ZAGREB, 21 Jan 2022 - A survey of COVID-19 testing in hospitals shows that tests came back positive almost three times more among the unvaccinated staff and that booster shots provide special protection, the Croatian Institute of Public Health said on Friday.

The survey was aimed at establishing the difference in positive PCR and rapid antigen tests between fully vaccinated healthcare workers and those not vaccinated.

The survey covered 1,371 workers in 12 hospitals, of whom 831 were vaccinated (60.61%) and 540  were unvaccinated, and 3.95 tests were done per worker on average.

Among those vaccinated, 57 were positive (6.86%), while among those not vaccinated, 101 were positive (18.7%).

Out of 475 workers who received a booster shot at least two weeks before being tested, 24 were positive (5.77%), while out of 265 who did not receive it, 30 were positive (11.32%).

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ZAGREB, 21 Jan 2022 - A total of 11,114 new COVID cases have been detected by PCR tests in Croatia in the past 24 hours while a further 5,556 cases have been detected with Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) bringing the total daily caseload to 16,670, and 35 people have died from COVID, the Croatian COVID response team reported on Friday.

There are currently 61,671 active cases of the infection with coronavirus in Croatia, including 1,799 hospitalized patients, 193 of whom are on ventilators.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Croatia in late February 2020, a total of 859,264 cases of the novel coronavirus have been registered and 13,335 people have died from the infection, while 784,258 have recovered including 8,601 in the past 24 hours.

A total of 41,682 people are now self-isolating.

To date, a total of 4,074,484 tests have been conducted, including 21,253 in the past 24 hours.

As of Thursday, a total of 5,021,663 doses of a vaccine had been administered with the vaccination rate being 56.34% of the total population or 67.06% of the adult population.

A total of 2,286,291 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine while 2,193,513 are fully vaccinated which is 64.50% of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 20 Jan 2022 - The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been present in Croatia for several weeks now, but it "seems slightly less dangerous than was previously the case," Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in his opening remarks at a regular cabinet meeting on Thursday.

"The number of new infections is not proportionately reflected in the number of hospitalizations and those placed on ventilators," Plenković said, adding that this was why the Omicron variant seemed less dangerous.

He, however, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic was continuing to spread and that Omicron was spreading faster and was more infectious.

"I call on the people who have not been vaccinated yet to get vaccinated, and those who have to take a booster dose. Over 700,000 people have so far received a booster dose," the prime minister said.

Stressing the importance of trust in science and medicine, he said that the only way to protect oneself from getting infected with the novel coronavirus was a combination of vaccination and compliance with epidemiological measures.

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ZAGREB, 20 Jan 2022 - In Croatia, 11,343 persons have tested positive in PCR tests and an additional 6,146 have been positive in rapid antigen tests in the last 24 hours, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

Thus, 17,489 cases set a new record after there were 16,017 new COVID-19 cases in the country on Wednesday.

Currently, there are 59,193 active cases, including 1,792 hospitalized COVID patients, of whom 195 are placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of infection with the novel virus on 25 February 2020, there have been 848,150 cases of infection so far. Of them, 775,657 patients have recovered, including 8,315 in the last 24 hours.

The death toll has climbed by another 43 fatalities in the last 24 hours to 13,300.

To date, 64.43% of adults have fully been vaccinated.

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ZAGREB, 13 Jan 2022 - Health Minister Vili Beroš told the cabinet on Thursday that in the past 24 hours, 46.28% of those tested proved positive to the novel coronavirus and that areas with low levels of immunisation showed a higher number of hospitalised COVID patients. 

The number of hospitalised patients has increased along the entire coast and KBC Split is experiencing the biggest pressure. The Križine hospital has opened yet another COVID ward and 18 nurses from other institutions have been assigned to the hospital, said Beroš.

The situation in the Zadar General Hospital has also deteriorated. The highest number of COVID patients is present in Split, Zagreb and Rijeka.

To date, 4.9 million doses of COVID vaccine have been administered and 642,406 people have received an additional shot.

District nurse services have contacted 1,611 elderly citizens this week and 643, or 40% have agreed to get vaccinated.

Fourth and fifth waves have overlapped

Beroš said that testing in health institutions is being stepped up, adding that the only logical modus operandi was for the primary health care services to take on testing and a decision in that regard would be made today.

"The fourth and fifth waves have overlapped, as have the Delta and Omicron variants. It is expected that the highest pressure in the days to come will be where the inoculation rate is lower," he said.

Currently, there are 53,051 active cases of the novel coronavirus in Croatia, plus 22,000 citizens who are self-isolating.

Epidemiologists expect the Omicron variant will infect the majority of the population, but those who have been vaccinated will experience only mild symptoms while those who haven't are more likely to develop grave symptoms and possibly fatal outcomes, the health minister said.

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ZAGREB, 13 Jan 2022 - In the past seven days, there have been over 48,600 new cases of infection with coronavirus in Croatia, which is the highest weekly caseload since the outbreak of the pandemic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told his cabinet on Thursday.

This is twice as high as two weeks ago, he added.

The COVID-related death toll exceeds 13,000.

