ZAGREB, 18 January, 2021 - Croatia has registered 174 new coronavirus cases after 2,369 tests conducted in the last 24 hours and 39 people have died from coronavirus-related complications, the national coronavirus response team said on Monday.

Currently, there are 3,276 active cases in the country, of whom 1,742 people are receiving hospital treatment and 139 of them are on ventilators. A total of 16,687 people are in self-isolation.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 225,128 people have been infected with the novel virus, of whom 4,655 have died and 217,197 have recovered, including 917 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 1,120,894 people have been tested.

ZAGREB, 17 January, 2021 - The current epidemiological measures will be extended at least by mid-February, according to what advisers have been suggesting to the national COVID-19 crisis management team, Jutarnji List daily said on Sunday.

It is even possible the measures will be extended by March as nothing can guarantee that the situation will not deteriorate even with the existing restrictions.

They underscore that it must be seen what will happen when classes for lower grades of elementary school and for high school seniors start and how the recent holiday gatherings and holidays spent outside one's place of residence will affect the spread of the epidemic.

Since Croatia has been registering a drop in the number of infected people among those tested, as well as a drop in the number of hospitalised patients, there has been an increasing number of appeals for relaxing the measures. Many hope that after 31 January, the date by which the current measures are in force, outdoor cafes, gyms and fitness centres could reopen.

The head of Istria County's COVID-19 crisis management team, Dino Kozlevac, has already announced he "will discuss the matter with the national team", without whose permission that cannot be done as local measures can only be stricter than national ones.

However, it is certain that there will be no relaxation of measures until the end of January. Also, it is too soon to predict what could happen in ten days, and current temperatures are not helping. Experts explain that even if bar and restaurant terraces were to open, heaters would have to be turned on, around which a large number of people would gather, Jutarnji List said.

ZAGREB, 17 January, 2021 - In the past 24 hours 379 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been registered in Croatia as well as 28 related deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said on Sunday.

In said period 4,669 persons have been tested for coronavirus.

The number of active cases stands at 4,058, including 1,761 hospitalised patients, 147 of whom are on ventilators.

Presently 17,382 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 20202, when Croatia registered the first case of coronavirus, 224,954 people have been infected with it and 4,616 have died as a consequence.

To date 1,118,525 people have been tested for the new virus and 216,280 have recovered from it, including 1,004 in the past 24 hours.

ZAGREB, 16 January, 2021 - Croatia has recorded 763 new coronavirus cases and 38 infection-related deaths in the last 24 hours.

Currently, there are 4,711 active cases in the country, including 1,760 infected people who are receiving hospital treatment and 154 of them are on ventilators, the national coronavirus response team said on Saturday.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 224,575 people have been infected with the novel virus, of whom 4,588 have died and 215,276 have recovered, including 667 in the last 24 hours. Currently, 17,861 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 1,113,856 people have been tested to date, including 5,969 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, 15 January, 2021 - In the past 24 hours there have been 715 new COVID-19 cases and 33 related fatalities, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday.

There are 4,653 active cases in the country, of whom 1,855 are people who are hospitalised, including 160 on ventilators.

Since 25 February, when the first case of the infection was reported, there have been 223,812 infections, including 4,550 fatalities. A total of 214,609 people have recovered from the disease, including 1,239 in the past 24 hours.

Currently 18,048 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 1,107,887 people have been tested for coronavirus, with 5,335 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, the response team reported.

January 13, 2021 - Good news: Croatia records the largest decline of new COVID-19 cases in the EU.

Index.hr reports that after introducing strict epidemiological measures, Croatia records the largest decline in the number of new infections in the European Union.

As the Our World in Data page chart shows, with about 900 new infections per million inhabitants on December 13, when it was one of the worst in the EU, by January 11, Croatia had reached about 240 cases.

It is essential that the number of hospitalized and dead is dropping, too. Of the 20 deaths from COVID-19 per million inhabitants per day on December 21, that number dropped by January 11 to about 10.

A similar decline is recorded in neighboring Serbia, but the number of newly infected people is currently not as favorable as in Croatia. It records about 320 new infections per million inhabitants. On the other hand, with 5 deaths per million inhabitants, Serbia is better than Croatia according to that statistic. Therefore, it is not clear whether the smaller number of newly infected in Croatia is partly due to a smaller scope of testing.

The steep decline in Croatia followed the closure of cafes, restaurants, and gyms and the restriction of gatherings on November 28, 2020. It was probably also helped by moving to online classes, which was introduced on December 14, and in many schools even before that.

This is in line with research published in the world-renowned journals Scientific Reports Nature and Science.

Namely, a study published in the journal Science on December 15, conducted in 34 European and seven non-European countries, showed that closing schools and universities, limiting gatherings to 10 people or less, and closing most non-essential businesses where close contacts are made, especially nightclubs, bars, and restaurants, have the greatest impact on combating the epidemic.

Similarly, a study published in the journal Scientific Reports Nature was conducted on a sample of 79 territories, which included countries and different states in the United States. According to the study, which analyzed the effects of a wider range of measures, the most effective were curfew, lockdown, closure or restriction of places where people gather (shops, restaurants, etc.), closure of educational institutions (both schools and universities) and the introduction of border restrictions.

