ZAGREB, 1 Sept, 2021 - Cafes in Croatia are again allowed to serve their customers indoors as of 1 September after they were closed for nine months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the new rules announced by the national COVID-19 response team, cafes and restaurants can stay open until midnight, customers must be seated while drinking and eating and must wear face masks before taking their seats and when going to the toilet.

In late November 2020, the national COVID-19 response team ordered cafes to close their indoor premises for business, allowing only those with terraces to operate.

Catering establishments have been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis over the past 18 months. "Many have been exhausted physically, psychologically and financially. There are cafes that will not be able to operate indoors because they lack staff, and there are also those that do not have terraces, so it will be a little easier for them after they were closed for nine months," the head of the independent association of cafe and restaurant owners from Zagreb, Žaklina Troskot, told Hina.

She noted that about 1,100 closed catering establishments would not reopen and that 10,000 jobs have been lost in this sector since the outbreak of the pandemic.

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ZAGREB, 11 June 2021 -  After a major relaxation of epidemiological measures, it is expected the measures will be eased further, Jutarnji List daily said on Friday, reporting that as of Tuesday coffee shops will stay open until midnight, but they will still be limited to outdoor seating areas.

As a source close to the national COVID-19 crisis management team told the daily, one of the new measures would definitely be related to longer working hours for hospitality establishments, which could then stay open until midnight instead of until 11 p.m.

We need to keep up with the tourist season and allow our and foreign guests to enjoy the summer as much as possible, they said.

Indoor seating areas of coffeehouses will not be allowed to reopen as that would pose an epidemiological risk, Jutarnji List daily finds out. Also, most coffee shops have outdoor seating areas where guests can be without significant restrictions and owners of hospitality establishments are allowed to work.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centres across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

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