ZAGREB, Dec 21, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Monday that the COVID crisis had so far cost the health system HRK 927.4 million.

Data show that by December 18, HRK 574.4 million was spent on testing, HRK 268.9 million on treatment and more than HRK 83 million on sick leaves, Beros said at the national COVID-19 crisis management team's press conference.

He also said that a meeting was being held at the Health Ministry with drug wholesalers regarding the health system's debt to them.

Beros said that the number of new COVID-19 infections had started dropping.

The average number of services provided in all health institutions in Croatia is at 67.21% compared to the second week of December 2019.

"These are encouraging data as they show that despite the burden of COVID-19 positive patients we are finding ways, strength and opportunities to respond to other needs, especially in oncology," Beros said.

Despite the fact that the health system has completely adapted to COVID patients, the number of services provided in Zagreb's hospitals is at 74% compared to the second week of December last  year, and only the KB Dubrava hospital, which is completely focused on treating coronavirus patients, has provided 11% of other services.

Other patients using KB Dubrava's services, 3,993 of them, have been sent to other health institutions via the call centre, Beros said.

He added that there were also institutions like the Magdalena Clinic which is at 119% of provided services due to taking over some of KB Dubrava's cardiac surgery patients.

Beros said there would be no changes regarding the realisation of the right of health workers to a full salary after getting infected with COVID.

He said that all those who had got infected at work would receive 100% of their salary, but they have to ask their employer for confirmation.

(€1= HRK 7.5)

ZAGREB, November 22, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros, who is isolating at home because he has coronavirus, said on Saturday the situation with the number of infections and related deaths was alarming and announced that he would talk with county heads on Tuesday.

Speaking for RTL television via video link, he again called for people to be more responsible.

"Tuesday is an important day, when all of us at national level will once again talk with prefects, which will be an opportunity for the national, local and regional governments to hold constructive talks and assess all problems."

Asked if that meant they would discuss new restrictions, Beros said every opportunity was good for talks.

He said many were criticising the national COVID response team's measures, but added that many in the world claimed that milder restrictions would be effective if people complied with them.

"We can impose stricter measures, but if people won't wear masks and (if they) socialise at private gatherings... Everything is an opportunity to show responsibility."

Asked if it was realistic for a vaccine to be in Croatia by Christmas, Beros said, "We joined early enough all European initiatives for procuring vaccines from various manufacturers. As a state, we have done everything. Now it's all up to the manufacturers."

ZAGREB, Aug 27, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros told the government on Thursday that during the past seven days, Croatia experienced the biggest spike in coronavirus cases, and that the numbers are not good, however, the clinical status of people infected with the virus is milder than at the onset of the epidemic.

Since the outbreak the epidemic of the coronavirus on 25 February,  8,889 people in Croatia have been diagnosed with this infectious disease, and 157,387 people have been tested for it.

Currently, there are 2,352 active cases, Beros said.

Of those active cases, 174 are receiving hospital treatment, and this is 7.4% of all those currently infected. There are 10 patients on ventilators or 0.4% of the infected, Beros said.

Responsible behaviour can markedly reduce the spread of the infection, and the minister called on Croatians to strictly comply with epidemiological measures.

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ZAGREB, Aug 25, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Tuesday, after a meeting with representatives of primary health care, that he would propose to the government central financing of doctors' specialisations, given the increasing outflow of doctors and lack of funding on the local level.

"Each day we have fewer family doctors because they are retiring. The cause of this shortage is the problem of financing specialisations. There is often not enough funds at the local and regional level to finance specialisations, which results in fewer doctors specialising in that field," Beros told reporters.

I will propose central financing of specialisations to the government, Beros said after the meeting with associations of doctors in primary care.

Vikica Krolo, the head of the KOHOM association of family doctors and deputy head of the Croatian Medical Chamber, said that the meeting had been initiated due to burning issues that had come to the fore during the coronavirus pandemic, primarily due to a staff shortage caused by long-standing devastation of primary care.

She warned that in the last four years the number of family doctors had dropped from 2,400 to 2,200, 30% of the doctors currently working in the system were over 60 years old and about to retire, and there were 160 retired doctors who still work.

There is little interest among young people, merely 175 specialisations are underway, and the specialisation plan for the period until 2025 envisages 504 specialisations in family medicine. The number of registrars in hospitals has increased, and there are currently 3,000 of them.

Krolo noted that most doctors had followed recommendations during the coronavirus crisis and opened all communication channels to patients. The number of patients coming personally to practices has decreased, but the number of contacts has increased, ranging between 100 and 200 per doctor.

Krolo warned that in the autumn there could be waiting lists for family medicine for the first time, due to the shortage of doctors.

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ZAGREB, Aug 25, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros on Tuesday denied claims by the deputy director of the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Zagreb, Dijana Zadravec, that the selection process for the hospital's director was unlawful and that Beros and the prime minister influenced it.

