ZAGREB, Aug 21, 2020 - Croatia has registered a record high in daily cases with 265 new infections, which was to be expected given the tourist season, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday, calling on young people who had been in high-risk situations to avoid contact with others.

The head of the Croatian Public Health Institute, Krunoslav Capak, reiterated that they had introduced measures for night clubs and said that the situation on the ground showed that that had been a good move, but there were some "acts of resourcefulness".

It is not good, he said, that young people are moving from clubs to bars and restaurants which are allowed to work longer. There are also cases of wedding parties being moved from Dalmatia to Herzegovina, he said.

Therefore, the national COVID-19 response team will on Monday meet with local teams to adopt measures that would apply locally and restrict the working hours of facilities and reduce gatherings.

Asked about infections related to the Feast of the Assumption of Mary and the Sinjska Alka tournament, Capak said that there were two people in one continental county who did not know where they had got infected, and they had been to those events, but there were no cases in Split-Dalmatia County related to the events.

He noted that the team had achieved a good balance between opening up in the season and protecting people's health. He believes the measures are good and that most tourists feel safe and hope that the season will continue for a few more days or weeks.

Asked about his statement that the laid-back personality of Dalmatian people was to blame for the latest coronavirus statistics, Capak said that when he had spoken of relaxed behavior he had meant it in a good way, "except during a period of infection when caution is necessary."

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ZAGREB, Aug 21, 2020 - The head of the national COVID-19 response team, Davor Bozinovic, said on Friday that decisions regarding the coronavirus epidemic were not political decisions.

"Tourism is an important economic sector in Croatia, however, we opened up based on scientific data about the virus not being so dangerous in the summertime, as evidenced by the latest clinical symptoms in patients. The assessment that it is possible to open up was an epidemiological one," Bozinovic told reporters when asked to comment on Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's statement that the decision on the tourist season was a political one and to say which other decisions were political.

Asked why the situation was problematic in Split-Dalmatia County, where earlier in the day 103 new cases of the COVID-19 disease were reported, Bozinovic said that there were more than 800,000 people in the county at present, that its towns and communities have much fewer residents in the winter, and that a large number of people from neighboring countries were staying there.

Commenting on scientist Ivan Djikic's statement that it had been wrong to allow night clubs to operate, Bozinovic said that the COVID-19 response team had adopted the necessary measures, carried out controls, and when cases of infection were detected, it banned night clubs from working after midnight.

The measures imposed by the team resulted in a drop in new infections, he said.

Bozinovic also said that they were not worried about reports that a Facebook initiative would file a class-action lawsuit against the COVID-19 response team and that its objective was to maintain a balance.

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ZAGREB, Aug 21, 2020 - Croatia has 265 new cases of the coronavirus infection, the highest daily number so far, but Health Minister Vili Beros does not consider this to be a significant departure from recent trends and believes that it is due to the summer tourist season.

Speaking at a regular news conference of the national COVID-19 response team on Friday, Beros said that 50% or 137 of the new cases were people who were in self-isolation, which, he said, showed that epidemiologists were doing a good job.

Beros noted that 1,647 tests had been conducted in the past 24 hours and that currently, 6,446 people were self-isolating.

There has been one fatality in the past 24 hours, an elderly woman.

The death toll stands at 169. Eleven people have been hospitalized since yesterday, which puts the total number of hospitalized patients at 135, including 12 who are still on ventilators, Beros said.

There are currently 1,842 active cases of the COVID-19 disease in the country.

Beros believes that the latest figures do not depart radically from those in recent days and that they are due to Croatia being open to tourists, with a large number of foreign nationals having vacationed on its coast.

The increase in infections is certainly also due to "a certain kind of behavior in the summertime," said Beros.

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August 20, 2020 - The United Kingdom has put Croatia on the quarantine list due to the deteriorating epidemiological situation in the country. 

Vecernji List reports that as it was announced from the local Ministry of Transport, British tourists and others staying in Croatia are invited to return home immediately because the mandatory 14-day isolation for all returnees from Croatia begins to apply.

Data shows we need to remove Croatia, Austria and Trinidad & Tobago from our list of #coronavirus Travel Corridors to keep infection rates DOWN. If you arrive in the UK after 0400 Saturday from these destinations, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days.

