ZAGREB, October 14, 2020 - A record number of 748 new coronavirus cases and four related deaths have been recorded in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Wednesday.

Currently there are 3,210 active cases in the country and 441 of them are hospitalised, including 27 who are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 21,741 people have contracted the novel virus, 334 of them have died and 18,197 have recovered, including 308 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 16,598 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 372,683 people have been tested for the coronavirus to date, including 6,448 in the last 24 hours.

The previous record number of daily infections was reported on October 8 when 542 cases were confirmed.

October 12, 2020 - The Croatian Headquarters announced new measures in Croatia, which are in effect as of today. 

Index.hr reports that Minister of the Interior and Chief of the National Civil Protection Headquarters Davor Bozinovic announced that the obligation to wear masks indoors is being introduced and that there is a limit of 50 people at social gatherings.

"We are introducing the obligation to wear masks indoors, where people come into contact with each other, and where it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least two meters," Bozinovic said at a press conference of the National Civil Protection Headquarters.

Citizens are obliged to use face masks or medical masks correctly all the time - over the mouth and nose, he added.

Employees of healthcare institutions must wear masks and anyone visiting patients, employees of social welfare institutions providing accommodation services, and passengers, drivers, and other employees in public transport.

Employees should also wear them in the commercial industry and customers during their stay in stores; employees in the catering industry who come into contact with guests or participate in serving or preparing food, drinks, and beverages, guests in catering facilities, except while sitting in their seats and consuming food or drink.

Bozinovic said that special recommendations had been made for all gatherings where more than 50 people are expected. They refer to professional artistic performances and programs, amateur cultural and artistic performances and programs, cinema screenings, sports competitions, gatherings during weddings, funerals, religious rites, exhibitions in museums, galleries, and other exhibition spaces.

The organizers of these gatherings are obliged to request the consent of the competent county Civil Protection Headquarters via e-mail no later than five days before the planned gathering. The headquarters should decide according to the current epidemiological situation within 48 hours.

Bozinovic mentioned that decisions on limiting social gatherings for the areas of certain local self-government units could also be requested by the county headquarters, considering that the epidemiological situation is not the same everywhere in Croatia.

He also said that the measures come into force on the day of their adoption, which is today.

"The number of newly infected is constantly increasing. I would not assess today's number of 181 as realistic; we know that these are test results from Sunday, and then the least testing is carried out. We only get an objective picture from Wednesday to Sunday; then, all laboratories work to the maximum," said Bozinovic. 

"We cannot be satisfied with the epidemiological situation. The basic defense is keeping a distance, hand hygiene, and wearing masks,” he said.

"Since the measures were relaxed in May, the headquarters has mostly appealed to everyone to act responsibly, which means applying these basic instructions. A large part of the citizens have accepted it, we thank them, but some people, consciously or unconsciously, do not. Because of these others, the states, and thus Croatia, are forced to take measures," he said.

"We have prescribed decisions for gatherings for which over 50 people are expected. These are special recommendations for cultural programs, cinema screenings, weddings, sports events..." said Bozinovic.

The organizer for these gatherings should ask permission from the headquarters, Bozinovic said. The Headquarters will respond within 48 hours.

“Those who are rejected cannot be held,” he said.

"We are introducing an obligation to wear masks indoors where people come into contact and where a distance of two meters cannot be kept,” the minister said.

"Masks must be worn by guests in catering establishments except while sitting in their seats,” he added.

Masks should also be worn by anyone attending indoor Mass.

"Face masks do not have to be used in cases of recommended exemptions. With these two decisions, we believe we can reduce proliferation. The other goal we are achieving is to avoid bans," Bozinovic said.

"We call on everyone for more patience, rationality, solidarity," said Bozinovic.

"These decisions come into force today."

Capak took the floor.

"HZJZ has prepared a series of instructions, most of which relate to the operation of catering facilities. A new recommendation for masks is coming into force today," Capak said.

"In all outdoor situations where it is impossible to keep a distance, it is recommended to wear a mask," said Capak.

"For tomorrow, we are planning a set of measures related to the work of catering facilities," he said.

"We estimate that it is good to wear masks in the open where it is not possible to ensure distance," said Bozinovic.

Capak said a total of 404 people were hospitalized. There are 27 people on ventilators.

Markotic said that the intensive care unit on Zarazna was mostly full.

"It's a dynamic process; patients are discharged and admitted during the day. Everything is under control," she said.

Beros said that inaccurate information appeared in the media that there is a lack of doctors who know how to work with ventilators.

“That’s not true,” he said.

"We have over 800, and the fact is that one anesthesiologist supervises several ventilators, the number of specialists is sufficient," he said.

"We are doing everything to be more prepared; we are procuring new ventilators," Beros said.

“In the last month, 141 staff have been employed to help epidemiologists,” he said.

Capak commented on self-isolation.

