ZAGREB, June 23, 2020 - Public Health Institute (HZJZ) director Krunoslav Capak said on Tuesday Croatia was not applying the so-called Swedish model to fight against the coronavirus pandemic and that the Swedish model did not mean that they did not have restrictions.

Speaking on N1 television, Capak said the Swedish model was aimed at keeping the economy going and allowing the virus to circulate among the non-vulnerable population. The result is that they have a high number of infections and fatalities and their economy has been affected nonetheless, he added.

"Our model is nothing like that," he said, adding that Croatia imposed a lockdown on March 19 to stop the virus from circulating, but aware that it could not last endlessly.

What is happening in Croatia now is a result of the relaxation of restrictions and failure to adhere to epidemiological recommendations, said Capak. "We can't close the borders, stop normal life activities, but we must learn to adhere to the measures and keep the level of infection low because, unfortunately, we can't eradicate the virus."

It won't be good if Djokovic is positive

Speaking of an outbreak at a tennis tournament in Zadar, where 81 persons are self-isolating and five have tested positive, Capak said the epidemiological situation would become more complicated if Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic tested positive as he was in close contact with many people who, in that case, would have to self-isolate. 

Asked if Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic would have to self-isolate given his contact with Djokovic, Capak said they greeted each other with a fist bump, which was not considered physical contact, and that their meeting indoors lasted less than three minutes.

If Djokovic is positive, Plenkovic does not have to self-isolate, but he still got tested and the result was negative, he added.

Asked if the tournament organisers had contacted the HZJZ or the national civil protection authority prior to the event, Capak said they did not directly but that the HZJZ issued instructions concerning competitions and that organisers had the duty to adhere to them.

He said the spectators in the stands did not keep the necessary distance and that this was a lesson to future organisers to mark seats and insist on social distancing.

ZAGREB, June 22, 2020 - The epidemiological situation in the coastal city of Zadar has not deteriorated significantly but what happened at the tennis tournament is a big warning, Health Minister Vili Beros said after visiting Zadar General Hospital on Monday.

He said he had come to express his support to the hospital staff who had promptly responded to the emergence of new cases of coronavirus infection at the Adria Tour tennis tournament. He called on organisers of similar events to be aware of their responsibility, saying that what happened at the tournament was a big warning.

"This situation was not unexpected, and the response by the epidemiological service was of crucial importance. What happened is the normality of the new normal, and our healthcare and epidemiological system is prepared. We expected such occurrences and we have a host of possible responses," Beros told the press, adding that no additional epidemiological measures were needed at the moment.

He said that the epidemiological service is well organised and that 47 people have been placed in self-isolation so far.

Twenty-nine people attending the tournament were tested on Sunday and three of them have turned out to be positive for the novel COVID-19 coronavirus. More testing was done on Monday - 13 people tested in the morning have returned negative results, results for a group of 14 people tested are expected at 3 pm and results for another 40 people should be completed by 7 pm,

Beros stressed that "the virus is still around us", underlining the need for keeping a physical distance, avoiding contacts, and maintaining hygiene.

"That wasn't done in this particular case, so I call on organisers of such events to strictly adhere to the measures in place. This is no longer a recommendation but an obligation," the health minister said.

ZAGREB, June 22, 2020 - Despite Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic meeting with tennis players in Zadar, according to epidemiological classification, he is not at risk of catching the coronavirus because he was not in contact with any of the people diagnosed with the virus, the Croatian Institute for Public Health (HZJZ) said on Monday.

"The epidemiological classification of persons at risk of catching COVID-19, are those who were in the vicinity or in contact with persons diagnosed or suffering from the disease as the disease is transferred through close contact. In determining who was and who wasn't in close contact one needs to know the scientific basis of how a close contact is defined," HZJZ said in a response to Hina, noting that Croatia has taken that definition from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

That definition determines, and in this case which is relevant to Plenkovic's visit to the Zadar tournament, that the coronavirus can be transferred if a person has been in contact with an infected person face to face at a distance of fewer than 2 meters for more than 15 minutes, and if a person has spent time with an infected person in closed premises (e.g. household, classroom, meeting room, hospital waiting room, etc.) for more than 15 minutes, HZJZ said.

