ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 - Croatia has registered 1,472 new coronavirus cases and 65 infection-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Monday morning.

A total of 2,857 infected people are receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19 and 284 of them are on ventilators. Currently, there are 22,769 active cases in the country and 54,042 people are in self-isolation.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 177,358 people have been infected with the novel virus, 2,705 of them have died and 151,884 have recovered, including 3,673 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 888,080 people have been tested to date, including 5,798 in the last 24 hours.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on December the 13th, 2020 - Croatian Epidemiologist Goranka Petrovic from the Croatian Institute of Public Health commented on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in Croatia for N1 and explained what exactly the statistical data that the National Civil Protection Headquarters publishes every day means.

Despite new anti-epidemic measures to prevent the virus from spreading, the numbers are still not falling...

"How successful the measures will be depends on how well we all adhere to those measures. It's to be expected that in fifteen days to three weeks we'll notice a significant drop in the number of newly infected people and that we will break this growing curve. As far as hospitalizsd and fatal outcomes are concerned, unfortunately we have to wait even longer for improvements in terms of reduction because they always come later,'' explained Goranka Petrovic.

"We have a large increase in new infections, and the share of deaths is continuously around 1.4-1.5 percent. If we divide the percentage of those 4,000 to 4,500 infected people, we get that number of 60-70 deaths,'' she added.

Goranka Petrovic stated that for some people, recovery from the novel coronavirus can take several months.

"Coronavirus, in severe forms, also affects younger people who don't have any underlying or chronic diseases. Fortunately, this tends not to end in death. However, they also end up being placed on oxygen, and can even end up on a respirator and require mechanical ventilation. Their recovery takes some time. There's more and more talk about this post-covid condition, which is also present in younger people who need a couple of months to recover from the severe form of the disease they had,'' said Goranka Petrovic, going on to state what sort of issues these people face.

"They have this feeling of weakness, general exhaustion, muscle and joint pain, sometimes fever, and what is worrying is that some of the people who had milder forms of the disease had changes in both the central nervous system and in the heart.

“A large number of patients, about 80 percent of them, have very mild clinical pictures, and the remaining 20 percent ​​have extremely severe clinical pictures. These severe clinical pictures don't appear immediately at the onset of the first symptoms of the illness but in the second week, and are largely attributed to the immune response to the virus. When these complications occur, these people are usually not contagious, but the immune system overreacts, and disorders are created that lead to the collapse of the general condition of the body,'' explained Goranka Petrovic.

She added that it isn't possible to predict who will have a more severe clinical illness, but the elderly and those with some chronic diseases are generally at greater risk.

Goranka Petrovic also referred to the figures that the National Civil Protection Headquarters publishes every day and explained in detail how they calculate the share of new positives in the number of infected people.

"We continuously monitor the number of newly infected people who were tested that day. If we add people who were previously tested and were positive and have now for some reason been tested again and counted there among the number of active infections, then that share would fall to about 20 percent. If we look only at people who are positive for the first time, then unfortunately that percentage has been over 30 percent for weeks, most often around 35 percent,'' she explained.

How should we all behave during the festive period?

Speaking about the upcoming festivities, Goranka Petrovic pointed out that it is necessary to adhere to the anti-epidemic measures during that time due to the unfavourable epidemiological situation.

"We're entering a very unfavourable period now, considering that the Christmas period is coming, which traditionally represents a time when we spend a lot more time together. Unfortunately, we're now in such a bad epidemiological situation that such things are simply ruled out,'' she stated.

Petrovic also gave some instructions on how to behave in the coming days if we want to visit someone who is at risk during the Christmas period.

''The best thing we can do is reduce the number of contacts during the upcoming Christmas period and limit ourselves to our own social bubbles where we choose a few people who have approximately the same risk of exposure and not have contact with other people. If we decide to visit someone we haven’t seen in a long time, the ECDC recommends that we put ourselves in voluntary quarantine for 10 to 14 days beforehand, that we have no risky contacts and after that quarantine, provided we don’t develop any symptoms, we then visit that person. We need to be aware that this may be the last visit for that person if we choose to visit them and are unknowingly infected with the novel coronavirus,'' she warned.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been some conflicting views on how much masks protect us from the coronavirus.

“Even if a person gets sick, the amount of virus they will receive is smaller if masks are worn and they're therefore more likely to have a milder form of the disease than if no masks are worn. The mask definitely reduces the amount of virus in the circulation among people wearing them,'' concluded Goranka Petrovic.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, Dec 13, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 3,363 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 78 related deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Sunday.

Today, 2,864 COVID patients are being treated in hospitals, including 295 who are on ventilators.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Croatia stands at 25,035.

There are currently 59,388 people in self-isolation.

Since the start of the epidemic, a total of 175,886 people have contracted the novel virus, 2,640 of them have died, and 148,211 have recovered, including 3,520 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 882,282 people have been tested, 9,767 of them over the past 24 hours, the national COVID-19 management team said in its daily report.

