work.
All employers and workers must be aware that they must organize themselves to the fullest extent possible. I saw people go two by two this morning. That's not ok. Break this habit or the police will punish you
The Croatian police will be touring all public places throughout Croatia. All our streets and where they see that someone is not adhering to the measures, they will take action.
In fact, in some ways we are closing down all public areas. We cannot physically close them, but we will not allow any gathering. We are shutting down all intercity lines for trains and buses.
What is clear is that decisions will be more rigorous, even tougher.
Alemka Markotic then spoke:
"It's time for us to realize that we are not watching a movie but living in reality. This morning I saw senior citizens walking around again. I hear groups of people who are not working sitting on the terrace. If we want a corona party we will have it. And I think to myself - What does a corona party look like?
We are receiving an increasing number of people at the clinic. The reasons are due to everything we were warning about, so it's all because of irresponsibility.
There will only be more severe cases in the hospital. People will have to find ways to isolate themselves inside their homes. If they can't, we'll find a solution.
If it turns out you were in contact with someone and you are in the hospital, they will be taken care of at that same hospital initially.
Who should come to the Infectious Unit? All those with the knowledge that they have been in contact, who have a high fever, and who are coughing and feeling tightness in their chest. There were a lot of people at the Infectious Unit tonight with some mild symptoms. Do not come there if you have only mild symptoms.
Yesterday, over 100 people from self-isolation came to the pharmacies. This has now come to an end, but they have already endangered many people. Anyone who breaks isolation will be sanctioned. The punishment is not important, but you will have others on your conscience."
Krunoslav Capak spoke next:
"The time has come to stop everything. We have had 29 cases from yesterday to the present, which is 1/4 of all cases so far. Our upward curve is increasingly going up. Therefore, we need to introduce stricter measures. We have 90 people in quarantine, 54 Croatian nationals, the rest are foreigners, we have 45 truck drivers who are under a special regime."
"If it turns out that people are coming together and that social distance cannot be maintained, we will close them at once."
"People stay home if you have to go out short and return home immediately. If you violate the measures, the Croatian police are ready to do their job and protect people."
For the latest update from the official government website for COVID-19 in Croatia, click here (Croatian language only, Google Translate is your friend).
We will have more in our comprehensive daily update later. For the latest news on COVID-19 in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.
