ZAGREB, July 16, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros on Thursday expressed confidence that the government would find a solution with drug wholesalers regarding the debt which amounts to more than HRK 4.2 billion, claiming that patients need not worry in that regard.

As a result of the debt which is currently more than HRK 4.2 billion, drug wholesalers allegedly will suspend delivering medicines and medical material as of Monday and are seeking at least HRK 1 billion of that debt to be paid.

During a press conference by the national COVID-19 response team, Beros said that as a responsible government they want talks in that regard.

He announced that the first meeting with drug wholesalers would be held on Monday and then again on Wednesday "and some sort of solution will be found."

He claimed that patients need not be worried. "We will do everything to settle debts and not to generate this kind of debts in the future," he said.

"Asking is one thing, possibilities are something else, but we will endeavour to find a compromise next week. We have to look for systematic solutions. Only in that way will we be financially sustainable in the future and be able to provide quality health services," he underscored.

Beros added that he had already put forward some proposals for a solution to the prime minister.

He underlined that the COID epidemic has caused an imbalance in payments. "While responding to the epidemic, the health system did not provide other services except emergencies. Today we are trying to respond in a different way but we cannot ignore the fact that the virus is still among us," he said.

He added that a lot of hospitals are shortening the waiting lists which emerged and they will continue to do so in the future. He said that the hospital sector is not the only segment that generates debts and that they occur in the primary sector too. "A serious reform of the health system awaits us," he concluded.

ZAGREB, July 1, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Wednesday that an expert group had unanimously decided to make it possible for parents whose children were hospitalised to spend with them 15 minutes a day and that a recommendation to that effect would be sent to all hospitals caring for children.

"A unanimous decision has been made that, despite the epidemic, it is of great importance to enable parents to be with their child who is undergoing hospital treatment, notably regarding the age (children under the age of three) and the duration of treatment (long hospital stay)," Beros wrote on his Facebook wall.

The Health Ministry will send a recommendation to all hospitals caring for children to enable parents to stay with their child when that is possible considering available space, namely regular visits on the condition of compliance with epidemiological measures, the minister said.

The Roda parents' association earlier in the day said it had gathered more than 35,000 signatures of parents for a petition asking the Health Ministry to cancel the current ban on parents' visits to and stay with their children undergoing treatment in hospital, a restriction introduced to help contain the spreading of the coronavirus.

ZAGREB, June 24, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said in Split on Wednesday that 92% of the newly infected people with COVID-19 are younger than 60 and that they do not have clinical symptoms, which is an indirect indicator that the virus has mutated.

"I read a scientific article about that but we won't speculate as the virus is with us and we are aware that we have to be responsible and cautious," Beros said.

Responding to questions from reporters, Beros said that all tourists who fall ill would be taken care of in health institutions, while those not exhibiting symptoms would need to self-isolate. That is why it has been suggested that quarantine areas be set up to accommodate such tourists, he added.

"Given that most of them will be in good condition, bilateral talks are being held with countries tourists are coming from to arrange their repatriation. I don't think that any country will prevent the return of its own citizens as long as they are ordered to self-isolate. We are also developing additional capacities for testing everyone in order to remove any doubt of them being positive or not," Beros said.

Reporters were interested whether any charges would be laid in the wake of the Adria Tour tennis tournament in Zadar where the first case was registered on Sunday when Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov admitted that he was infected with the novel coronavirus.

Beros said that repressive measures were not in his remit but that he appeals to all organisers of similar events to ensure consistent observance of physical distancing, hygiene, and other recommendations.

Beros confirmed that no new cases had been registered in Split-Dalmatia or Istria counties and that there were fewer new cases in Croatia today than yesterday.

ZAGREB, June 23, 2020 - Thirty new cases of infection with the novel COVID-19 coronavirus have been confirmed in Croatia in the last 24 hours.

To date, 2,366 cases have been identified, including 30 in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus crisis management team said on Tuesday.

