ZAGREB, Aug 6, 2020 - The unloading of 139 tonnes of disinfectant and a smaller quantity of masks to combat the COVID-19 epidemic, which arrived by ship from Shanghai, began in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka on Thursday.

The cargo which arrived aboard the Ever Excel was procured from the Chinese companies Sinopharm and MEHECO.

The protective equipment will be collected by the Civil Protection Directorate and distributed to the relevant bodies, the government said in a press release.

The shipment is worth €1.2 million and it was paid from European funds. The goods were bought by the government with the mediation of the buffer stocks directorate and the help of the Croatian Embassy to China.

ZAGREB, Aug 6 (Hina) - In the past 24 hours there have been 28 new cases of the coronavirus detected in Croatia, bringing the total number of active cases to 561, while one more person has died, the national COVID response team said on Thursday.

There are currently 110 people in-hospital treatment, with seven being on ventilators.

Since the first case was recorded in Croatia on 25 February 2020, there has been a total of 5,404 people infected with the disease and 155 people have died, while 4,688 have recovered.

There are currently 2,171 people in self-isolation. 

To date a total of 125,317 tests have been conducted for the virus, 934 in the past 24 hours, a press release by the response team noted.

ZAGREB, Aug 5, 2020 - Fifty-eight new cases of the coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Croatia in the past 24 hours, and there are currently 633 active cases, the national COVID-19 response team said on Tuesday.

Among the active cases, 111 are hospitalised, including seven who are on ventilators. There have been no new fatalities.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic, 5,376 people have contracted the disease. Of them, 154 have died and 4,589 have recovered.

Currently 2,314 people are in self-isolation. To date, 124,383 people have been tested for the virus, including 1,167 in the past 24 hours.

ZAGREB, Aug 4, 2020 - In the past 24 hours, 24 new cases of the coronavirus have been identified in Croatia and one person has died, the national coronavirus crisis management team said on Tuesday.

"In the past 24 hours, there have been 24 new cases of the SARS.CoV-2 virus and the current number of infected people or active cases in Croatia today is 647," the COVID response team said.

Among them, 117 patients are being treated in hospital and seven of them are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the virus was identified in Croatia, 5,318 people have been infected with the coronavirus and 154 of them have died while 4,517 have recovered. Currently, 2,490 people are in self-isolation.

To date, 123,199 people have been tested for the novel virus, including 1,133 in the past 24 hours.

The national response team accepted a recommendation by the COVID response team of Vukovar-Srijem County that the epidemiological measures in place be extended for another 15 days, until August 19, in this eastern county. That means that all wedding parties in that county will be allowed in the presence of immediate family only.

ZAGREB, Aug 3, 2020 - In the past 24 hours, 34 new cases of the coronavirus have been identified in Croatia and there are currently 703 active cases in the country while four people have died, the national COVID response team said on Monday.

"In the past 24 hours there have bee 34 new cases of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the current number of patients (active cases) in Croatia today stands at 703," the response team reported.

One hundred and thirty patients are being treated in hospitals, six of whom are on ventilators. Four people have died.

Since 25 February 2020 when the first case was recorded in Croatia, there have been 5,294 cases of people infected with the coronavirus, 153 who have died, and 4,4,38 who have recovered.

There are currently 2,520 people in self-isolation.

A total of 122,083 have been tested for the virus to date and of that number 763 tests have been conducted in the past 24 hours, the response team informed.

ZAGREB, Aug 2, 2020 - Thirty-six new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Croatia in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of active cases to 738, and four people have died, the national coronavirus crisis response team reported on Sunday.

Among the people infected, 131 are receiving hospital treatment and six of them are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 5,260 people have been found to be infected with the novel COVID-19 coronavirus, of whom 149 have died and 4,373 have recovered.

Currently, 2,662 people are in self-isolation.

To date, 121,320 people have been tested, including 984 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, Aug 1, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours 86 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia, bringing the number of active cases to 738, the national COVID-19 response team said on Saturday.

Currently 127 patients are hospitalised, including nine on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was registered in Croatia, 5,224 persons have been infected with the novel coronavirus, 145 have died and 4,341 recovered.

Currently 2,695 people are self-isolating.

To date 120,336 people have been tested, including 1,381 over the past 24 hours.

ZAGREB, July 31, 2020 - A total of 67 new coronavirus cases and one death have been reported in Croatia in the last 24 hours.

"In the last 24 hours, 67 new cases of infection with SARS-CoV-2 have been recorded, bringing the total number of active cases to 727," the national coronavirus crisis response team said on Friday.

Among them, 125 infected people are receiving hospital treatment and six of them are on ventilators.

One person has died in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 145.

Since February 25, when the first case was registered in Croatia, 5,139 people have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, 4,267 have recovered, and 2,746 are currently in self-isolation.

To date, 118,955 have been tested, including 1,750 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, July 30, 2020 - There have been 78 newly diagnosed infections with COVID-19 in Croatia in the last 24 hours, Health Minister Vili Beros told the government on Thursday.

