ZAGREB, 17 June 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 5,192 tests performed for coronavirus in Croatia, 95 (1.8%) have returned positive, the country's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

The COVID-related death toll has increased by three to 8,165.

There are currently 745 active cases, and 342 of them are hospitalized patients, including 25 placed on ventilators. As many as 4,344 are self-isolating.

Since the first registered case of the infection with this novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, 2,097,393 people have been tested, and 358,918 of them have contracted the virus. To date 350,008 have recovered, including 148 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

To date, 1,428,340 people have been given at least one shot against this novel virus, and 790,856 have fully been inoculated.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centres up and down the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 3 June 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 280 new cases of the coronavirus infection and there have been 14 related deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Thursday.

The number of active cases today stands at 1,945. There are 653 patients in hospitals, 66 of whom are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the infection was registered in Croatia, a total of 357,109 people have been registered as having contracted the novel coronavirus, 8,056 of them have died, and 347,108 have recovered, including 312 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 9,603 people in self-isolation.

To date, 2,032,200 people have been tested, including 6,049 over the past 24 hours.

As of 2 June, 1,847,314 vaccine doses have been used, with 1,312,272 people receiving at least one dose, including 535,042 people who have received both doses.

For all, you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centres across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 27 May 2021 - Croatia has registered 375 new cases of coronavirus infection and ten more infected people have died in the past 24 hours, the national COVID response team said on Thursday.

There are currently 2,968 active cases in the country and 968 hospitalized patients with 95 of them on ventilators.

To date, a total of 1,994,545 people have been tested for the contagion, with 6,319 tests conducted in the past 24 hours and the share of the positive tests being 6%.

As of Thursday, 1,645,332 doses of vaccines have been administered. To date, 1,221,109 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine while 424,223 have received both shots.

Since 25 February when the first coronavirus case was detected in Croatia, to date, there have been 355,296 registered cases and 7,981 people have died as a consequence.

A total of 344,347 people have recovered of whom 509 in the past 24 hours.

There are currently 12,259 people in self-isolation.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and test centers up and down the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 3 May 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 349 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 36 deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

The number of active cases in Croatia today stands at 11,378. There are 2,247 COVID patients in hospitals, 244 of whom are on ventilators.

Since the first confirmed case of the infection in Croatia on 25 February 2020, a total of 335,522 people have been registered as having contracted coronavirus, 7,218 of them have died, while 316,926 have recovered, including 2,087 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 30,225 people in self-isolation.

To date, 1,827,068 people have been tested, including 4,193 over the past 24 hours.

 As of 2 May, 908,839 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Croatia, and 708,137 people have been vaccinated, with 504,856 people receiving the first dose and 200,702 receiving both doses. For 2,579 people there is no data on how many doses they have received.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules to the locations of vaccination points and testing centres throughout the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section.

ZAGREB, 2 May 2021 - Croatia has registered 944 new coronavirus cases and 52 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Sunday.

The number of active cases currently stands at 13,152. Among them are 2,223 infected people who are hospitalized, including 240 who are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 335,173 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 7,182 have died and 314,839 have recovered, including 2,016 in the last 24 hours. Currently, 32,614 people are self-isolating.

A total of 1,822,875 people have been tested to date, including 8,370 in the last 24 hours.

So far, 907,575 vaccine doses have been administered; 503,960 people have received the first dose and 200,518 have received both doses. For 2,579 people there is no information on the number of doses administered.

The head of the national coronavirus response team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said that the daily number of new cases was on the decline.

"We have a reason for optimism, but only if we comply with the measures aimed at protecting people'', Božinović told the press during a visit to the eastern town of Borovo.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules to the locations of vaccination points and testing centres throughout the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section.

February 2, 2021 – The wait is over! In less than two weeks, Croatian cafes and gyms will open, if infection numbers continue on their current downward trajectory

With the spring season just around the corner, people will soon be able to once again enjoy coffee on the sun-filled daytime terraces of Croatian cafes. If Coronavirus infection numbers continue on their current downward trajectory, Croatian cafes and gyms will open on Monday 15 February. All businesses will still have to operate under strict epidemiological measures.

Deputy Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff, Davor Božinović, spoke about the forthcoming concessions on Croatian cafes and gyms, but a fuller picture of how the concessions will actually look was discovered unofficially by Croatian daily Jutarnji List. It was published in the evening of Monday 1st February 2021. The good news soon travelled across Croatia. It will come as a great relief to many independent business owners who have not been allowed to operate.

Business owners have been increasingly on edge over recent weeks, with protest openings of Croatian cafes and gyms threatened to take place in defiance of the current ban on operations (indeed, some did). Owners of Croatian cafes were particularly irked by the seeming inconsistencies in current measures – fast food outlets, gas service stations and bakeries were all permitted to sell coffee to go. People took advantage of this and thereafter congregated on the streets outside such businesses to enjoy their drinks. But, Croatian cafes were still not permitted to service people wishing to drink on outside terraces in almost exactly the same manner.

Monday 15 February has long been announced as the next review date for the imposed Coronavirus measures. But, until now, nobody was certain in which way – if any – measures would be relaxed.

Under unofficial plans, from Monday 15 February Croatian cafes will be able to serve coffee and drinks to be consumed on outside terraces, with strict epidemiological guidelines in place.

