ZAGREB, 17 January, 2021 - The current epidemiological measures will be extended at least by mid-February, according to what advisers have been suggesting to the national COVID-19 crisis management team, Jutarnji List daily said on Sunday.
It is even possible the measures will be extended by March as nothing can guarantee that the situation will not deteriorate even with the existing restrictions.
They underscore that it must be seen what will happen when classes for lower grades of elementary school and for high school seniors start and how the recent holiday gatherings and holidays spent outside one's place of residence will affect the spread of the epidemic.
Since Croatia has been registering a drop in the number of infected people among those tested, as well as a drop in the number of hospitalised patients, there has been an increasing number of appeals for relaxing the measures. Many hope that after 31 January, the date by which the current measures are in force, outdoor cafes, gyms and fitness centres could reopen.
The head of Istria County's COVID-19 crisis management team, Dino Kozlevac, has already announced he "will discuss the matter with the national team", without whose permission that cannot be done as local measures can only be stricter than national ones.
However, it is certain that there will be no relaxation of measures until the end of January. Also, it is too soon to predict what could happen in ten days, and current temperatures are not helping. Experts explain that even if bar and restaurant terraces were to open, heaters would have to be turned on, around which a large number of people would gather, Jutarnji List said.