Most of the new cases were registered in the City of Zagreb and Osijek-Baranja County (12 each), two each were identified in Zagreb County and Dubrovnik-Neretva County, and one each in Istria County and Slavonski Brod-Posavina County.

Sixteen people are being treated in hospitals and none of them are on a ventilator. A total of 2,142 patients have recovered to date and the death toll remains at 107.

A total of 73,093 people have been tested to date, including 347 in the last 24 hours.

Health Minister Vili Beros commented on the latest data during a visit to Split.

"This points to the need that we should remain cautious," he told reporters in Split.

"The number of new cases is rising, but not exponentially. In epidemiological terms, it is important that we have ten infections in one building because it is not the same if ten infections occur in one place or in different cities," Beros said. "This is a better epidemiological situation."

He said the rise in infections was as expected given that the virus was still present. He said hospitals must be prepared because tourists were in the country and new hotspots could appear. "We must be prepared."

Beros said that despite the recent increase in infections, Croatia and Slovenia had the lowest number of active cases in Europe.

"Our epidemiological situation is still good but this doesn't mean that we can relax because caution is still necessary," he added.

"What is important is that since this morning there have been no new cases in Zadar, all the new patients there are in a good condition, showing no symptoms," the minister said.

ZAGREB, June 22, 2020 - The epidemiological situation in the coastal city of Zadar has not deteriorated significantly but what happened at the tennis tournament is a big warning, Health Minister Vili Beros said after visiting Zadar General Hospital on Monday.

He said he had come to express his support to the hospital staff who had promptly responded to the emergence of new cases of coronavirus infection at the Adria Tour tennis tournament. He called on organisers of similar events to be aware of their responsibility, saying that what happened at the tournament was a big warning.

"This situation was not unexpected, and the response by the epidemiological service was of crucial importance. What happened is the normality of the new normal, and our healthcare and epidemiological system is prepared. We expected such occurrences and we have a host of possible responses," Beros told the press, adding that no additional epidemiological measures were needed at the moment.

He said that the epidemiological service is well organised and that 47 people have been placed in self-isolation so far.

Twenty-nine people attending the tournament were tested on Sunday and three of them have turned out to be positive for the novel COVID-19 coronavirus. More testing was done on Monday - 13 people tested in the morning have returned negative results, results for a group of 14 people tested are expected at 3 pm and results for another 40 people should be completed by 7 pm,

Beros stressed that "the virus is still around us", underlining the need for keeping a physical distance, avoiding contacts, and maintaining hygiene.

"That wasn't done in this particular case, so I call on organisers of such events to strictly adhere to the measures in place. This is no longer a recommendation but an obligation," the health minister said.

ZAGREB, June 17, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros on Wednesday said that the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) election platform contained a solution that would enable the health system to become financially sustainable, noting that currently, it was neither sustainable nor good, particularly for patients.

"At the start of my term in office, I said that the health system was not in the best financial situation and that we have to define solutions that will enable it to be financially sustainable. The HDZ's election platform provides solutions that will regulate more adequately the health system's financial operations because now it is neither sustainable nor good, particularly for patients," Beros told reporters.

HDZ's platform oriented towards prevention, accessibility of primary health care 

"Our platform is oriented towards preventative activities. Part of those activities is the need for self-sufficiency in the production of vaccines and blood plasma derivatives," underscored Beros.

He announced digital solutions that will improve accessibility to health protection.

"We have to work on improving access to primary health care... it is necessary to introduce an emergency helicopter medical service," he said and added that water ambulances for the islands and coastal communities would soon be introduced. 

"We want to correct policies regarding the needs of the health system in the future so that we do not have a shortage of medical staff in certain areas of the country," he added.

Firefighters will receive instructions related to coronavirus during firefighting season

Commenting on the coronavirus pandemic, Beros said that the virus and the related measures would also have an impact on the fire season.

"The Croatian Institute for Public Health will issue firefighters with detailed instructions about what they should be wary of" during the firefighting season, Beros said.