"It is true that at the last session of the Board of Directors of the Croatian Epidemiological Society, several members proposed that the self-isolation be shortened to ten days because after the tenth day the risk of infection is significantly lower," he said.

"We estimate that six to ten percent of people get sick in those four days, and it's a big economic loss. Maybe that shortening would reduce hiding contacts. But at the then board meeting, it was decided that self-isolation would remain for 14 days," Capak said.

"Now that has changed a bit. In the next session, which will take place soon, we will consider it. That decision has not been made yet; there is only a proposal from the Croatian Epidemiological Society," he said.

Capak said he believes the decisions were made at the right time.

"We have a problem that the number of new cases is high. With these decisions, we count on stopping it," he said.

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure the lockdown never happens again,” Capak said.

Bozinovic finally added that the next press conference could be tomorrow.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, October 11, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 508 new cases of the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, as well as seven fatalities, and the number of active cases on Sunday stands at 2,818.

According to the national COVID-19 response team, 384 COVID patients are being treated in hospitals, and 26 of them are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, 20,440 people have contracted the disease, and 324 of them have died, while 17,298 people have recovered, including 345 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 14,363 people are self-isolating.

To date, 358,515 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 4,989 over the past 24 hours, the press release said.

ZAGREB, October 10, 2020 - A total of 486 coronavirus infections and four fatalities have been registered in the past 24 hours, the national COVID-19 response team said on Saturday.

The number of active cases now stands at 2,662, including 382 people who are hospitalised and of whom 29 are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case of the infection was reported in the country, 19,932 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 317 have died while 16,953 have recovered, including 258 in the last 24 hours.

Currently 12,424 people are self-isolating.

To date, 353,526 people have been tested for the virus, including 4,576 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, October 9, 2020 - In the last 24 hour, of 4,417 tests performed for coronavirus in Croatia, 457 have returned positive, and there are currently 2,438 active cases, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Friday.

A total of 385 COVID-19 patients are receiving hospital treatment, including 28 who are placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, this infectious disease has claimed three more lives, bringing the total number of fatalities to 313.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of the coronavirus infection, 19,446 people have contracted the disease, and 16,695 people have recovered, including 222 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 11,729 people are self-isolating.

To date, a total of 348,950 people have been tested for the virus.

ZAGREB, Oct 7, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours 363 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia, bringing the number of active cases to 1,830, and five persons have died, the national COVID response team said on Wednesday.

Currently, 344 patients are hospitalized, including 26 on ventilators, while 9,675 persons are self-isolating.

Since February 25, when the first infection was registered in Croatia, 18,447 persons have been infected with the virus, of whom 309 have died, while 16,308 have recovered, including 116 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 338,594 persons have been tested, including 5,353 in the last 24 hours.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

October 6, 2020 - According to the latest data, only one case of coronavirus infection has been recorded in Istria today. In the past two weeks, only 13 cases have been recorded, which puts this Croatian region in the green zone according to the criteria of the European Union, reports Hina.

Last week, from September 28th to October 4th, 2020, Istria recorded eight new cases, and a week earlier only five. As of October 5, Istria had no cases of coronavirus infection and only 9 active cases of infection, which is the lowest number of cases when compared to other counties, reports Jutarnji.

The excellent epidemiological situation in Istria was also announced by the Mayor of Pula, Boris Miletić, on his Facebook page, where he posted a photo showing that Istria is the only 'green' zone in Croatia.

“Istria is again an example to the rest of Croatia! Bravo Istrians!” the mayor wrote below the photo.

At the same time, neighboring Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and Slovenia have a more difficult situation and record numbers of newly infected people.

The head of the Epidemiology Service of the Institute of Public Health of the Istrian County, Dr. Jasna Valić, consciously said that "the situation in Istria is still good and stable, but that can change overnight."

"We are aware that the coming months will not be easy and that is why we once again appeal to the citizens to be responsible and careful. Of course, we all hope that there will be no 'clogging' of the health care system, which is already happening in Spain, France, and Italy, which are again on the verge of complete closure," said the leader.

In Novigrad, there has been recorded a case of infection of a kindergarten teacher, which is why self-isolation measures were determined for 120 children and 30 employees of a preschool institution on Saturday, October 3rd, 2020.

Istria had a relatively good epidemiological situation during the pandemic, which is why they appealed to other countries to decide to put it on the red list according to the regions of Croatia, and not the whole country.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

October 5, 2020 - As Croatia prepares for mandatory masks indoors, many wonder how this will work inside restaurants, bars, and cafes. A closer look. 

After mandatory masks were announced in public transport, shopping malls, bakeries, and shops, masks will be introduced in all other activities that operate indoors. What people are most interested in is how this will work in restaurants and cafes. 

Namely, Index.hr reports that the Croatian National Institue of Public Health director, Krunoslav Capak, announced that an indoor mandatory mask measure is being prepared.