"In this specific case it needs to taken into account that Novak Djokovic and Marin Cilic, whom the prime minister greeted briefly without shaking hands and with whom he spoke (3 minutes) were not positive to COVID-19 but (for now) they were in contact with (Grigor) Dimitrov who is positive and contact with contact is not considered as a close contact unless that contact becomes positive within 48 hours of the said contact, which in this case is irrelevant because there was no close contact between the prime minister and the tennis players," HZJZ explained.

ZAGREB, June 22, 2020 - The head of the national coronavirus crisis management team, Davor Bozinovic, said on Monday that anyone who did not adhere to social distancing rules at the tennis tournament in Zadar, who shook hands or had close contact with others had failed and caused damage to themselves and their loved ones.

"Anyone who did that has fallen short for their own health and for the health of their loved ones," Bozinovic told reporters when asked who was to blame for the spike in coronavirus cases in Zadar following the Adria Tour tennis tournament.

Three participants at the tournament have tested positive for COVID-19 after Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov was diagnosed with the novel COVID-19 coronavirus. 

Bozinovic: We are fairly safe if we keep our distance

"We are in a situation that follows after a period of shutdown when Croatia is opening its economy and tourism...the fact is that if we all adhere to at least the basic measures, such as physical distancing, then we are fairly safe," said Bozinovic.

He said that he was certain that in the next few days people would become aware of the necessity to adhere to measures to prevent the disease from spreading.

Asked whether the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) presidency had considered postponing the parliamentary election, Bozinovic said that the matter had not been discussed and that there were no indications that it should be discussed.

"At the moment we have one of the most favorable epidemiological situations in Europe. At the moment we are the third country from the bottom regarding the number of deaths. We do not have anyone on a ventilator. We have a very small number of people hospitalized. If these aren't figures for the success of our work in managing this crisis, I don't know what is," he said.

Beros: It's not the end of the virus, precautions should be mandatory for all 

Because of the spike in the number of coronavirus cases, Health Minister Vili Beros is going to visit Zadar General Hospital today.

"I am going to Zadar. Unfortunately, it's not the end of the coronavirus and that's why precautions have to be mandatory for everyone. One should be responsible for oneself and for the others, particularly the youngest. Prevention is the priority," Beros said on Twitter.

ZAGREB, June 22, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic was not in contact with the infected tennis players at the Adria Tours in Zadar, government spokesman Marko Milic said on Monday, adding that given the situation with the spread of the disease the prime minister would undergo a test for COVID-19 today.

"Prime Minister Plenkovic attended the tournament in Zadar and spent about 45 minutes there but he did not have any contact with Grigor Dimitrov or Borna Coric," Milic said.

He added that during his visit to the tournament, Plenkovic spoke briefly with Novak Djokovic and Goran Ivanisevic, and then greeted Marin Cilic in passing without shaking hands or having any close contact.

"Even though he did not have any contact with the infected players, given the situation with the spread of the virus in Zadar, the prime minister will undergo a test for COVID-19 today," said Milic.

A total of 22 participants, including tennis players and their teams, were tested for the virus on Sunday night after Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov was diagnosed with the novel COVID-19 coronavirus. The results have shown three positive cases, including Borna Coric, the organisers of the Adria Tour announced on Monday morning.

In addition to Coric, who played against Dimitrov, Marco Panichi, Djokovic's fitness trainer, and Christian Groh, Dimitrov's trainer, tested positive.

Zadar Mayor Branko Dukic has gone into self-isolation after coming into contact with participants at the tournament, his office said on Monday.

ZAGREB, June 22, 2020 - The Croatian People's Party (HNS) has decided to cancel all election rallies and events from its campaign tour in the run-up to the 5 July election, urging other political parties to follow its example due to a rising number of new COVID-19 cases in the country.

Following the developments in Zadar where a few tennis players and participants in Novak Djokovic exhibition tournament were diagnosed with the coronavirus, the RESTART coalition led by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) stated on Monday that it had cancelled all its campaigning events scheduled for Monday evening in that Adriatic city.

The RESTART coalition says in a press release that it has decided to postpone the rally in Zadar for general health reasons.

The HNS leader Predrag Stromar said in a press release on Monday that the HNS would continue presenting its platform online and by media outlets, underscoring that the "health of our citizens is of utmost importance."

Stromar recalls that the first wave of COVID-19 epidemic has caused negative economic consequences, and one should not allow a new lockdown.