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) August 20, 2020

According to information from the UK, there are currently 20,000 tourists from that country in Croatia. Britain views Croatia as a whole, without regional or county demarcations, and warns that the situation has deteriorated dramatically compared to three weeks ago.

They refer to the latest data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, according to which Croatia has recorded 37.7 confirmed infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks. For comparison, Britain records 21.2 infected, Slovenia 12.8, and Sweden 39.5.

More info soon...

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ZAGREB, Aug 20, 2020 - There have been 255 new cases of the coronavirus infection in Croatia in the last 24 hours, and there are now 1,689 active cases, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

Of those active cases, 127 are receiving hospital treatment, including 13 placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, 2,397 people have been tested and since the outbreak of the infection on 25 February, 144,521 tests have been performed.

To date, 7329 people have caught the virus, and of them, 5,472 have fully recovered, while 168 have died.

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August 20, 2020 – Slovenians must quarantine if returning from Croatia after the weekend, but what are the implications of Croatia on Slovenia RED list?

Update on August 20, after the official placement of Croatia on Slovenia RED list by the Slovenian government was made public: in order to make things easier for their nationals currently vacationing in Croatia, Slovenia has decided to extend the deadline for the return to Slovenia until Monday. Slovenians who own real-estate and boats in Croatia are given an extra 48 hours, so they can take care of their property before leaving Croatia without self-isolating upon return. 

As reported in TCN yesterday, Slovenia has designated Croatia on Slovenia RED list as a country on its red list for travel. Sounds bad. But, what does it actually mean?

Well, for Slovenes, the choice is pretty simple – return home before the end of the weekend, or you'll face a mandatory two-week quarantine and Coronavirus test when you do. The quarantine and test will apply automatically to any Slovene travelling to Croatia after Friday.

But, what are the implications of Croatia on Slovenia RED list?

Well, the mandatory quarantine and test apply to any Croatian entering Slovenia after the weekend. There are exceptions – if you're just passing through, say, on your way to Austria or Germany, the quarantine doesn't apply. You'll have a maximum of 12 hours to travel into, through, and out of Slovenia. The same goes for delivery drivers who are just dropping off or picking up. You can stop for gas and use the WC. Special permits are also available for those who have to cross the border for daily trade.

Not such a big deal for Croats, then? Well, we'll have to wait and see. But, it doesn't look good. The economic implications could bite much harder.

From June, Slovenians have accounted for 7 million overnight stays in Croatia. As reported continuously in TCN's 2020 travel and tourism coverage, regional tourism - lead by those travelling by car – has accounted for the largest number of arrivals this year. Numbers of Slovenes holidaying in Croatia are actually up by as much as 3 percent compared to the same period last year.


In 2020, visitors from Croatia's next-door neighbour have been more important - and more numerous - than ever before, until Croatia on Slovenia RED list

According to the Croatian National Tourist Board, Slovenes accounted for 8.7% of arrivals and 11.5% of overnight stays in total over 2019, second only to Germans. During this 2020 season, in which their custom is more important than ever, the financial impact on Croatia may be much more damaging than that incurred from similarly imposed classifications by Austria and Italy, who recently announced mandatory testing for all returnees.

The peak days of the season are already behind us but, truth be told, the season only began in earnest a month ago. There was no pre-season this year. Hopes of an extended season, based on the optimistic numbers of July / early August, now seem to be dashed, due to the rise in number of COVID-19 infections. Certainly from the Slovenian market.

Will Slovenes and others accept a mandatory quarantine in exchange for their annual break on the Croatian coast? Some may. Surely, some won't. Any Slovenes planning trips in late August or September have been given serious cause to reconsider, thanks to the new classification. School and work start again in September – how does a two-week mandatory quarantine fit into that schedule?

Nobody really knows how long the 'red card' Slovenia has given Croatia will last, nor when it will end. The answer presumably lies in Croatia's ability to address its number of newly infected. Before all criticism for the stranglehold this classification places on the 2020 season is attributed to Slovenia, Croatia must first ask itself some tough questions; could Croatia – from staff and owners in the service industry, right the way up to state level - have done more to keep the numbers down? For it is the numbers now that can help save the remainder of Croatia's 2020 tourist season, not the Slovenes.

