November 27, 2020 - Chief of the Civil Protection Headquarters Davor Bozinovic announced that they are currently discussing penalties for violating COVID-19 measures in Croatia.
Index.hr reports that the National Civil Protection Headquarters held a regular press conference on the coronavirus in Croatia. In the last 24 hours, 4,080 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection were recorded, and the number of active cases in Croatia today is a total of 22,408. Forty-eight people died.
Since February 25, 2020, when the first case was recorded in Croatia, a total of 119,706 people infected with the coronavirus have been recorded to date, 1,600 have died and a total of 95,698 have recovered, of which 3,349 in the last 24 hours. There are currently 51,514 people in self-isolation. To date, a total of 724,820 people have been tested, of which 11,091 in the last 24 hours.
"Today we have 4080 cases. We calculate weekly averages. In the last week, the increase is 15 percent. Our incidence is in the 24th place on the list of European countries, only three countries have a higher incidence," said Krunoslav Capak. "Only Bulgaria has a higher share of positives among those tested than us. We are somewhere in the middle in terms of mortality," adds Capak.
"The trend is important. If we have a downward trend, we can talk about easing the measures," he added.
Markotic says that it is possible for the coronavirus to become a seasonal disease.
"Now we see a much more difficult clinical picture, we have a lot of deaths. We will see what the vaccine will do. The problem is how many people will be vaccinated. If people get vaccinated and are responsible, we will eradicate the virus. Otherwise, it could occur seasonally," said Alemka Markotić.
Minister Bozinovic commented on the measures.
"The decision on sports centers was made based on talks with all departments. We must reduce the number of people in contact for longer. Private gatherings can only remain at the level of recommendations, although it would be best not to have private contacts at all," Bozinovic said. "Measures are adopted so that where people stay indoors longer, they socialize less and are less in close contact, except for what is necessary for the functioning of the economy," Bozinovic added.
"I am asking you to point out the risk of socializing indoors, talking, singing and other activities of that kind, where the virus spreads much faster than in summer," Bozinovic added. “The main problem is family gatherings, and we can only solve that problem by appealing,” he says.
Penalties are introduced for anyone that violates measures
"We have been addressing the public for 9 months so that everyone accepts these simple measures - masks, hygiene and distance. Inspections and police will be much more visible than before; we meet daily, they can't act on new measures until midnight. After midnight, the emphasis will be on facilities where more people are expected - shopping malls and centers. I'm sure this phase will be marked by a little stricter actions of inspectors and police," Bozinovic said.
"Today we are holding a working group to amend the Law on the Spread of Infectious Diseases. The topic is penalties for violating measures. We will soon change part of the Law and introduce penalties," Bozinovic said.
"These would be penalties which, in my opinion, should be mandatory, to be imposed on the spot. It will also concern wearing masks. There will be sanctions. I cannot be exact now and have the working group correct me tomorrow. The proposal will be made and will be sent to the government for urgent consideration. It is certain that there will be more serious penalties," Bozinovic explained.
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