This should be considered primarily by those candidates who are running for the premiership in the coming elections. Political activities must not be given priority over the safety and health of people or over economic activity, he added.

June 21, 2020 — Croatia experienced a fourth successive day of new coronavirus infections, though the 18 reported were a leveling off from the same reported yesterday. Authorities invoked new restrictions anyway.

Croatia's had 2317 infections in total with 71 active cases.

There are ten new cases in the City of Zagreb, five in Osijek-Baranja County and one each in Zagreb, Split-Dalmatia and Dubrovnik-Neretva Counties.

Croatia's Health Minister Vili Beroš also said that there were no seriously ill people, and nine patients are hospitalized. There is no one on the respirator, and 276 people were tested.

He also said that since the last significant increase in the number of patients until today, we have 55 new cases, among which 20 are directly imported, and their contacts are 35.

Also, for the nine patients, they have no connection to any travel.

Beroš also said that the Directorate knows that social and economic life must continue, and will monitor the epidemiological situation and take the necessary measures to keep the health situation stable and satisfactory. To that end, it took some steps to slow the virus's spread.

The government prohibited visits to retirement homes in Zagreb County, Zagreb, Osijek and Split-Dalmatia County. Visits to hospital patients in Osijek, Split and Zagreb are prohibited. There will also be testing for healthcare workers returning from countries where the health situation is worse.

"It is essential that local headquarters monitor the situation in their field, that epidemiologists monitor the situation, and analyze the situation," said epidemiologist Marija Bubaš. "Sometimes some measures will be in force in a county, and somewhere they will not."

"This phase is a phase of coexistence with the virus," said Interior Minister Davor Božinović. "We must protect the helpless."

Croatia finds itself among many other tourism-dependent European countries, trying to find a balance between economic activity and acceptable risk.

"The arrival of tourists is important to us," Božinović said. "Spain opened today for all tourists from the EU, although yesterday they had over 300 new cases and 7 deaths. Germany has set a criterion for 50 infected per 100,000 inhabitants, which is much more than in our country." He added 40 percent of potential visitors from Bosnia were rejected at the border and 20 percent of passengers in Serbia.

"Measures with neighboring countries are on track, so we have opened borders for only a dozen EU countries. This does not apply to our non-member neighbors, they must prove personal or business needs," Bozinovic added.

June 21, 2020 — Dr. Maja Grba-Bujević, head of the Crisis Management Staff at the Ministry of Health, in an interview with Dnevnik N1 television Dnevnik N1 television said the increase in new COVID-19 infections was not a cause for concern.

Grba-Bujević points out that the increase in the number of new patients is not a cause for concern. Yesterday saw another jump in new infections, with the Croatian Civil Protection Directorate reporting 19 new cases.

Below is an edited and abridged of Grba-Bujević's interview.

No reason to worry

In Croatia today, we have 53 patients with coronavirus, eight of whom are in hospital. We have no one on a respirator and none of the patients in hospital have severe symptoms. Fifty-three patients are not a cause for great concern, but we must be aware that we must adhere to the measures that we have introduced, which are still in force. We must admit that we have relaxed.

The Directorate is keeping the situation under control

Those infected in the past two days have a lot of transmission in the family and known contacts, but we are not worried because it is 20 people.

This is not the time for action

This is not the time to talk about restrictive measures because the number is not so worrying.

Debt to medicine wholesalers won't affect care

I am one hundred percent sure that a reasonable solution will be found because our patients will not and must not be left without the prescribed therapy and medication.

June 20, 2020 — A foreign guest in Croatia who tests positive for COVID-19 will be isolated in designated facilities until a doctor gives them the all-clear, while domestic tourists will be sent home using their own transport.

More than 130,000 tourists are currently staying in Croatia soon after the country opened its borders a few weeks ago. Yet the national authorities did not issue protocols for infected tourists until Friday, when Istria's authorities gave up on waiting.

The Istrian Civil Protection Directorate took matters into its own hands and announced that all towns and municipalities in Istria must determine possible accommodation that will serve for quarantine and self-isolation of tourists with possible coronavirus infection.

Stating that they have been waiting for three weeks for a protocol from the National Directorate on what to do in case of sick tourists, given that there are already more than 40,000 tourists in Istria, they decided to make the decision on their own.