ZAGREB, Dec 12, 2020 - In the past two weeks Croatia has had the largest number of active coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants of all European countries, show data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), published on Saturday.

Croatia fares worst among 31 European countries, with 1,194.3 active cases of the disease per 100,000 inhabitants in the past 14 days.

It is followed by Lithuania, with 1,146.7 cases and Luxembourg, with 1,097.7 cases.

As for the mortality rate, Croatia is fourth, with a rate of 21.7.

Bulgaria, Slovenia and Hungary are the only other European countries that have had more fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks, according to ECDC data.

A total of 14,824,355 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in 31 European countries so far, and 369,840 patients have died.

In the last 24 hours Croatia has had 4,135 cases of coronavirus infection and 78 related fatalities, the national COVID-19 response team said on Saturday.

ZAGREB, Dec 12, 2020 - In the last 24 hours, out of 11,114 coronavirus tests performed in Croatia, 4,135, that is 37%, have returned positive, and there have been 78 COVID-related fatalities, bringing the death toll to 2,562, the country's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Saturday.

Currently, there are 25,270 active cases, including 2,792 patients who are receiving hospital treatment, and of them 295 are placed on ventilators.

As many as 63,908 people are self-isolating.Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 172,523 people have caught the novel virus, and so far, 872,515 coronavirus tests have been performed.

To date, 144,691 people have recovered from the infection including 3,793 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, Dec 11, 2020 - After three weeks since more stringent epidemiological measures were introduced in Varazdin County, the seven-day incidence rate of new coronavirus infections has decreased by more than 10% and preliminary antigen tests in local companies have revealed a rate of 2.9% of infections.

The head of Varazdin's civil protection authority, Robert Vugrin, told a press conference on Friday that in the past 24 hours Varazdin County had registered 206 new cases of coronavirus and that 589 tests had been conducted. He said that there was a continuing decline in the share of positive cases in the number of tests taken, which in the past 24 hours was 35%.

Over the past week Varazdin County has registered 1,737 new cases of coronavirus and the seven-day incidence rate is 1,042 per 100,000 people.

There are currently 267 patients in a serious condition in Varazdin general hospital, 222 patients are in intensive care and 20 are on ventilators. Five people died as a consequence of COVID -19 in the past 24 hours.

Vugrin said that the results were visible after more stringent epidemiological measures were introduced in the county.

He explained that in the first 11 days after the measures were introduced the numbers continued to grow and nine days later a mild decline was recorded. He added that the 7-day incidence rate on 1 December was 1,169.

"Today that number is 1,042, hence it is obvious that we have recorded a fall of more than 10 per cent in the past nine days," Vugrin underlined.

County Prefect Radimir Cacic said that had the measures not been introduced the county would still have an increasing number of infections.

ZAGREB, Dec 11, 2020 - Croatia has registered 4,396 new coronavirus cases and 64 related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Friday morning.

A total of 2,802 patients are hospitalised, including 304 who are on ventilators. 

The number of active cases is 25,006 and 62,370 people are currently self-isolating.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 168,388 people have been infected with the novel virus.

The death toll now stands at 2,484. A total of 140,898 people have recovered, including 4,177 in the last 24 hours.

To date, a total of 861,401 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 11,687 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, Dec 9, 2020 - The City of Zagreb has obtained 17,850 rapid antigen tests for its 60 social welfare institutions, the head of the Zagreb department for social policy, Romana Galic, said on Tuesday.

Of those 60 institutions, 41 are old age homes, and the remaining 19 are institutions for providing care to people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups of citizens, Galic said.

She explained that this had been the first batch of the rapid coronavirus tests which should be used in a period of one month, and the Zagreb authorities hope that they will be provided with additional quantities of those tests.

Testing of staff working in retirement homes and beneficiaries is a manner to prevent the spread of this virus in those institutions, she added.

Currently, there are 196 beneficiaries from 11 old-care homes in Zagreb who are positive for coronavirus. Of them, 22 are receiving hospital treatment, about 50 beneficiaries, who have contracted the virus, are without symptoms and others are with mild symptoms of the COVID-19 disease.

Also, currently, 75 employees from Zagreb's old-age homes are positive for the virus, and an additional 38 are self-isolating.

Galic said that about 75% of beneficiaries in Zagreb's social welfare institutions have said that they are willing to undergo testing, while 36% of the staff have expressed readiness. Also, a marked portion of the staff have recovered from the infection, she said.

ZAGREB, Dec 9, 2020 - In the last 24 hours, out of 12,596 tests performed for coronavirus, 4,520 (36%) have returned positive in Croatia, and 69 people have died of the complications linked to the COVID-19 disease, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Wednesday.

There are now 23,750 active cases, and of the 2,703 are receiving hospital treatment, including 280 patients placed on ventilators, or 23 more than on Tuesday, according to a tally kept by the crisis management team.