He explained that a recording of a discussion between him and Zadravec that appeared on YouTube on Monday was, in fact, a call during which he turned the speakerphone on, at a meeting with five to six of the closest associates, so that he could show them the pressure, insinuations and even blackmail he was exposed to.

Beros said that he had previously professionally collaborated with Zadravec at the hospital without any disagreement and that the problems started with her dispute with another colleague when he pointed out that the problem should not be resolved through the media but within the hospital.

The problems escalated during the selection procedure for the hospital director, which was conducted absolutely in accordance with legal procedures, said Beros.

"That's when the pressure and very aggressive calls started and this discussion is just one in a series of similar ones and shows the attempts to influence me as someone who in fact cannot influence the selection process for the director," he added.

"The procedure was respected, a steering committee exists and it determines who the director will be based on very relevant criteria," he underscored.

Beros believes that it is "legitimate for everyone to fight for their personal progress, however, at the moment the line has been crossed."

He noted that he did not feel threatened and therefore did not request any institutional protection.

"That was electioneering time and I believed that when the situation calmed down, everyone, according to their role and position, would be satisfied," he added.

In response to an announcement by Zadravec that she would sue him for secretly recording her, which is illegal, Beros said that he did not record the discussion nor did he tell anyone to record it and so he cannot be personally held responsible, however, if the institutions assess that he is responsible, he will not run away from that.

He denied any unclarity with regard to his declaration of assets that Zadravec mentioned in the discussion, saying that the declaration was published and contained precise information on his assets.

Beros reiterated that the prime minister did not have any influence over the selection of the hospital director and that, as he said during the conversation with Zadravec, the party leadership had decided on the path and direction, which was a lawful way to deal with such matters.

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ZAGREB, Aug 19, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Wednesday that Croatia's health system would be able to cope with a higher number of COVID-19 patients unless there was a "complete disaster" and that the number of tests carried out would increase in the coming period.

Commenting on today's daily high of 219 new COVID-19 cases, Beros said in an interview with N1 television that Croatia was increasing the number of tests because that was a good way to protect the health and social care systems.

We will definitely expand testing

"We will definitely increase the number of tests carried out in the coming period. Our strategy adapts to the moment. We are now slightly changing the strategy and it is definite that we will expand testing come autumn, which we are ready for," he said.

Health system needs to be more efficient

Beros noted that Croatia's health system needed to be more efficient and organised in a more rational way but that there would not be cuts in health care provision or testing.

Commenting on statements by Slovenian government spokesman Jelko Kacin that the situation in Croatia was dramatic, Beros said that Kacin was not familiar with the situation in Croatia's health system.

"It suffices to look at the total number of tourists who have been to Croatia this year and the number of infected persons and realise that the situation is far from alarming or dramatic," he said, adding that even now 80,000 Slovenian tourists feel safe in Croatia.

It is not good to portray the situation in Croatia as more dramatic than it is

It is legitimate to prevent the infection from spreading to your country, especially ahead of the start of the school year, but it is not good to portray the situation in Croatia as more dramatic than it really is, Beros underscored.

Up to Croatia to keep the situation under control, warn of high-risk situations

Asked whether it was possible that Germany would also put Croatia on its red list, he said that it was possible, but that it was up to Croatia to continue taking care of the number of cases of the infection, to warn about high-risk situations and detect hotspots.

It is important to stress that over a third of new cases are contacts of infected persons, the situation is under control, but it is not possible to say what will happen in the autumn, Beros said.

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ZAGREB, Aug 19, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Wednesday, in a comment on the tightening of measures by some countries towards their nationals returning from Croatia, that it was an act of political pressure to put the epidemiological situation under control, which, he said, was legitimate conduct.

"Based on my talks with fellow health ministers, I believe this is an act of political pressure by all those countries. The new school year is approaching, in some countries it will start sooner than in Croatia, and they want to put their epidemiological situation under control. That is fully legitimate and if you look back, we, too, acted that way towards our neighbours," Beros told reporters after a session of the inner Cabinet.

Experts to decide on masks in schools 

Beros said that he believed those countries would stick by their agenda despite Croatia's efforts.

We, too, are preparing for the school year, which begins somewhat later, as well as for the autumn, health-wise, he said.

As for the wearing of masks in schools, Beros repeated that experts would have a say on the matter and that the World Health Organisation (WHO), too, would present its position by the end of the month.

"I think that (masks) will not be necessary for the smallest children, but the solution for older children, notably in high schools, is yet to be defined. Experts should state their position, and the Science and Education Ministry task force has also been discussing the matter," he said.

Beros noted that the health system was preparing intensively for the autumn.

