ZAGREB, 3 Feb 2022 - In the last 24 hours, there have been 13,186 new cases of infection with coronavirus in Croatia, identified with both PCR and rapid antigen tests, while 42 patients have died, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Thursday.

A total of 2,108 patients are receiving hospital treatment, including 194 who are on ventilators.

The number of active cases stands at 59,927 while 26,731 people are self-isolating.

Since the start of the epidemic in March 2020, 963,370 people have become infected with the novel coronavirus and 13,989 have died.

To date, 4,285,836 persons have been tested, including 18,142 in the past 24 hours.

A total of 56.58% of the total population has been vaccinated with at least one dose or 67.33% of adults. A total of 64.92% of adults have been fully vaccinated.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 3 Feb 2022 - Ahead of a parliamentary debate on a government report on the effects of epidemiological measures taken to fight coronavirus between 1 September and the end of December 2021, the issue of COVID certificates divided the parliamentary majority and opposition deputies.

Opposition deputies stressed that the introduction of those certificates was the worst decision in the two years of the pandemic and that they should be abolished while the ruling HDZ insisted the certificates had to be kept.

Abolishing the certificates would leave us within our borders, and we want to be European citizens and travel, said HDZ MP Maja Grba Bujević.

Let us abolish the certificates, a discriminatory measure that we cannot afford anyway, and that has proven ineffective and costs the economy too much. Money for testing could be used in a much better way, said Bridge MP Marija Selak Raspudić.

Marijan Pavliček of the Croatian Sovereignists said that a number of contradictory and futile decisions had been made in the past two years, with the one on the introduction of certificates being the worst.

Pavliček as well as Stephen Nikola Bartulica (Homeland Movement) criticized plans to test school children.

"By introducing testing you are putting pressure on children and parents, the more so as children get infected less and have milder symptoms," Pavliček said.

SDP: We need clear leadership, clear measures

Social Democratic Party (SDP) MP Peđa Grbin expressed hope the Omicron variant was the light at the end of the tunnel.

Now that we see the light at the end of the tunnel, we need clear leadership and clear measures so that we do not make a mistake on the path on which we have often wondered, he said.

Ivana Kekin of the Green-Left Bloc said that since the end of October Croatia had lost more than 5,000 people to COVID, describing that as tragic.

We are ninth in the world in terms of the number of COVID fatalities, we have the highest death rate when it comes to deaths caused by the Omicron variant, in January we lost 1,800 people and 80% of them were not vaccinated, she said, wondering who would assume responsibility - the COVID-19 response team, the health minister or the prime minister.

Answering to opposition criticisms, HDZ MP Grba Bujević said wise and well-thought-out measures were taken.

One should not just look at the figures but at a number of other elements as well. The government and the state invested a lot of effort to procure the vaccine, which is free, the health system did not collapse even though some said it would, and free testing is available, she said.

For more, check out our politics section.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 29 Jan 2022 - In the last 24 hours, PCR tests have detected 9,904 new cases of the infection with coronavirus plus 5,512 cases detected by rapid antigene tests, Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Saturday.

The COVID-related death toll has increased by 41 to 13,731.

There are currently 66,152 active cases of infection with SARS-CoV-2 in the country. Of them, 1,936 are hospitalized patients, including 183 placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the infection with the novel virus in late February 2020, so far, 929,502 cases of the infection have been detected, and of them, 849,619 people have recovered, including 10,462 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

To date, 64.79% of adult Croatians have fully been vaccinated against this infectious disease.

 For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 28 Jan 2022 - Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, who heads the national COVID-19 response team, said on Friday that the team was considering shortening the period of self-isolation but that the current wave of the epidemic had still not reached its peak.

"Considering the still high numbers of new infections, we cannot say that the epidemic has reached its climax, especially when compared to other countries," Božinović told reporters at an event at which 28 vehicles for traffic police were handed over at the Police Academy.

Božinović said that one should be optimistic regarding the spring and hope that a new variant of the coronavirus would not emerge.

Commenting on the recommendation by the European Commission on shortening the validity of COVID certificates for citizens vaccinated with two doses, he said that the certificates could be issued under rules applicable to all 27 EU members.

"We must issue certificates as regulated by the EU, otherwise you are not able to cross the border. That also means shorter validity for two doses and recovery," he said, adding that a solution would be sought not to change anything for Croatian citizens.

A number of countries have shortened self-isolation to five days

Commenting on the possibility of shortening the period of quarantine, Božinović said that an important meeting would be held on Saturday between the national COVID-19 response team and representatives of the "Dr Andrija Štampar" public health institute.

"There is room for arranging things differently at the national level. Intensive talks are underway and confirmation is expected on Saturday," he said.

He added that one was considering shortening the period of self-isolation because research increasingly justifies it.