"This fact is important to highlight against the backdrop of the slowing daily rate of inoculation. From early March to the end of May 2021, 1.14 million persons were given a shot. Since then, less than a million have been given the first dose," the premier said.

Commenting on vaccine hesitancy, Plenković said that it was detrimental to unvaccinated people, particularly those who had caught the virus and died of the infection.

Better protection against the virus can be ensured provided there is a combination of higher vaccination rates, booster doses, and compliance with COVID protocols, he said, adding that the government had made sure that there were enough amounts of vaccines for all.

He reiterated the importance of immunization in light of the fast spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Croatia has logged 9,157 new COVID cases and 23 related deaths in the past 24 hours, with the latest infections putting the number of active cases at 55,500, the national COVID-19 response team said earlier today.

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ZAGREB, 13 Jan 2022 - The rate at which the Omicron coronavirus variant is spreading is alarming and it has started to cause serious problems in the health system due to a growing number of doctors and other medical staff who cannot go to work due to infection or compulsory self-isolation.

According to data from the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ), 800 nurses and 353 doctors who work in medical institutions are positive or in self-isolation, reports Jutarnji List.

The KBC Split hospital operates without 36 of its doctors and as many as 82 nurses, the KBC Zagreb hospital has 29 doctors and 68 nurses who are either positive or in self-isolation, while the KBC Rijeka hospital operates without 17 of its doctors and 37 nurses.

In the KBC Zagreb hospital, 186 workers did not show up for work on Tuesday while on Wednesday 244 did not show up. In the city's KB Dubrava hospital, 65 medical staff were in isolation and self-isolation on Tuesday.

"We are still not in trouble, but if the number of employees who are in isolation and self-isolation continues to grow, that could become a problem. We are concerned. Most of our positive employees are vaccinated so they have very mild or no symptoms but regardless of that, they cannot show up at work," said KB Dubrava director Ivica Lukšić.

The head of Zagreb's Sisters of Charity Hospital, Davor Vagić, is of the same view, and notes that the number of employees who cannot come to work because of infection or self-isolation keeps growing, which, at some point, could become a problem.

KBC Zagreb hospital assistant director Milivoj Novak says the situation is still not alarming but an increase of as much as 76% in the number of positive employees in a single day does not look good.

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ZAGREB, 13 Jan 2022 - Croatia has logged 9,157 new COVID cases and 23 related deaths in the past 24 hours, with the latest infections putting the number of active cases at 55,500, the national COVID-19 response team said on Thursday.

Among those infected are 1,755 people who are hospitalized, including 216 on ventilators.

Currently, 22,292 persons are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 794,190 people have been registered as having contracted the new virus, of whom 13,006 have died, while 725,684 people have recovered, including 6,685 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 3,941,654 people have been tested to date, including 19,786 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 4,901,094 vaccine doses have been administered, with 56.06% of the total population or 66.76% of adults having been vaccinated.

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ZAGREB, 10 Jan 2022 - Croatia has registered 1,578 new coronavirus cases and 40 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Monday.

The number of active cases in the country currently stands at 41,613. Among them are 1,893 infected persons receiving hospital treatment, including 244 who are on ventilators, and 18,624 persons are self-isolating.

A total of 3,882,163 people have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to date, including 4,344 in the last 24 hours.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 767,183 people have been registered as having contracted the new virus, of whom 12,918 have died and 712,652 have recovered, including 4,558 in the last 24 hours.

As of 9 January, 4,836,465 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 55.91 percent of the total population, or 66.5 percent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,269,098 people have received at least one dose and 2,163,972 of them have received two doses, which is 63.66 percent of the adult population.

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January 7, 2022 - Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs spoke at a press conference and reaffirmed the return to school classes in Croatia from this Monday. He also added that there will be mandatory masks in Croatian schools for those in fifth grade and up, among other considerations.

"You can see that, as the Government has insisted that school classes in Croatia be given in person, we have reduced online teaching to a minimum. Despite its necessity, virtual classes have their downsides, even if it was made with the highest standards for which we received a lot of recognition," he said. He added that this is not a happy solution for the education of children and young people, especially given the other negative consequences of online teaching, such as isolation, which affects the development of students.

“Based on this, and in an effort to provide proper education in this time and moment, we strive to keep it in person, which has proven to be good,” he said. “Decisions on an eventual transition to online teaching are made on a regional level in cooperation with the Ministry. At this moment, we do not have an announcement from any county to think about it, thus everything will start normally from Monday", he said.

He added that exceptions are only possible in some schools with unavailable staff due to the omicron variant. "At the moment we have information about a school in a small town, where they have a shortened staff due to the epidemiological situation", he said.

Speaking about the measures in schools, Fuchs said that the same measures from November remain in force: mandatory masks in Croatian schools for students from 5th grade onwards, regardless of the space and distance. "In earlier grades, the distance is two meters or one and a half meters, and therefore the use of masks has been abolished. Children from first to fourth grade are in this group.''

In the end, he said that the vaccination of teachers has significantly improved. "Our average is about 70.1 or 71 percent. Again, in scientific institutes, it is almost 90 percent of the higher education system, 84-85 percent in secondary schools and 70.3 or 70 percent in primary schools'', he concluded.

Source: Telegram.hr

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