"The system has been operating in the conditions of the 'new normal', complying with certain epidemiological criteria, triage, and that slows down its work. But many institutions have been coping excellently and are making up for delays on waiting lists from before the coronavirus crisis, for example in Dubrovnik and Zagreb. I believe the system will continue to function appropriately and adapt to the epidemiological situation."

Apart from the fight against the coronavirus, Beros said other priorities for his department were the revitalisation of the Institute of Immunology, stepping up the project to build a national and university hospital for children's diseases, the establishment of an emergency medical helicopter service, preserving the functional efficiency of the health system and taking care of human potential, primarily in primary care.

Talks launched with the finance minister on the financial sustainability of the system

The minister said that talks had been launched with Finance Minister Zdravko Maric on the financial sustainability of the health system.

"Croatia sets aside 7.4% of its GDP for the health system. With €804 per capita annually it is very difficult to secure the existing level of healthcare, and the EU average is more than €3,000," said Beros.

In consultation with the Finance Ministry we are trying to find some elements that would enable the health system to be financially sustainable, Beros said, adding that increasing the price of supplementary health insurance was not an option at the moment.

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ZAGREB, July 30, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Thursday it was difficult to say when the coronavirus vaccine would be available, but that Croatia's participation in global initiatives was important so that it would not be left without the vaccine.

"The European Commission and other global initiatives are making their projections based on optimistic thinking, with some mentioning the end of this year and some the middle of the next . I really can't say except that the vast capacities of the research community are being used in efforts to find a vaccine," Beros said while answering questions from the press ahead of a cabinet meeting.

Croatia recently signed a preliminary agreement for a million and a half doses of vaccine as part of the European Commission's initiative. Beros said that the price of that vaccine was still not known and that ultimately it was not important. "We will find a way to buy what the Croatian people need," he said.

ZAGREB, July 27, 2020 - Croatia's health and IT sectors have developed and on Monday presented the Croatian version of the Stop COVID-19 app which uses temporary and anonymous data to inform users about exposure to coronavirus.

The app is available for Android and Apple mobile phones and uses Bluetooth technology.

The success of the app is based on the conscientious and solidary participation of citizens, said Health Minister Vili Beros.

After the pandemic is over, it will no longer be possible to use the app, which is secure and uses temporary and anonymous data.

The app's cross-border interoperability has also been ensured.

The app was designed under a government decision by the APIS IT agency for support to information systems and technologies.

"All data exchanged between two devices, i.e. two persons, is recorded only on mobile devices," said Sasa Bilic, chairman of APIS IT's management board.

Every user is informed anonymously that they have been in contact with infected persons sometime over the past 14 days. Users will be notified by text if the contact has been high, medium or low risk based on precisely defined parameters.

"We took distance into account. A text about a high risk is when a person has been two meters away for more than 15 minutes over the past 48 hours," said epidemiologist Tomislav Benjak.

The user will receive a text saying they have been in high-risk contact, to stay home and contact their family doctor. Texts about medium and low-risk contacts are created similarly.

A dozen EU member states (Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Ireland, France, and Hungary) have designed mobile apps to track contacts and inform users about exposure to COVID-19.

Bozinovic: App is secure, has all the necessary certificates

Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, who heads the national COVID-19 response team, said the Stop COVID-19 app had all the necessary certificates.

"The European Commission said the health authorities in each member state should manage the app. Simply put, it's communication between two mobile phones. The person who possibly receives a text that they have been near an infected person doesn't know who this person is, and the infected person can activate the app only if they want to," he told press.

No third party can know anything about that communication, he said. "It couldn't be more secure. After all, the app has all the necessary certificates."

ZAGREB, July 25 (Hina) - Health Minister Vili Beros on Saturday visited the children's hospital in downtown Zagreb which was flooded in last night's heavy rain, saying the costs of dealing with the damage would be covered by the hospital, the city, and his ministry.

Hospital director Goran Roic told Hina the biggest damage was done to the pharmacy in the basement, where the cafeteria, locker room and radiology ward were also flooded.

Other hospital services are working normally, he said.

Visiting the hospital, Minister Beros said the hospital pharmacy stored very expensive drugs so the damage was yet to be estimated.

"However, the provision of healthcare is not undermined at this moment. But the corona crisis, the earthquake, and now flooding have only highlighted the need to build a new national children's hospital. Many only talked about it, but this government has recognized this need and included this idea into its programme for the coming period, and I as minister will do my best so that it is realised."

A feasibility study is being done for the Blato location and when it is done, we will see whether it's the best location, Beros said.

As for the financing of the new hospital, he said everything would be done to find the fastest solution. "Whether it's EU funds is difficult to say because the procedure is long, and we can now see how long the feasibility study is taking," Beros said, adding that "we are also looking at other financing possibilities for the construction of these health facilities that we urgently need."

Beros said he had talked with the directors of most of Zagreb's hospitals and that none had reported any major damage after last night's storm.