ZAGREB, Aug 25, 2020 - In the past 24 hours, 219 new cases of the coronavirus were detected in Croatia bringing the total number of cases to 2,231, the national Covid-19 response team said on Tuesday. 

Currently, 167 patients are hospitalised, nine of whom are on ventilators. Two more patients have died.

Since 25 February, when the first case of the infection was detected in Croatia, a total of 8,530 people have been infected, 175 of whom have died while 6,124 have recovered.

There are currently 7,815 people in self-isolation.

A total of 154,159 people have been tested for the virus to date, including 1,977 in the past 24 hours.

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August 25, 2020 - Croatia has recorded an increased number of coronavirus infections in the last ten days. However, on Monday, 136 new cases were detected, which is significantly less than in the past few days. The latest on COVID-19 in Croatia.

Index.hr reports that the National Civil Protection Headquarters, along with several scientists, believes that in the autumn, the symptoms will be significantly more severe compared to the symptoms in those infected this summer. In this context, new measures are being prepared, and the leaders of the National Headquarters have repeatedly described what the rules should look like in autumn.

In short and most importantly, there should be no new lockdown. Not all cafes, schools, restaurants, shops should be closed, like in the spring. There should be no passes, bans on leaving the place of residence, or most of what we have witnessed already. However, as Bozinovic emphasized, strict national measures are not completely ruled out, and everything will depend on the situation.

The measures to be adopted should be local. Although a ban on cafe work is currently in force throughout the country, no matter how many people are infected in each area, the Headquarters says that measures at the national level should be an exception.

What it should look like in the future, Bozinovic explained at Monday's 2 pm conference.

"We emphasized that the system will make every effort to avoid closures, to keep it active as much as possible, and for local and county headquarters to detect hotspots more accurately. This would mean that National Headquarters' decisions would not affect the same activities throughout Croatia, but would be aimed at a segment or a specific legal entity where measures of the Croatian Institute of Public Health are not applied as prescribed," said Bozinovic.

He explained that this means the more precise extinguishing of hotspots, which will give local headquarters more work, and expressed the expectation that some local headquarters will soon come up with concrete measures.

"If we see that the majority has similar requirements, a measure can be adopted that will be valid for the entire territory of Croatia. This is the best way to leave as much as possible to function, and to deal with emerging hotspots at 14-day intervals," Bozinovic said. 

Bozinovic emphasized that the meeting with the local headquarters aimed to encourage them to give the National HQ more information so that it could react.

"We deeply believe that we will not enter another lockdown, and we need to report in time for the hotspots so that we do not have to take decisions beyond what is necessary and possible at a given moment," he said.

Speaking about the hotspots, Bozinovic said that weddings spread the virus, but should not be generalized. "There are 300 or so weddings a week in Croatia and not all of them are a source of infection. They will react where something appears, try to fix it, and where we have a favorable situation, let life go as normally as possible," he said.

Bozinovic was also a guest on HRT, where he explained everything a little more. He says that local measures are nothing new, and they were adopted, for example, on Brac and Murter. One such measure is now in force in Imotski.

"This is nothing new, such measures have been so far, but there have been fewer. At the initiative of local, county headquarters, we have always responded, knowing that people in the field have a better insight into the situation and the potential hotspots because from the national level, you can't have such an insight, " Bozinovic told HRT.

Bozinovic admits that national measures have major shortcomings.

"On the other hand, the fact is that when decisions are made at the national level, they are applied indiscriminately to all activities. This was justified during the lockdown, and horizontal measures were taken. However, we now know more about the virus and how it can be can be significantly reduced by responsible behavior.

Given that there is no more lockdown, that there is no intention to close everything, that there is not even a need if the measures are applied, then we will, and we have already announced this, rely on this data from the field.

If local headquarters, which are not only the county but also city and municipal, report that something is happening in certain facilities and activities, we will quickly make decisions that will be applied. That means a lot of decisions. However, it is better to make a lot of decisions that are more precise than one that can hit indiscriminately," says Bozinovic.