This decline is a reason for optimism, but it should be noted that some countries have fared much better than Croatia. For example, Iceland went through a mild two waves that it brought under control relatively quickly while Finland barely felt a pandemic, both in the first and second waves.

The reason for caution is that there is a new strain of the virus that is spreading significantly faster than usual in several European countries.

To read more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 11 January, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 230 new cases of the coronavirus infection, there have been 35 deaths, and the number of active cases is 4,976.

There are 2,140 patients in hospitals, 191 of whom are on ventilators.

There are currently 17,679 people in self-isolation.

Since 25 February, when Croatia registered its first case, a total of 220,223 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 4,403 of them have died, while 210,844 have recovered, 718 of whom in the last 24 hours.

To date 1,080,918 people have been tested, including 3,141 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, 10 January, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 646 new cases of coronavirus infection and 26 deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis response team said on Sunday.

The number of active cases in Croatia today stands at 5,499. There are 2,131 COVID patients in hospitals, including 193 on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, a total of 219,993 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 4,368 have died and 210,126 have recovered, including, 919 in the last 24 hours. There are currently 18,147 people in self-isolation.

To date, 1,077,777 people have been tested, including 7,215 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, 9 January, 2021 - Of 8,609 coronavirus tests performed in the last 24 hours, 1,401 have returned positive (16.2%), and there have been another 38 related deaths bringing the death toll to 4,342, Croatia's national COVID-19 response team said on Saturday.

There are currently 5,798 active cases, including 2,084 COVID patients in hospitals, of whom 191 are placed on ventilators. 

There are 18,747 people in self-isolation.

To date, 1.07 million people have been tested. Since the start of the epidemic in Croatia in late February 2020, a total of 219,347 people have contracted the novel coronavirus and 209,207 have recovered, including 1,359 in the last 24 hours.

January 5, 2021 – National Civil Protection Headquarters members presented the news related to coronavirus in Croatia at today's press conference.

In the last 24 hours, 1071 new cases were recorded, and the number of active cases in Croatia today is 5908. Fifty-three people died, of which one 36-year-old who had asthma and obesity. There are currently 17,448 people in self-isolation.

The Croatian Institute of Public Health director, Krunoslav Capak, said that in a week, we have 23 percent positive cases from those tested, and Slovenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Poland are worse than us.

According to last night's data, 13,798 people were vaccinated, of which 443 were in Sisak-Moslavina County. A total of 1,040 people were vaccinated in Sisak.

No relaxating measures yet

As Index reports, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said that at this point, our numbers are slightly better. However, analyzing our situation and beyond in Europe, Croatia sees something that is already called the third wave of the epidemic.

"Many countries are entering a new lockdown, and we will closely monitor all trends to avoid similar developments in Croatia. We take seriously the experience of easing measures in Europe and the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus discovered in an increasing number of countries. It may appear in Croatia sooner or later," said Božinović.

Alemka Markotić, the Director of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljević" in Zagreb, said they had not found any associated mutations so far.

"Some samples are still being tested. It is the work of several teams. The analyzes are comprehensive, so we would not like to fly out with half-information. As soon as we get all the necessary information, we will go public with it," said Markotić about the new strain of coronavirus.

Božinović added that they need to pay attention to the effects of earthquakes, Christmas, and the New Year. In that context, they have not yet made a decision, but there are no thoughts about any relaxation of measures yet.

As for local headquarters, Božinović says it is not an option for them to propose easing measures. Passes were revoked due to the known circumstances related to the earthquake, and the Headquarters are not considering reintroducing them.

Vaccination in front of the camera

Today, the National Civil Protection Headquarters members Davor Božinović, Alemka Markotić, and Krunoslav Capak were vaccinated in front of the camera, but not Health Minister Vili Beroš. As he says, he will be vaccinated when his acquired natural immunity drops. Namely, the Health Minister recently overcame the coronavirus himself.

"I was in doubt about what to do myself, and after consulting with the profession, I support vaccination. I will get vaccinated when my acquired natural immunity drops. Seeking extra protection when there is not enough vaccination is not considered ethical, "said Beroš.

As he said, he is not the only one who got over the coronavirus. There are 214,000 people who did. All of them who overcame the disease three to six months ago should not be vaccinated at this time, but when their acquired immunity is degraded.

Beroš also stated that an 82-year-old woman from a nursing home in Čakovec died of a heart attack one day after being vaccinated from coronavirus. Her death has nothing to do with vaccination, the Minister explained. Following the law, the entire event was reported to the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices HALMED.

"A thousand people die in Croatia every week. When you vaccinate older people because you are trying to protect them from coronavirus, which is very deadly for them, of course, some of them will die. Just before my arrival here, I received information that 13 people died in Europe, and it was proven that it was not related to the vaccine," said Capak.

He added the second phase of vaccination will begin in the second half of January. Minister Božinović emphasized once again that there was still no indication of easing the measures

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