Croatia's COVID-related death toll stands at 2,367.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 159,372 people have been infected with the novel virus. A total of  837,619 people have been tested to date. More than 131,000 have recovered.

Currently, 57835 people are in self-isolation.

December 9, 2020 - The National Civil Protection Headquarters held a press conference at 11 am on Wednesday. Interior Minister and Head of the Headquarters Davor Bozinovic announced new COVID-19 measures for shops in Croatia.

"Today is the 289th day since the virus appeared in Croatia. In the last 24 hours, we have 4520 new cases. The number of positive cases to date is 159,372. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 837,619 people have been tested. In the last 24 hours, we have 12,596 tests, which gives a positive percentage of 29.96. 2703 were hospitalized, and 377 were admitted. There are 277 patients on ventilators, which is 23 additional compared to yesterday. 268 people were released from hospitals. In the past 24 hours, we have 69 new fatalities, which gives a figure of 2367 deceased from the beginning," said the Headquarters, as reported by Index.hr.

Capak added: "Our weekly average has risen by 3.7% in the last week while we had a 17.4% increase last week, so this week our increase is less. Our incidence is still high; I'm talking about a 7-day incidence per 100 thousand people. At the moment, it is 582.1; the worst is in Međimurje and Varaždin with more than 1000," said Capak.

"When we look at the EU incidence scale, then we see that Croatia is in 26th place and only Luxembourg has a higher incidence. As for mortality, we are now 15th out of 27, and the rate is 547.8 per million people," Capak said. "As for the share of positives in testing, only two countries are worse than us."

"As we discussed on Monday in institutions dealing with COVID patients, today, we will emphasize the importance of caring for health professionals, whose experiences surpass all previous experiences badly. At KB Dubrava, there is permanent psychological and psychiatric care for all health professionals," said Health Minister Vili Beros.

"We are also trying to prevent the so-called burn out syndrome, and workshops and webinars with the idea of psychological help are organized. An active form of intervention has also been developed, where target groups are being helped in various ways, primarily by health professionals. I would not like to omit the efforts of the Croatian Psychological Chamber; they have established a network of emergency telephones and hired more than 150 psychologists who assist citizens," said Beros.

Questions from journalists followed

We still have week-to-week growth. What is the plan for further introducing measures? What are the new rules for shopping centers, and if this continues, what are the next steps?

"We discussed, in general, the criteria for strengthening or reducing measures. The direct answer is that on the 21st, we will consider which measures are appropriate; on the 21st, we will consider the situation. In case we get worse, of course, we will consider strengthening the measures. In all the measures we adopted about 10 days ago, there is a possibility that we further limit the number of gatherings and economic and social activities. Still, the 21st is the date when these measures cease to apply, and we amend the situation or the need to tighten measures," Capak said.

"As for the organization of shops and shopping centers, we have prepared a decision that is likely to be signed during the day and relates to the special organization of shops from this Saturday to January 10. In terms of this decision, stores and shopping malls are grouped according to the retail space's net area. The number of customers who can be in the store at the same time will be limited in such a way that in stores that have up to 10 square meters of retail space, there can be only one customer.

From 11 to 100 square meters, the maximum number of customers that can be in the store at the same time is determined so that there must be at least 10 square meters per customer. In spaces up to 200 square meters, there must be at least 12 square meters per customer. In shops up to 2000 square meters, there must be at least 16 square meters per customer, and for those larger than that, there must be at least 20 square meters per customer.

For shopping malls, the maximum number of customers will be determined to be at least 16 square meters for each customer. Stores and malls will need to make this clear at the entrance and strictly adhere to it. All stores are to take additional measures during the expected arrival of a larger number of customers so that more customers do not stay in the premises than allowed. For stores with more than 2,000 square meters and shopping measures, new measures are being introduced that include organized transportation of customers and the introduction of stewards who will prevent the entry of too many customers, obligations to remove or disable seating in common areas of shopping centers and remove or disable entertainment devices. The obligation to warn customers is also being introduced, and the competent civil protection service will have to be given information on the ventilation system," said Bozinovic.

"Representatives of stores will certainly do everything to ensure that these measures are respected, because if not, then there is the part concerning sanctions, which we are trying to avoid. It is in everyone’s interest here to engage to the maximum. And that figure determined by the size of the space is appropriate to the situation, not only epidemiological but also the average number of store entries during the epidemic. If citizens see that the queues are large, they may give up or go to another store. We cannot prescribe all life situations. This is a rational decision to keep such an important activity open," Bozinovic added.

"We will make this decision during the day; it will be valid until January 10, so we plan to keep stores and shopping centers open until then. This is now a special decision for stores, and we anticipate that they will work safely until January 10. No one can say whether there will be any sudden deterioration or improvement, but keeping in mind all the elements and assessments, we made this decision," Bozinovic concluded.

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