Large gatherings and nightclubs are often a source of infection. Bozinovic was asked whether some measures will be adopted at the Croatian level.

“It is not our intention, nor would it be proportionate to make a decision that would hit someone who has been adhering to HZJZ measures all along,” he says.

Bozinovic says the National Headquarters cannot monitor all these gatherings at the local level.

"That is why the responsibility lies with the local headquarters, because they all, especially the county headquarters, have the task of including epidemiologists who know the job, as well as those who are in the National Headquarters," he said.

Bozinovic was asked what if there are 500 newly infected people a day.

"As long as it is possible, and I hope it will always be possible, these measures will be adopted locally, regionally. But we do not exclude national measures either. It is difficult to predict now. I am sure that if everyone engages to the maximum, we will achieve results," said Bozinovic.

The director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, was a guest on RTL Danas. He also commented on this new approach, which will be based on stronger localization of measures.

Asked if he had confidence that the local headquarters would make recommendations validly and promptly, Capak replied that the goal of the meeting and agreement with local headquarters was to lower the level of "snapshots of epidemiological assessments to the local level".

"We believe that those who are on the spot can best identify the problem and the source of the infection and best direct a certain measure to reduce that source of infection and solve the problems. When we have information from local headquarters about it, then the National Headquarters can take more targeted measures. So far, when we have adopted horizontal measures that apply to all counties, there is always the possibility that for someone, this measure may be too strict or they do not need it," he said, adding that the situation is always better somewhere and worse elsewhere.

"This way, we will now have the opportunity to focus on measures where the problem exists and try to solve the problem at its source. Local headquarters always have a member of the epidemiologist," Capak said.

To the additional question that the local headquarters had epidemiologists so far and whether the meeting took place too late, Capak answered that they had communicated with them in the same way so far.

"However, we have now clearly presented this possibility of working to apply the principle of subsidiarity, record the problem and direct the measures where they are most needed," Capak said, adding that the National Headquarters has supported the proposed measures of the local headquarters. He reminded of the cases of Vukovar-Srijem County and weddings or quarantine on Murter, where they obeyed local headquarters in the past.

Asked again if everything could have been done earlier, Capak replied: "We have always reacted by supporting the local headquarters. I think it is not too late. But now we have presented this possibility to all headquarters, that it exists, and that we will we certainly support when they spot a problem and give us suggestions."

Minister Vili Beros also commented on this new approach for Dnevnik N1 television. He says there will be no such closure because the economy could not stand it.

"Measures used to be general and focused on the entire territory of the country, but we have already announced that the measures will be regional and focused on hotspots. That is why we emphasized the role of local and county headquarters, because they know the situation in their areas best and give a framework, but they should detect problems locally and emphasize to us those issues that will fit into the measures," said Beros.

"There were many unknowns in the first part of the battle, but now we know the clinical picture, a number of elements are better known than before. Such closure is not even possible, and the economy would not tolerate it. By selective measures and finding ways to coexist in the second, we will learn to live with that virus as part of the fight," Beros said.

When asked how he evaluates the work of local headquarters, he says that some worked more, some less.

"At the meeting, we emphasized the role of county headquarters. And in Murter, Brac, Istria ... Initiatives were brought at the suggestion of local headquarters. I would not criticize anyone, and we should work in the field and talk to everyone. Communication should be permanent, and the information should be accurate. Some headquarters were more active, some less so, but everyone's task is to prevent the spread of the epidemic and that is why today we have confirmed this once again and consider measures together," the minister said.

Asked if he expects a drop in the number of newly infected, he says he expects it in a week or two, if there are no new epidemiological hotspots because they want to bring the situation under control by the autumn.

"We are currently controlling the epidemiological situation, and our epidemiologists believe that the measures adopted 10 days ago will now show the result and the picture. It is still possible that the number of infected will fluctuate, but that number should start falling. Our goal is to stabilize the epidemiological situation before the school year," said Beros.

