August 12, 2020 - The director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, commented on the 91 new cases on Tuesday, which is the highest number in the last 20 days, and what awaits us in autumn.

"We have daily variations. Last week we had between 20 and 30, yesterday we were under 50, and today our number jumped. Any such situation is worrying, but we will see how it will be tomorrow. In general, we have a downward trend and we hope that this will continue and that today's figure is a peak and that there will be nothing to worry about," said Krunoslav Capak for HTV's Dnevnik, commenting on Tuesday's 91 new cases.

Asked what he intends to do about nightclubs, which are once again emerging as coronavirus hotspots, Krunoslav Capak said the National Headquarters has been communicating with local governments, club owners, event organizers and sending inspections for some time.

"When irregularities are found, we ask them to be corrected. Experiences are that situations are good somewhere and worse somewhere else, and then it gets better. We have several clubs where it is repeated and it would be good for the local headquarters to take the initiative, warn them a little more, and possibly write some sanctions," said Capak.

You can see the new measures for nightclubs HERE.

Information has arrived from some countries, such as Germany, the Czech Republic, and Italy, that their citizens became infected during their vacation in Croatia. Capak says that there was a lot of such information in the media and that the authorities of those countries were asked.

"But we react exclusively to official reports because when we reacted to the unofficial ones we read online, we did not get adequate information." He confirmed that there are several official applications from Germany, Italy and Slovenia.

"In all such cases, epidemiologists are reacting and investigating the sources of the infection and the places where these people were," Capak said.

Regarding the request from Dubrovnik for the entry of cruisers, which is advocated by Mayor Mato Frankovic and opposed by Srđ je Grad!, Capak said that it is about an Italian company with two large cruisers on the Mediterranean.

"They worked out the measures and sent them to us for inspection. Our epidemiological assessment is that these are excellent measures. If everything is really done that way, those cruisers could be released. We also have a few additional questions. If the answers are satisfactory, then we will let the cruisers of that owner dock in Dubrovnik when they organize trips that are only now being planned," explained Capak.

What awaits us in the autumn, and how will classes look?

To this question, Capak answered that a slightly worse situation awaits us in autumn than today because we will be indoors more and because schools and universities will begin.

Will children in school have to wear masks?

"This has not been discussed yet," he says and reiterates that next week it will be decided whether children will go to school and what measures will be taken in schools. "It is important that we take action," he says, adding that all events will be worked out and that citizens will be informed promptly.

To conclude, Capak also commented on the Russian vaccine.

"If that were true, that would be great news. The Russians are capable of it, but I am afraid it is much too early, with clinical studies starting in June, it is too early for the vaccine to be tested. It needs to be safe and effective; I'm afraid it's been too short a time for that to happen," he said, adding that he thought it was impossible to test the population by October.

To read more about news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

August 11, 2020 - COVID-19 in Croatia: Instructions for the operation of multiplex cinemas in shopping malls have been published on the Croatian National Institute of Public Health website. 

Index.hr reports that multiplexes in shopping malls can finally open their doors, five months after closing.

Cinestar announced that it would start operating on August 20.

There should be hand sanitizers at the entrance to the cinema and inside and a notice that hand sanitization is mandatory.

When it comes to cinema staff, they must measure their temperature every day before coming to work, and if it is higher than 37.2 degrees, they must not come to work. It is also recommended that visitors measure their temperature before arriving at the cinema.

The Croatian Institute of Public Health points out that the screening of films is possible only in halls that can meet conditions, such as maintaining a physical distance. Also, the number of people who can be in the room at the same time must be limited, and the organizer determines this number according to the size of the space and the type of event.

"In case of need for additional clarifications, the participants will request approval from the ministry in charge of culture, which will, if necessary, consult the Croatian Institute of Public Health. All events, as well as the planned number of participants, will depend on the current epidemiological situation," reads the recommendations of the CNIPH.

It is recommended that the distance between visitors is at least 1.5 meters between each seat, but also when entering, moving, and exiting. The exit of visitors should be organized so that they go out one by one, and those who are closest to the door come out first.