"We are certainly preparing a measure making it mandatory to wear masks indoors. We will discuss other measures with individual sectors of the economy and adopt them in agreement with them," he said. Waiters have had to wear masks for a long time, but now so should guests.

Marin Medak, head of the National Caterers Association, told Index that they had agreed with the Civil Protection Headquarters to jointly make all decisions regarding the implementation of measures in catering facilities, and a new one should be introduced in the next month.

"In a conversation with members of the Headquarters, we were told that Croatia could expect to replicate the German model in terms of wearing masks in restaurants, including cafes and pastry shops. The guest will need to wear a mask to the table and when they get up and leave to go to the toilet or leave the restaurant. While the guest is sitting at the table, they should not wear a mask, but can normally sit and consume food and drink. We asked the Headquarters when it should be in force, and they told us that it would be introduced in the next month," Medak told Index.

He states that so far they have not mentioned any other measures that would be introduced, and adds that, in addition to Germany, this model of wearing masks in restaurants has been applied by Spain and that it is being introduced by Italy and France.

He believes that this measure should not deter guests from visiting restaurants and cafes, but it could even encourage those who are afraid of indoor spaces to feel safer in catering facilities.

"I believe it will be good because the guests will feel safer. And part of the traffic may drop, but for loyal guests, this security measure would certainly be an even bigger argument to visit the bar," Medak said.

As the rainier days began, Index asked if the traffic had dropped for caterers, given that many do not want to sit on the terrace when it is colder and rainier.

"It is difficult to do analytics until we get data from the Tax Office, and they publish a report for the previous week at the end of this week. I know some locals who said that their turnover did not drop, I know some who lost 40 percent, but only Tax data can show the real situation," Medak said.

He also said that the Headquarters mentioned another measure, but it will not be introduced for the time being.

"One of the measures is that guests would have to leave information when entering the facility, but that would complicate everything for us. We don’t have enough people to do that yet, and we can’t raise prices to offset the cost of hiring a person to run it. If it is in the state's interest and the citizens to increase the security of everyone in that way, then the state should compensate us for that. I don’t know how that would be feasible in practice, say if a person works in a cafe in a shift, she can’t serve and make coffee and keep a list. Few restaurants have a reception," Medak said.

He states that it will not be a problem for caterers to keep lists, but they must be paid by the person who would keep them.

"Whatever the state prescribes, we will do it, but on the condition that the state covers that part of the cost. The Headquarters initially copied all German and Austrian measures, so they copied the provision for reducing working hours, which proved to be a failure. We will see how things will go on," Medak said.

Veljko Ostojic, director of the Croatian Tourism Association, which brings together leading hoteliers, told Index that he would not like to comment on anything until an official decision is made.

"We were at a meeting with the Headquarters last week and nothing concrete was announced. But I think that masks in catering facilities should not be brought for everyone, but depending on the epidemiological situation in each region. We expect proposals this afternoon, and we will react," Ostojic said to Index.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, October 5, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, there have been 138 new cases of the coronavirus infection and two fatalities in Croatia , and the number of active cases stands at 1,466, the national COVID-19 management team said on Monday.

There are 326 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, including 24 who are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was registered in Croatia, 17,797 people have contracted the coronavirus infection, of whom 300 have died, while 16,031 have recovered, including 182 who have recovered in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 8,923 people are self-isolating.

To date, 328,392 people have been tested for coronavirus, of whom 2,233 over the past 24 hours.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

October 1, 2020 - New coronavirus measures were announced today for weddings and funerals in Sibenik-Knin County. A closer look.

Dalmatinski PortalDalmatinski Portal reports that at the proposal of the Civil Protection Headquarters of Sibenik-Knin County, the necessary epidemiological measures for this area are being introduced. Thus, a maximum of 50 people can be present at wedding ceremonies, and they can last up to 2 hours. Exceptionally, up to 100 people may be present at wedding ceremonies. Such ceremonies may be held only on premises that can regularly organize ceremonies for at least 3 times the number of people than will be present at the wedding ceremony.

Funerals may be attended by a maximum of 50 people, and condolences must not be expressed through close contact; in all enclosed spaces where public or economic activities are carried out, and events, cultural or other programs, religious or other social gatherings take place, the use of face masks or medical masks is mandatory.

Residents of homes for the elderly and infirm are prohibited from leaving unless it is conditioned by medical reasons, and visits to mobile users of homes for the elderly and infirm are allowed in the courtyards of the facilities for 30 minutes. Visits to immobile users of homes for the elderly and infirm are allowed in closed homes for 15 minutes, and only one person can visit the user at a time.

Visits are permitted in accordance with a plan established by the director or a person authorized by them, provided that visitors do not have a fever, wear protective masks or face masks and protective gloves, and do not come into direct contact with other users. 

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.