ZAGREB, November 29, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, 2,919 new cases of the coronavirus infection have been registered in Croatia, so the number active cases today stands at 23,062, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Sunday.

There are 2,273 COVID patients in hospitals, including 260 on ventilators.

Fifty-seven people have died.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, a total of 126,612 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 1,712 of them have died, while 101,838 have recovered, including 3,373 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 50,603 people in self-isolation.

To date, 744,319 people have been tested, including 8,217 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, November 26, 2020 - Croatia has registered a record 4,009 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours and 51 people have died, the national coronavirus response team reported on Thursday morning.

The number of active cases is now 21,725. Of them, 2,171 are being treated in hospitals, including 252 who are on ventilators.

The previous record was set on Wednesday when 3,603 new infections were reported.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 115,626 people have contracted the novel virus, 1,552 of them have died and 92,349 have recovered, including 2,924 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 50,165 people are in self-isolation.

To date, 713,729 people have been tested, including 11,487 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, November 22, 2020 - Medjimurje has 129 new coronavirus infections and one new related fatality and according to the World Health Organisation, since Saturday that northern Croatian county has had the second highest seven-day incidence in Europe, right after Varazdin County, local authorities have said.

The WHO has reported that Varazdin County, with 1,541 cases of the infection, has a seven-day incidence rate of 925 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, while Medjimurje, with 944 cases, has a seven-day incidence of 862 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, which makes it the European region with the second-highest coronavirus incidence.

It is followed by the Slovenian region of Koruska, with 817 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days.

ZAGREB, November 16, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 1,313 new cases of coronavirus infection and there have been 33 related deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said on Monday.

The number of active cases stands at 15,699. There are 1,816 COVID patients in hospitals and 191 of whom are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, a total of 85,519 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 1,082 of them have died and 68,738 have recovered, including 2,507 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 35,071 people in self-isolation.

To date, 624,393 people have been tested for coronavirus, 4,861 of whom in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, November 9, 2020 - Croatia's chief epidemiologist Krunoslav Capak said on Monday the latest data on the rise of coronavirus cases in the country gave one hope that the incidence was stagnating.

In three weeks up to November 2, we had a 90% to 100% change in the weekly numbers of new cases, he told a press conference of the national COVID-19 response team. "In one week, our numbers increased 100%, whereas now we have a 4.2% increase. This gives us hope that the increase is stagnating and that the situation will improve."

Croatia 13th in Europe in terms of mortality

"We have a 14-day incidence of 750.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a high incidence, ranking us 22nd out of 27 European countries. The mortality rate since the start of the epidemic is 184.5 per million inhabitants, which puts us in 13th place in the EU, in the middle of the ranking, which is good," said Capak.

"We hope the numbers will stop rising and that the curve will even out. The fact that the number is stagnating shouldn't encourage us not to adhere to the measures, because strictly adhering to the prescribed epidemiological measures is key for achieving stagnation," the head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health added.

In the past 24 hours Croatia registered 1,529 new coronavirus cases and 38 deaths. The number of active cases is 14,952, including 1,451 hospitalised patients, of whom 142 are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the virus was first registered in Croatia, 68,776 persons have caught it, including 832 who have died, and 53,002 have recovered, including 2,227 in the past 24 hours. To date 564,686 people have been tested for the virus, including 5,670 in the past 24 hours.

Currently 28,122 persons are self-isolating.

Situation best in Istria County, worst in Varazdin and Medjimurje

Capak said the pandemic situation remained the best in Istria County, despite plenty of cases recently, while being worst in Varazdin and Medjimurje counties.

Croatia has not reached the PCR testing limit and most countries are starting to use high antigen tests, which are not totally accurate but take 10 minutes.

"Those tests are now being used only for symptomatic patients and we are annulling false negatives by sending all those with false negatives for PCR. There is no strategy which could endanger the detection of new cases," said Capak.

As for the high number of deaths, he said it was due to the higher numbers of new infections.

Speaking of scientist Ivan Djikic's estimate of 1,500 dead by the end of this month, Capak said he was surprised because he did not know if Djikic meant the total death toll or the monthly number. "I said I thought the number was exaggerated. If the number of infections continues to stagnate, the number of the dead will decrease too."

Speaking of a drug shortage for cancer patients, Health Minister Vili Beros said HRK 1.8 billion would be paid to wholesalers on Wednesday and that it should suffice for ensuring drugs for the gravest patients.