Organizers must keep records of visitors, and ticket sales are encouraged online to avoid physical contact.

Detailed recommendations of the CNIPH can be read in the document below.

To read more about news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Latest update, August 17, 2020: Today, we've received confirmation from the Embassy of Finland that the changes announced last week will, in fact, not be happening: 

Old rules still valid, i.e. a recommendation to self-isolate if you return to Finland e.g. from Croatia. @THLresearch is preparing a so-called traffic light model that will communicate to travelers what measures are likely to be taken when arriving to ??. https://t.co/H24czqcefC

— Finland in Croatia (@FinEmbCroatia) August 17, 2020

August 11, 2020 - In a totally unexpected and somewhat weird twist, the Embassy of Finland to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Holy See announced today that Finland will introduce a mandatory 14-day quarantine and obligatory COVID-19 testing for travelers coming to Finland from Croatia. 

In a tweet post an hour or so ago, the Embassy explains the decision just a little bit further (see below): 

Huom! Obs! Pažnja! Please note!✈️?? #COVID19FI pic.twitter.com/dbhOdzlfnB

— Finland in Croatia (@FinEmbCroatia) August 11, 2020

It is unclear how or why the decision has been made now, as Croatia is decidedly not on high-risk lists created by most European countries (and we've extensively written about the epidemiological situation in Croatia being quite good and improving in the last weeks). No further detail on the decision are currently available, so we don't know much more. One thing we can tell you is that, if you're planning on going to Finland soon, and you're currently in Croatia or Bosnia and Herzegovina (we can't confirm at this moment which additional countries will be placed on the Finnish high-risk list), you should consider that move as soon as possible. The Embassy said in their vague tweet that more information should be known before the end of this week. 

Before this decision, Croatia was listed as one of the non-Schengen countries, for which "Self-quarantine is recommended for those arriving in Finland."

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

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ZAGREB, Aug 10, 2020 - In the last 24 hours, there have been 45 newly diagnosed coronavirus cases in Croatia, and currently, there are 585 active cases, the national COVID-19 crisis response team stated on Monday.

There are now 124 COVID patients in hospitals, including eight ones placed on ventilators. In the last 24 hours, one more patient, diagnosed with this disease, has died.

Since the first confirmed case of the infection on 25 February in Croatia, 5,649 persons have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and of the 158 have died, while 4,906 have recovered.

Currently, there are 2,057 people in self-isolation.

Since the outbreak of the infection, 129,379 tests have been performed for this disease, including 1,247 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, Aug 10, 2020 - The head of the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ), Krunoslav Capak, has said that the epidemiological situation in the country is favourable despite a large number of tourists vacationing in Croatia.

"It is unrealistic to expect that there will be no infected tourists but the figures are excellent considering the fact that currently there are close to 900,000 guests in the country," Capak said in an interview with the N1 broadcaster on Monday.

Commenting on foreign media reports about some tourists becoming infected while holidaying in Croatia, he said that Croatia was part of the Early Warning and Response System through which member-countries communicated about such cases.

He stressed that Croatia was aware of the cases of which it had been officially notified.

"We have received several reports from the health authorities of Germany, Italy, Austria, and Slovenia about tourists having contracted the disease here," he said, stressing that the biggest problem currently were night clubs.

Capak also said that the national COVID-19 response team would most probably grant Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Frankovic's request for amending the regulation on the docking of cruise ships in the Dubrovnik port, which now bans the arrival of cruise vessels with more than 200 passengers, because of the Italian MSC company which wants to bring tourists to Dubrovnik.

ZAGREB, Aug 9, 2020 - In the past 24 hours there have been 61 new coronavirus cases in Croatia, bringing the total number of active cases to 586, the national coronavirus crisis response team said on Sunday.

Among the active cases are 121 hospitalised patients, including eight patients on ventilators. There have been no new deaths.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia reported its first case of the coronavirus infection, there have 5,604 cases of the infection, with 157 fatalities and 4,861 recoveries.

Currently, 2,008 people are in self-isolation. To date, a total of 128,132 people have been tested, including 727 in the past 24 hours, the response team said in a press release.