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ZAGREB, Aug 24, 2020 - School starts on September 7, and the main rule is to keep one's distance, not to mix pupils from different classes and to step up hygiene, while face masks will be mandatory only for pupils in higher grades if there is not enough space for them to keep their distance, the Education Ministry said on Monday.

The basic rule is that those who are showing symptoms of a communicable disease, are self-isolating or have contracted COVID-19 do not go to school, and to curb the disease it is necessary to keep one's distance, reduce contact between different classes, and step up personal hygiene and that of shared spaces, said Ivana Pavic Simetin, deputy head of the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) and coordinator of the task force in charge of elaborating and proposing school-related public health measures for the start of the 2020/2021 school and academic year.

Pupils should come into contact with a few teachers as possible during one day or period.

"It is recommended to have two or three hours of classes, two shifts, to have lessons start at different times, as well as breaks," Pavic Simetin said while presenting epidemiological guidelines for the start of the school year.

It is also suggested that schools provide replacement rooms in case there are too many pupils in a classroom for them to be at a distance of 1.5 meters in primary and 2 meters in secondary schools.

If there are no other possibilities, it is suggested that the school operates in shifts. For instance, half of the classes could attend school one week, and the second half next week.

In the event of a child exhibiting symptoms, he or she is separated from others and parents come to pick up their child, but there is no need to panic, and an epidemiologist should only be contacted if several children start showing symptoms.

If a child tests positive for COVID-19, the entire class or kindergarten group will undergo self-isolation.

Pavic-Simetin underscored that children were not superspreaders and that they rarely infect their family members or teachers.

Lower grades of primary schools to function as "bubbles"

Education and Science Minister Radovan Fuchs reiterated that classes in lower grades of primary school would follow the "bubble" model so pupils will not leave the classroom, they will have controlled access to the toilet, their teacher will be with them all the time and they will not mix with children from other classes. They will not have to wear face masks, nor will their teacher.

Pupils in higher grades of primary schools will only have to wear masks if there is not enough space for them to maintain physical distance.

Asked about optional subjects, such as religion, foreign languages, and IT, he underscored that there would be no mixing pupils from different classes, so if that was not possible, such classes would be held online.

There will be online classes if any of these two scenarios occurs: an entire class or school is undergoing self-isolation, or a class is being split up to provide more space for physical distancing, Fuchs said.

"That should not be a big problem, the least favorable version is to have children stay home," he underscored.

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ZAGREB, Aug 24, 2020 - Minister Nikolina Brnjac on Monday stated that the tourism sector was well prepared for the situation caused by the coronavirus and that the good tourism results, and government and crisis response team's measures had resulted in Croatia being recognized as a safe destination.

Commenting on claims by stakeholders in the tourism sector that it is going to take two to three years for tourism to get back to 2019's levels, Minister Brnjac said after meeting with representatives of the hotel industry, that it was of exceptional importance to "strategically think of further steps so that we can establish a sustainable and resilient system."

It is essential that everyone behaves responsibly and adheres to the recommended measures so that the positive trend in arrivals can continue this season and in that way, set the preconditions to maintain safety in the years to come, she said.

"The 2019 tourism season was above average in everything but the number of arrivals does not mean revenue too. That is why a tourism development strategy is important because it is important to know where we are going, what our objective is, and how to develop Croatia's tourism in the future. This situation with COVID is extraordinary. The tourism sector was exceptionally well prepared and the good results we have in fact, along with the government's measures which saved jobs and the measures by the Civil Protection Authority, have resulted in Croatia being recognized as a safe destination," the tourism minister underlined.

She explained that several ministries were in contact with those countries that have put Croatia on the quarantine list to ask that Croatia be treated according to the current developments in counties as the situation is not the same throughout the country.

"Hence, based on the epidemiological circumstances that will occur we expect other countries to review their lists. We have the biggest number of guests from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, and considering that we are a car destination, thanks to the Tourist Board's good promotion, we used our advantage and good road network," she concluded.