A number of countries have shortened the period of isolation to five days so as not to jeopardise their public services and the functioning of the state, he said, adding that his department did not have problems with labour shortages due to self-isolation and sick leave.

"We are not at risk but we have been thinking about it," he said.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 28 Jan 2022 - In the past 24 hours, 65 people have died as a consequence of the coronavirus infection and 15,629 new cases of infection have been identified in Croatia, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday.

There are currently 66,751 active cases in the country, including 1,943 hospitalized COVID patients, of whom 187 are on ventilators.

A total of 43,268 people are self-isolating.

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 4,195,015 people have been tested, including 19,161 in the past 24 hours.

By 27 January 2022, a total of 5,080,835 doses of a vaccine were administered, with 56.49% of the total population or 67.23% of the adult population having been vaccinated.

A total of 2,292,446 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine while 2,202,555 have been fully vaccinated, which is 64.75% of the adult population.

The death toll now stands at 13,690.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 27 Jan 2022 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović, who is at the helm of Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team, said on Thursday that current COVID protocols would remain effective until the end of February if no changes happened in connection with the coronavirus pandemic.

"In the next few days, the crisis management team will consider the protocols on public gatherings, public transport, shopping, protective mask mandate, and cross-border protocols, and they are likely to remain in force until the end of February," Božinović told the government.

Health Minister Vili Beroš said that the PCR tests conducted in the last 24 hours had detected 10,500 new cases, plus 6,375 cases detected by rapid antigen tests, however, the daily caseload is 3.5% smaller than seven days ago.

There are 2,006 hospitalized patients today, 30 more than yesterday, and 185 are on ventilators, seven fewer than yesterday, he said.

Hospital admission numbers are rising mildly but not in proportion to the number of new infections, he said.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 26 Jan 2022 - In the past 24 hours, 64 people have died in Croatia as a consequence of coronavirus, and 11,812 new cases have been identified, which means that there are currently 66,027 active cases in the country, the national COVID response team said on Wednesday.

There are currently 1,976 hospitalized COVID patients and 192 of them are on ventilators while 42,446 people are self-isolating.

By Wednesday 26 January, a total of 4,155,056 tests have been conducted, including 22,524 in the past 24 hours.

As of 25 January 2022, a total of 5,061,724 doses of a vaccine had been administered, with 56.44% of the total population or 67.18% of the adult population having been vaccinated.

A total of 2,290,566 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine while 2,199,638 people have been fully vaccinated, which is 64.67% of the adult population.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 24 Jan 2022 - A total of 1,831 new COVID cases have been detected in Croatia in the past 24 hours, and 44 people have died from coronavirus infection, the national COVID response team reported on Monday.

The number of active cases stands at 57,073.

Among them are 1,926 hospitalised patients, of whom 198 are on ventilators.

A total of 42,037 people are self-isolating.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Croatia in late February 2020, a total of 878,891 cases of the novel coronavirus have been registered and 13,451 people have died from the infection.

A total of 808,367 people have recovered, including 8,301 in the past 24 hours.

So far 4,114,212 people have been tested for the virus, including 4,315 in the past 24 hours.

The current vaccination rate is 56.40% of the total population, or 67.13% of the adult population.

A total of 2,288,744 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose, and 2,196,911 have been fully vaccinated, which is 64.60% of the adult population.

ZAGREB, 23 Jan 2022 - In the last 24 hours, there have been 7,095 new cases of coronavirus infections in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Sunday.

There are currently 63,587 active cases. 1,860 of these cases are currently receiving hospital treatment, including 201 patients placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, 36 more patients have died from the infection, raising the death toll to 13,407.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Croatia in late February 2020, a total of 877,060 coronavirus cases have been registered. Of these cases, 800,066 have recovered, including 7,569 in the past 24 hours.

Croatia has conducted 4,109,897 coronavirus tests to date, including 14,525 tests in the last 24 hours when rate of positive tests was 49%.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 23 Jan 2022 - Over the last week, the number of primary and secondary school students infected with coronavirus increased by 67.5%, and it consequently made the number of students self-isolating skyrocket by 118%.

Last Monday, there were 7,095 positive children, while the numbers increased to 11,885 on last Friday, and this rise is ascribed to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

This past Friday, 184 schools out of a total of 1,313 schools in Croatia, had online classes.

Share of positive pupils in daily caseloads continues to be 15%

The Education Ministry explains that the more daily caseloads of the infection in the general population, the more pupils get infected, however, all the time a share of the positive students in the caseloads continues to be roughly 15%.

Over the last week, the number of positive primary school children jumped 88.5% to 4,118 positive cases registered on Friday.

The ministry said that there would be no state-level online classes because there were schools without any case of the infection, and therefore, it is up to local authorities to assess the situation in their communities and to decide on whether children can go to school or whether they should switch to virtual learning.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.