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August 20, 2020 - The coronavirus spokesman of the Slovenian government, Jelko Kacin, confirmed on Wednesday what was speculated - Slovenia will put Croatia on the red list Thursday night. However, he said that in reality, Croatia is already on the Slovenian red list. Croatian Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac responded.

Index.hr reports that Slovenian tourists will most likely have until the end of the week to return to Slovenia to avoid a two-week self-isolation.

"In reality, Croatia is already on the red list today, and formally it will be tomorrow," Kacin said, adding that the situation in Croatia is dramatic.

He went a step further and said that Croatia no longer controls the situation with the coronavirus.

"We have to be realistic and understand that they are no longer in control of their situation; their epidemiologists can no longer do that. There will be big problems in the health system. The situation requires sober heads and decisive moves," Kacin said.

"The situation in Croatia is so bad that we have no choice but to call on our citizens to return to Slovenia as soon as possible. Things are getting worse quickly and it will be much worse," Kacin added.

The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Nikolina Brnjac, answered him.

The press release received from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports is transmitted in its entirety:

"Following the latest statements by the coronavirus spokesman of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, Jelko Kacin, we reject his allegations that the situation in Croatia is dramatic.

We remind you that Slovenia is continuously at the very top of the market crucial for the overall result of Croatian tourism, which is illustrated by eVisitor indicators according to which in June 2020, we recorded approximately 207 thousand arrivals and 1.1 million overnight stays from the Slovenian market. July reached a level of approximately 382 thousand arrivals and 3.4 million overnight stays.

According to preliminary indicators for August (as of August 18), we are currently at the level of approximately 238 thousand arrivals and 2.2 million overnight stays of Slovenes, of which 71.4 percent are realized in Istria, Kvarner and Lika. We want to point out that in these three counties, a total of 10 cases of newly infected with COVID-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours.

The perception of Croatia is extremely good for most Slovenian tourists; in Croatia, they feel safe since they know it well and are the owners of numerous properties (more than 100,000).

Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac is in constant contact with representatives of associations in the tourism system, to ensure full compliance with epidemiological measures in tourist facilities, as well as the possibility of introducing testing for foreign tourists in tourist facilities.

Croatia will continue to do everything in its power to ensure that the relevant foreign institutions have all the accurate and precise information on the basis of which they make decisions on the inclusion of countries on risk lists, i.e., on the lists of safe countries," the Ministry said.

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August 20, 2020 - German television WDR published a 45-minute report on Croatian tourism this year, which it called "Paradise for a vacation without tourists".

Index.hr reports that it is a continuation of a report from two years ago, which dealt with the problems of Croatian tourism, such as the overcrowding in Dubrovnik. However, the coronavirus pandemic has changed everything. 

"For tourists, this is an ideal situation because they have almost the entire coast to themselves, while the locals worry about whether they will survive financially and how to survive," the beginning of the WDR report states.

The impact of the pandemic on Croatian tourism

A Croatian waiter tells them: "Of course I am afraid of the future, I don't know who I could work for at all. Everyone here lives from tourism." Shots of Dubrovnik's rather empty streets follow, incomparable to the hustle and bustle filmed by German journalists two years ago at the same time.

"How hard has the corona crisis hit Croatia? How does it affect tourism? And how do people deal with it?" are questions that WDR is trying to answer.

Dubrovnik without tourists

They say that Dubrovnik is almost empty, so it is not difficult to keep a distance because there are simply no people. On the other hand, one Dubrovnik resident says that before the pandemic, Dubrovnik was so crowded that it was no longer possible to live in the city. "Everything was focused on profit," says the Dubrovnik resident, who recalls that there were days when six cruisers came to Dubrovnik, so the locals knew that there was simply no point in going out on the street that day because of the crowds. This year, however, no cruiser will come to Dubrovnik. One is in the harbor, but it is empty, and will spend the winter there.

It is stated that Dubrovnik is full of ads with discounts, but also that more and more business premises are offered for sale. They point out that the gastronomic sector in Dubrovnik was particularly affected, which last year served more than five thousand people a day, while now there are simply no guests. It is predicted that many restaurants and cafes will close this year, that they will not survive the crisis.