August 9, 2020 - The director of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljevic" Alemka Markotic was a guest on RTL Today, where she commented on the coronavirus in Croatia and the number of patients in recent days.

"The numbers are a bit better or worse, but the trend is downward; you'll see that we have a downward trend from the beginning of the second wave. Every couple of days, we have some new peaks related to different hotspots," she said, as reported by Index.hr.

She also commented on how tourists should behave.

"It's almost a month and a half into the season, and it's clear that we are a safe country. There were no major jumps among tourists, obviously, those who come are very responsible, and tourism workers are convinced that a lot depends on the season," she said, and added that the problem is in younger people who become infected by going out to enclosed spaces at night. Measures are planned to be taken in this regard.

"These hotspots are not that big; they are gatherings like weddings, bachelor and bachelorette parties and some nightclubs. We will try to introduce new measures and security checks in places where there are hotspots to prevent this from happening again," she added.

She also commented on the rise of young infections.

"These were larger private gatherings, such as weddings and bachelor and bachelorette parties, and individual nightclubs. We must take into account that there are hundreds of those who make sure that all measures are implemented properly. So we cannot punish everyone, but we will try in places where outbreaks appear, introduce additional security checks and see how to improve the situation so that new outbreaks no longer occur in those places," she said.

The age of the infected has also dropped, so there are more and more of them among the young.

"Young people are definitely not among the most at-risk groups. But a large number of them have now relaxed with the measures. There are a lot of movements, activities and the like. Of course, the higher the number, the greater the chances of serious infections. Young people must understand that they can contribute a lot and help the health system and each other. They have been the vanguard many times in difficult situations; I believe that young people will understand this, and you will soon see. A group of enthusiasts and professors from Osijek and Slavonia is preparing a very interesting school program that will relate to biosafety, biosecurity and COVID. I believe that young people will wholeheartedly accept it and help all of us in that," she said.

And to end - did the German graduates become infected on Pag?

"They had symptoms around the third day in Croatia, so it is unlikely that they became infected in our country. They became infected either during the bus trip or before," she added.

She also commented on vaccines and said that America and Russia are in the running.

For more news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, Aug 8, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours 77 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia, bringing the number of active cases to 569, and two persons have died, the national civil protection authority said on Saturday.

Hospitalised are 120 patients, including eight on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was registered in Croatia, 5,534 persons have been infected with the new virus, 157 of whom have died, while 4,817 have recovered.

Currently 1,962 persons are self-isolating. So far, 127,405 persons have been tested for coronavirus, including 995 in the last 24 hours, the authority said in a press release.

ZAGREB, Aug 7, 2020 - The German T-online.de portal on Friday reported that 10 German graduate students who had been on Pag island for an excursion had returned infected with the coronavirus and are currently in self-isolation.

According to a spokesman for the Goppingen district, north of Stuttgart, ten school leavers developed symptoms with respiratory problems.

Fifteen school leavers and 50 other people who have been in contact with them are also in self-isolation.

The head of Goppingen's public health institute, Heinz Pohler, underscored that more and more people returning from the Balkans were being diagnosed with the coronavirus disease.

Earlier in the day Slovenia's health authorities reported that despite controlling local transfers of the virus, recently "imported cases" had been detected again.

"In the past week, of the 21 imported cases, a little more than half were from Croatia," Marta Grgic Vitek from Slovenia's national public health institute said, adding that most of these cases were detected among young people, noting that one of the epicentres was Zrce Beach on Pag island, a popular spot for clubbing with often large gatherings of young people.

ZAGREB, Aug 7, 2020 - There have been 62 new cases of the coronavirus infection in Croatia in the past 24 hours, which puts the number of active cases at 533, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday.

Among the active cases, there are 122 patients who are hospitalised, including seven who are on ventilators. There have been no new fatalities.

Since February 25, when the first case of the disease in Croatia was reported, a total of 5,466 people have contracted the virus. Of that number, 155 have died and 4,758 have recovered.

A total of 2,052 people are currently in self-isolation. To date, 126,410 people have been tested, including 1,093 in the past 24 hours.