Today, the 157th day since Croatia confirmed its first case of the infection with coronavirus, there have been 4,993 cases so far. Currently, 753 of them are active, including 132 who are receiving hospital treatment. Eight are on ventilators, he said.

In the last week, there have been 464 new cases, and 16 persons have died due to infection-related complications, Beros said.

14-day cumulative incidence rate: 25.4 cases per 100, 000 inhabitants

The 14-day cumulative incidence rate of COVID-19 is 25.4 per 100, 000 inhabitants, he added.

In the healthcare system, there have been 44 employees diagnosed with the infection over the last seven days.

July 30, 2020 - The head of the National Civil Protection Headquarters and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Wednesday that they were considering adopting new measures daily and called on event organizers to adhere to existing measures because that was the only way to decrease the number of cases.

"Every day, the Headquarters considers and takes into account all relevant data. We call on the organizers of events to adhere to the measures prescribed by the CNIPH; we call for responsibility," said Bozinovic, as reported by Slobodna Dalmacija.

Commenting on President Milanovic's repeated accusations that the National Headquarters is unconstitutional, Bozinovic reminded that the Headquarters was established in 2015, during the government of Prime Minister Milanovic.

“The only changes that have taken place are given this situation with the pandemic, which no one could have foreseen, neither then nor in 2019 when the law underwent certain amendments, and thus the headquarters was given the authority to make decisions related to the implementation of measures determined in cooperation with the CNIPH and the Ministry of Health, all under the supervision of the Government," the Minister pointed out.

He added that they had spoken with Education Minister Radovan Fuchs about the start of the school year in the autumn.

"We have agreed that within the Ministry of Education, there will be a special working group that will propose, and in some way support, the epidemiological service, and which will itself have an expert epidemiologist, given the whole range of issues and situations that should be anticipated given the risk of spreading the virus in school institutions," announced Bozinovic.

He added that there was no repression or tendency in the activities of the headquarters to diminish anyone's rights.

"This is a body that deals, based on knowledge and epidemiological recommendations and science, with finding a balance to maintain these activities, so that the economy and tourism do not stop," Bozinovic said.

He believes that the Parliament could not make a good decision, primarily due to lengthy debates, and change the same decision in less than 24 hours.

When asked by a journalist that the Association of Music Managers complained that they were unable to work and that they received a decision from only one county headquarters to allow gatherings of more than 1,000 people, the Minister said that there were already recommendations that cultural events and concerts could be organized in these circumstances, but with strict adherence to epidemiological measures.

"Some things are not possible in such epidemic conditions; concerts are not possible where a large number of people would gather as it used to be, and which would not maintain a physical distance between them. Concerts for 2020 and 2021 were practically canceled more or less throughout Europe, and in the USA until 2022. We must all find ways to organize ourselves in order for this activity to survive, and we can only do that through conversation, a rational approach," Bozinovic emphasized.

Minister of Health Vili Beros said that he had signed a pre-agreement for a million and a half doses of vaccine and that we had not paid anything yet because the signed contracts and agreements only regulate the procurement of vaccines in the future, emphasizing that Croatia is part of the European Commission initiative.

He added that the EU Commission is considering the modality of financing and the possibility for funding from EU structural and investment funds.

The director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, emphasized that the numbers in Croatia these days vary due to hotspots in Split-Dalmatia County and are related to new patients from weddings in Hrvace, and funerals in Imotski. In Vukovar-Srijem County, new patients are associated with a bachelor party in Cerna and a wedding that moved to Nasice.

He added that large numbers are associated with large gatherings and that this is the main source of infection at the moment. He confirmed that several people were infected at the Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs.

"In one organizational unit of the ministry, it is true that there are four sick people, none of the officials or close associates of Minister Grlic Radman is in self-isolation. Four sick people and several people from one organizational unit are in self-isolation," Capak said.

Asked if the opposition was once again calling for his removal because of the case of HSLS president Dari Hrebak, Capak stressed that he did not think a mistake had been made in the case.

"Hrebak, before receiving the prescribed measure of self-isolation, requested a test at his own expense, and after that when he received a negative test, he asked for an interpretation. The epidemiological opinion I wrote states that he is non-infectious in the next 36-48 hours because of the negative swab. In medicine, situations are not black or white, and it would be very good to let epidemiologists decide whether someone needs self-isolation or not," Capak concluded.

Ministers Beros and Bozinovic and Director Capak confirmed to reporters that they had installed a new application for monitoring infected "Stop COVID-19" on their mobile phones.

The Interior Minister and head of the National Civil Protection Headquarters also wrote several posts on Twitter after the press conference:

"From 0 to 24, the Headquarters monitors the situation and the epidemiological picture every day. This means quick decision-making and involvement of all departments that need to say something about it. 

We are constantly trying to find a balance between economic activities and recommendations for curbing the epidemic and we are communicating all this with Croatian citizens. That is why Croatia is the champion of tourism in Europe."

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