No crowds at Plitvice

The next location covered by the WDR report is Plitvice Lakes. A team of journalists film a camp near Plitvice, whose 2,500 spots are always filled. This year, there are only about 200 tents and caravans in the camp, and most of those who came did not reserve their place in advance because they concluded that there was no need for it.

Footage from 2018 shows a long line before entering Plitvice Lakes National Park, and this year there is no line at all. Now, due to the pandemic, a maximum of 300 people are allowed into the National Park per hour at each of the two entrances, but there are fewer guests than that. There were thousands of them before. The management of the National Park points out that they regularly disinfect everything and adhere to other epidemiological measures. Still, visitors wear masks, which are optional.

"For those who live from tourism, the situation is completely different, and they are already feeling the crisis," the report said. They point out that the area around Plitvice is poor, that there is no industry, and that many in tourism have tried to earn some extra money and taken out loans to build apartments for rent. But this year there are hardly any guests.

WDR reminds us that the tourist boom in Plitvice was created without the necessary infrastructure and that it has its dark side, especially when it comes to sewage and wastewater.

The journalists again visited the so-called 'seventeenth lake', i.e., 'the lake of crap' on Plitvice, which was created there a couple of years ago. “There was a bestial stench in the middle of the National Park,” recalls a WDR reporter. This year there is none of it, because there are no tourists, so the existing infrastructure is sufficient for those who live in Plitvice. There is also a treatment plant, a project of the National Park and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, which helped with the remediation. The mayor of Plitvice, Ante Kovac, explains that the problem was solved thanks to the protests of the local population, but also "because of the journalists, who pushed the politicians against the wall".

On the other hand, the residents of Plitvice experienced a "financial shock" due to the pandemic and hope to recover next year. One landlord says the financial pandemic is “worse than war”.

They want year-round, sustainable tourism on Hvar

The third destination visited by the WDR team was Hvar. They remind viewers that two years ago, it was a "party island", which created problems even then, so the local government introduced stricter rules of conduct for tourists and started threatening fines for inappropriate behavior.

"Now this problem has been solved on its own," the report states, along with footage of empty Hvar streets.

The owner of a Hvar hostel says that he no longer wants to do that business because the pandemic has shown that the whole model of Croatian tourism is wrong. “A new approach is needed, new projects,” he tells WDR. "Hvar can offer more than nightclubs, cafes and loud music," he said, adding that he wanted to implement "radical changes in tourism on Hvar" with local like-minded people. The goal is to achieve "year-round, sustainable tourism".

You can watch the video in its entirety HERE 

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ZAGREB, Aug 19, 2020 - In the last 24 hours, of 1,653 tests performed for coronavirus, 219 have returned positive, and currently Croatia has 1,520 active cases, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Wednesday.

Of those active cases, 122 are receiving hospital treatment, including 11 placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, there have been two more COVID-related deaths, bringing the death toll to 168.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the infection was confirmed in the country, a total of 7,074 people have contracted the disease, and of the 5,386 have recovered.

To date, 142,124 people have been tested for the virus.

Currently, 5,459 people are self-isolating.

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August 19, 2020 - Dinamo Zagreb released a statement Wednesday morning that one player tested positive for coronavirus, but did not reveal the identity of the player.

We have transmitted the club's press release in its entirety below:

"We hereby inform the public that one player from the GNK Dinamo system is positive for COVID-19. Pursuant to the Personal Data Protection Act (GDPR), we cannot disclose the identity of a person positive for the coronavirus.

The player who had symptoms immediately informed the GNK Dinamo medical service about his condition, which informed the competent epidemiological service about the situation in accordance with all prescribed measures. Today, the player received a positive result and was given a measure of strict self-isolation, in accordance with the recommendations of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia and the working group of the Croatian Football Federation.

According to the assessment of the medical service of the club and the epidemiological service at this time, there is no need for self-isolation of other players or members of the professional staff, given that the infected player was not in close contact with other people indoors, within the confines of the stadium.

Clubs participating in the UEFA competition are required to perform COVID-19 tests before each match in accordance with all prescribed measures, twice before the match. All members of the first team will be tested on COVID-19 on Thursday, August 20, and a few days later, the second test will be done.

GNK Dinamo will carry out intensified supervision in the coming days and will closely monitor the situation within the club in order to protect the players, the professional staff and all employees."

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