Director of the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT) Veljko Ostojic said that if the support measures had not been issued in March, the tourism season would definitely not be as it is because "employers would have been forced to lay off a significant number of workers and without workers there cannot be any tourism." 

We need information about job retention measures...because employers have to make certain decisions. It is also important to secure liquidity for the next tourism season and today we talked about the possibility of using EU funds, he said.

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ZAGREB, Aug 24, 2020- Over the past 24 hours, there have been 136 new cases of the coronavirus infection in Croatia, after 1,722 tests were carried out, Health Minister Vili Beros told a press conference of the national COVID-19 response team in Zagreb on Monday.

There are 163 patients in hospitals, including 12 on ventilators. Two more people have died, and those victims were two elderly men.

Currently, there are 2,213 active cases, including 119 health workers, and 7,519 people are self-isolating, 515 of whom are health workers.

Since the first case of the infection was reported, a total of 8,312 people have tested positive for the virus, 5,926 people recovered, and 173 died.

Head of the COVID-19 response team and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said that given the increase in the number of new infections they had agreed that local teams should define hotspots more precisely.

He expects some teams will come up with concrete measures, and if all teams have similar demands, then a measure can be introduced for the entire country.

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ZAGREB, Aug 23, 2020 - There have been 275 new cases of the coronavirus infection in Croatia in the past 24 hours, which is a drop from Saturday, when 306 new cases were reported, the national COVID-19 response team said on Sunday.

The number of active cases has reached 2,203 and one more person has died.

A total of 155 patients are hospitalised, including 12 who are on ventilators.

Currently 7,095 people are self-isolating.

To date, 150,460 people have been tested for the virus, including 1,718 in the last 24 hours.

Since February 25, when the first case was reported, 8,175 people have contracted the disease, of whom 171 have died and 5,801 have recovered.

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ZAGREB, Aug 22 - New epidemiological measures have been introduced for Imotski, Cista Provo, Lovrec, Lokvicic, Podbablje, Prolozac, Runovici, Zagvozd and Zmijavci in Split-Dalmatia County, and they will be in force for the next 14 days, starting on August 24, the national COVID-19 response team has said.

The new measures have been introduced at the request of the county and local teams in charge of managing the coronavirus crisis.

The new epidemiological measures limit the number of guests at weddings to 50 while other private ceremonies and celebrations may be organised only within the family and with a maximum 20 guests.

Bars and bistros can serve guests only in open-air spaces, terraces and the like, while family farms which provide catering services must not receive groups of more than 20 people.

Funerals may be attended by a maximum 50 people, who must avoid physical contact when extending condolences to the berieved.

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ZAGREB, Aug 22 - A record 306 new cases of the coronavirus infection have been detected in the past 24 hours, which puts the number of active cases in Croatia at 2,052, the national COVID-19 response team said on Saturday.

Of the new cases, 143 are undergoing hospital treatment, including 12 who are on ventilators. One more person has died.

Since February 25, when the first case of the coronavirus infection was reported in the country, 7,900 people have contracted the disease, of whom 170 have died while 5,678 have recovered.

A total of 6,868 people are self-isolating.

To date, 148,742 people have been tested for the virus, including 2,574 in the last 24 hours.

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August 22, 2020 - If you are not allowed to party on land, you can party at sea! That is, if you're in Zadar.

Namely, Slobodna Dalmacija reports that after the National Headquarters banned the operation of all bars and nightclubs after midnight last week, the bar and club owners in Zadar figured out a way to keep the parties going. Now, all the fun (and earnings) from nightclubs and bars have simply moved to... party boats!

As most of the owners had to close their clubs, which left them with a considerable loss in business, two Zadar clubs decided to rent excursion boats for the weekend, which will sail through the Zadar archipelago and act as a floating club.

"The coronavirus should be stopped for all people, but of all the measures that were adopted and in force, the most abused group of people were caterers trying to do something and work," says Pjerino Bebic, co-owner of the popular Zadar club Opera, who explained that the club came up with the idea of a “party boat” as it is advertised on their Facebook page.