Shortly after this announcement by the Istrian Headquarters, the Croatian Institute of Public Health finally published detailed instructions in the case of the infection of tourists in Croatia. Here are some of the key points:

• Foreign tourists who are confirmed with coronavirus will immediately be transferred to a designated health institution, while domestic tourists, if they have no symptoms, are sent to isolation at home, by their own transport.
  
  
• Foreign guests who are the patient's contacts may return to their home countries before the expiration of the patient's isolation, after consultation with the health authorities.
  
  
• Employees in the accommodation where an infected tourist was accommodated, who are also infected, must be subjected to hospital treatment or isolation. Employees whose disease has not been confirmed and who have been in contact with an infected tourist must be isolated.
  
  
• Local authorities must secure the infrastructure, transport, testing areas and additional capacity needed for potentially sick tourists. They must also add contact information for health services on their official sites.
  
  
• Hosts must inform the relevant local doctor of a potentially-infected guest. If the doctor suspects COVID-19, hosts must provide a medical mask and tissues, asking the tourist to remain isolated in their rental unit until a doctor provides further instruction.
  
  
• The suspected COVID patient's companions — family, fellow travelers — must also remain in isolation in their rooms, separate from the suspected patient.
  
  
• Doctors will use their discretion in checking guests in requiring further testing, including a nasal swab to confirm coronavirus infection.
  
  
• Guests ordered into isolation will have to handle house cleaning duties on their own, including the cleaning of linens and clothing. Those without a working kitchen will have to order takeout.
  
  
• If the test comes back negative, doctors will offer treatment and end the isolation orders.
  
  
• Confirmed COVID-19 cases that require hospitalization will be transported to the nearest medical facility capable of housing and isolating them.
  
  
• Those with mild symptoms or none at all will be moved to a designated facility meant for isolation, which will be equipped to handle such cases.
  
  
• Doctors will make a final call on when a patient's isolation will end.

June 20, 2020 — Istrian authorities will introduce measures to fight a second coronavirus outbreak, expressing exasperation a the lack of initiative at the national level.

All cities and municipalities in Istria must determine possible accommodations that will be used for the quarantine and self-isolation of tourists with possible coronavirus infections, according to Index.hr.

While most larger hotels can reserve a percentage of capacity for sick guests, not all facilities have the luxury. Istria, which had a 70-day streak without new infections, quickly responded after new cases were announced on Friday.

The coordination of the Civil Protection Directorate of the Istrian County and local elected officials mulled ways to manage possible coronavirus patients during the tourist season. It sent three requests to the National Headquarters to review the border crossing regime for citizens from countries with high COVID-19 infection rates, after Slovenia adopted a 14-day self-isolation measure for such citizens yesterday.

"Given the situation and excellent functioning of the civil protection and health system in Istria, thanks to which extremely good results have been achieved in the past period in the fight against COVID-19, our goal is to maintain these results," said the Directorate's head Dino Kozlevac.

He added local officials waited three weeks for instructions from national-level authorities on how to proceed in case of sick tourists. Considering that there are already more than 40,000 tourists in Istria, Kozlevac pointed out that today they decided to make the decision independently.

"We are simply not able to wait any longer and from Tuesday we will have fully prepared and equipped facilities," Kozlevac said in Pazin, expressing dissatisfaction with lackluster inspection and enforcement of existing epidemiological measures.

These measures, he claims, are quite liberal, "and people have relaxed too much after we did not have more than 70 days of infected people in Istria until yesterday.

"These last two cases have warned us of three key measures, namely physical distance, the use of protective masks, especially indoors, and personal hygiene," Kozlevac said.

Istria's Civil Protection Directorate would ask the state to conduct the highest quality inspection in facilities that do not comply with these recommendations, from disinfectants at the entrance to respecting the number of people entering the area. Local authorities will meet with representatives of retail chains on Wednesday.

He also announced that the County Headquarters will adopt certain measures next week, which will be binding and which "will not be restrictive, and there will be no closures."

Authorities will also ask the national government to shuffle Croatia's healthcare workers, moving them away from quieter areas to help with the treatment of tourist-filled locales.

"We all want to live together, we want to preserve the health of our citizens, but we want to enable citizens and the economy to function, including tourism," said the mayor of Pula, Boris Miletić. "However, the relaxation of measures has increased risks for the possibility of transmitting the infection."