He condemned "the inhumane act of switching off power in KB Dubrava" hospital, which is being investigated by the police, saying the arrival of a new leadership was expected to improve the situation in the Zagreb hospital.

Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said wearing masks was mandatory there where it was not possible to socially distance and that more and more people were behaving responsibly, wearing them both indoors and outdoors.

"You have countries which have imposed a curfew, a lockdown, and you see what is happening. The problem with those strict measures is that, at the moment, no one can say how long they will last. Besides all the epidemiological reasons and demands, we must take into account not only the economy, but also the sentiment in society, the nation's mental state. Where there is no other way, there are sanctions and they will be applied," he said.

ZAGREB, November 2, 2020 - Croatia on Monday reported 1,165 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours and 32 related deaths, the largest number of fatalities in a single day.

The number of active cases in the country is 14,734. Of them, 1,127 are hospitalised, including 94 who are on ventilators, the national coronavirus response team said in a regular morning report.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 52,660 people have been infected with the novel virus, of whom 594 have died and 37,332 have recovered, including 2,293 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 25,925 are in self-isolation. To date, 507,163 people have been tested, including 5,115 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, October 30, 2020 - In the last 24 hours, of 9,287 tests performed for coronavirus in Croatia, 30% of them, that is 2,772, have returned positive, the country's COVID-19 crisis management team stated on Friday.

Friday was the second consecutive day with more than 2,700 cases after on Thursday the daily tally of the new cases was 2,776.

In the last 24 hours 20 COVID patients have died, bringing the death toll to 531.

There are now 15,106 active cases, including 1,027 patients who are receiving hospital treatment, and of them 74 are placed on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 46,547 people have tested for positive for the novel virus and of them 30,910 have recovered.

Currently, 29,098 people are self-isolating.

Since the onset of the epidemic, Croatia has conducted 485,281 tests.

ZAGREB, October 22, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday that despite continual measures and responsible behaviour by most citizens, the past week has seen the largest number of people infected with coronavirus and related deaths.

"We cannot be pleased with the current epidemiological situation or with the irresponsible behaviour of some individuals. All of that puts a lot of pressure on epidemiologists and other health workers, physicians and nurses, hospitals and the health system overall," said Beros.

He added that today, the 241st day since the outbreak of coronavirus in Croatia, a total of 1,563 new cases were registered and that currently there are 7,380 active cases with 661 patients receiving hospital treatment.

In the past week 686 patients were admitted to hospital while 448 were released. Compared to the week before, there is a noticeable increase in the number of people being hospitalised.

Currently 610 health workers are infected and 1,341 are in self-isolation.

"Despite the increase in the number of new cases no major hotspots have emerged and on the most part they are micro-clusters and involve small groups," he added.

Hospitals increasing capacity to cater for coronavirus patients

Epidemiologists keep recording infections that are connected with family gatherings, parties, choirs, going out, training and sport events, from where they  spread into the working community. A significant portion of those infected have had contacts with people who were previously infected.

Beros said that he expects appropriate participation by all stakeholders in the health system. Primary health care has the obligation to work on prevention and curbing the spread of the epidemic, he said. 

We are in a situation when we all need to do our bit, just like medical staff in intensive care units have been doing for months, he underscored.

Hospitals have been instructed to increase their capacity to cater for Covid-19 patients and to provide daily reports of the number of health workers who have been infected as well as schedule examinations for patients whose diagnosis and condition do not allow deferrals.

ZAGREB, October 19, 2020 - A total of 393 new coronavirus cases and 11 related deaths have been recorded in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Monday morning.

The number of active cases currently stands at 5,070. Among them are 571 people who are receiving hospital treatment and 35 of them are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Croatia, 25,973 people have contracted the novel virus, of whom 374 have died and 20,529 have recovered, including 476 in the last 24 hours. A total of 21,329 people are currently in self-isolation.

To date, 400,636 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 3,636 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, October 18, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, there have 819 new cases of the coronavirus infection in Croatia and eight fatalities, and the number of active cases now stands at 5,164, the national COVID-19 response team said on Sunday.

There are 548 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, including 32 who are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 25,580 people have contracted the novel virus, 363 of them have died and 20,053 have recovered, including 491 over the past 24 hours.

Currently, 21,148 people are self-isolating.

To date, 397,000 people have been tested for coronavirus, 4,948 of whom in the last 24 hours.