"We can’t work at the club so then we partnered with boats. We will organize excursions for our clients and guests. It has nothing to do with a nightclub, but we also need to earn something. This way, we will use our brand to attract people. Unfortunately, we will not use this to attract a large number of people, although we realistically could. We will have a maximum of 150 people on board.

We will adhere to all prescribed epidemiological measures, we will compile a list of all passengers, their temperature will be measured at the entrance to the boat, just as it was measured at the entrance to the club, tables will be at the prescribed distance, and we will finish at midnight because the headquarters informed us to," said Bebic, adding that the event was reported to the Civil Protection as a gathering of people.

"We have done everything so that no one can object to us. We have to work in limited possibilities and now we are looking to do no damage, and the earnings are not great. We have to maintain the brand, and we hope that we will be able to cover all costs," says Bebic.

"I don't want to allude to anything or anyone, but I watched footage from cafes in Austria and Germany, I was also at the Sinjska Alka, where people were having fun and nothing happened to anyone, and I don't know why we can't, according to possibilities and recommendations, work. At our club, we measure temperature, all employees work with masks, we have liters and liters of disinfectant. In a club that accepts 700 people, we let only 200 in because of all the measures imposed. There is no profit in such mathematics, and you must have the same number of employees. We have fully adapted to everything that is prescribed, but let us make money," concluded Bebic.

Along with Opera, the popular Zadar bar Hype also planned a fun tour of the Zadar archipelago.

"We have to work because otherwise, we cannot survive, but we will do everything in accordance with the prescribed epidemiological measures. Just as we’ve been working at the club lately, so will we onboard; measure the temperature of all visitors, distribute masks and gloves, make a list of all those who come, keep a distance between the tables, and everything takes place in the open part of the ship," Hype said, adding that rents, utilities and salaries must be settled, and there is no help from the state.

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August 22, 2020 - For the third day in a row, a record number of new cases was recorded in Croatia, and most of them among the young. On Friday, 265 new cases were recorded, and in Split-Dalmatia County alone, there were more than a hundred. A look at COVID-19 in Croatia.

Index.hr reports that the director of the CNIPH, Krunoslav Capak, said on Friday that the National Civil Protection Headquarters would exchange information on the current epidemiological situation at a meeting with local headquarters on Monday and consider the possibility of introducing new measures.

At that meeting, the National Headquarters will consider the possibility for local headquarters to propose measures for their area, given that they see better from the local level, Capak told RTL Danas.

"All measures are open, from wearing masks to reducing the number of people at gatherings and so on. All of this could be implemented," Capak said, adding that county headquarters could tell them what their biggest problem is, their biggest focus and what measures could be taken to reduce the number of infected.

He said that the county headquarters could not make such decisions, but only the National Headquarters, which can support the local headquarters to some extent.

Asked if only Split-Dalmatia County may have to wear masks, Capak said that it is possible and it is being discussed hypothetically, which does not mean that it will be so. He noted that there are other counties with a high incidence, who will be asked to say what their biggest problem is.

The local approach can also be applied to teaching

Capak says Croatia could better adapt epidemiological measures to local contagious situations, which could be applied to the teaching regime.

For now, school classes are scheduled to begin on September 7, but that, Capak says, will depend on the epidemiological situation.

If there is any significant deterioration and if a large number of school-age children are among those infected, the system will be ready for all scenarios, Capak says.

He explained that care would be taken that if the increase occurs in one county, school starts in other counties where there are no patients.

Was the decision to open nightclubs wrong?

Regarding the consequences of the work of nightclubs, Capak reminded that the authorities decided to hold certain cultural events in them in order to help overcome the problematic situation that prevailed for some time.

If the clubs were to close, young people would find another place, like now when they gather in squares, streets and parks, he said.

He said that there is control, but they are against repression. "We are not a police state; we think it is best to appeal and educate that the situation is not good," he said.

According to data from ten days ago, among those infected in the Croatian epidemiological database, in 20 percent of cases, some asymptomatic patients do not manifest the infection, and now that number could be slightly higher, said Capak.

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