Croatian cafes and gyms opening on 15 February will be conditional on a continued downturn in infection numbers and the absence of new Coronavirus strains appearing in Croatia

The re-opening of Croatian cafes and gyms is wholly dependent not only on the continuing downturn in numbers of infected but also on the condition that new strains of Coronavirus - specifically those first detected in the UK and South Africa - do not appear in Croatia between now and then.

"If the indicators are good, if the numbers go down, we will certainly not be reluctant to react,” Deputy Prime Minister Davor Božinović said, regarding the 15 February review, “our aim to strike a balance between everything - with an emphasis on health care - has brought us to a position where Croatia has the least stringent measures in the EU."

Coronavirus infection numbers in some other European territories remain at an alarmingly high rate, although a corresponding relaxation in measures for some regions of Italy was similarly announced over recent days. This is the second time since the start of the pandemic that stricter measures imposed by the Croatian government – and a widespread public observance of these measures and other guidelines - have successfully produced the intended results.

February 1, 2021 – Miroslav Tudman, the first child of Franjo Tudman, died in Zagreb from complications caused by Coronavirus. A scientist and educator who followed a route into politics, he bore a striking resemblance to his father, the first President of Croatia

Miroslav Tudjman, HDZ member of parliament and son of Franjo Tudman, the first President of Croatia, died in the evening of Sunday 31 January 2021 in Zagreb. He was 75 years old.

Miroslav Tudjman had been hospitalized in Zagreb at the beginning of December due to complications caused by Coronavirus. He had been placed on a respirator. He sadly lost his fight for life at the Dr. Fran Mihaljevic Clinic for Infectious Diseases, Zagreb.

Born in Belgrade in 1946, the son of Franjo Tudman and his first wife Ankica Zumbar, Miroslav Tudman moved to Zagreb in 1961. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb in 1970 and later became part of the faculty, founding its Institute for Information Studies in 1989.

Miroslav Tudman © HDZ

He took part in the Croatian War of Independence and in 1992 Miroslav Tudman became the head of the Centre for Strategic Research. He took up the role as the deputy head of the National Security Office before founding and leading the first Croatian Intelligence Agency (Hrvatska izvještajna služba, HIS). In 1998, Miroslav Tudman became a tenured professor at the Faculty of Philosophy where he had studied.

Miroslav Tudman had dallied with politics since before the war, but it was only after the passing of his father – who died while in office – that they became a more consuming affair for him. He flitted between running as an independent candidate, within fringe parties and as a member of HDZ, the party to which his father belonged. His longest duration with any party was from 2011 and 2021, during which he was a member of HDZ.

At the time of his death, he was a member of the Croatian parliament, head of the Parliamentary Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, a member of the Committee on Defence, Internal Policy and National Security, War Veterans and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation.

Bearing a very close resemblance to his father, Miroslav Tudman was named after Croatian writer Miroslav Krleža who his father adored at the time of his firstborn child.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that he received the news of Miroslav Tudman's death with sadness.

"It is with great sadness that I received the news of the departure of Prof. Miroslav Tudman, PhD, a dear colleague, friend and member of the Croatian Parliament, son of the first Croatian President Franjo Tudman, a prominent politician and a scientist dedicated to protecting national interests," he wrote on Twitter. "In these sad and painful moments, for the Tudman family, I express my sincere condolences and sympathy, on behalf of the government and myself."

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ZAGREB, Dec 7, 2020 - Stricter anti-epidemic measures for Varazdin Country that were introduced on November 21 have resulted in the number of new infections stagnating in recent days, the head of the COVID-19 management team for that county, Robert Vugrin, said on Monday.

Vugrin recalled at a press conference that three weeks ago they had been registering 1,500 new infections per week, they had had 172 patients with severe cases of COVID in hospitals, and the percentage of positive coronavirus tests had been 37%.

It was obvious then, he said, that the epidemiological measures in place were not effective, and recommendations made to the national team were either not accepted or were made more lenient.

The 7-day incidence rate in Varazdin County was twice and half times higher than the national one, and the county team had to react and propose stricter measures which entered into force on November 21. The same day, all secondary school and higher education institutions in the county accepted the proposal to switch to online classes.

Vugrin added that they had had to wait at least two weeks for the first results.

During the first week, the number of new infections rose to 2,100. The number of hospitals in patients was also increasing, to 272, while the percentage of positive tests was 44%.

However, he said, two weeks after the stricter measures were introduced, the numbers have started to stagnate.

Vugrin said that the number of new infections in a week was under 2,000, and in the last three days there has not been an increase in the number of patients in hospitals, so the number of patients admitted to and released from hospitals is balanced.

"Over the past three days, we have come from 272 to 262, and today we have 258 patients in hospitals," Vugrin said.

ZAGREB, November 28, 2020 - Vukovar-Srijem County Public Health Institute head Kata Kresic said on Saturday that based on epidemiological data, the recent increase in the number of new coronavirus infections in the county was not related to the Vukovar Remembrance Procession of November 18.

"The number of new infections has been growing since early November and we think it is primarily connected with family gatherings, including church fetes as well as pig butchering, which is common at this time of year and is usually attended by several families which help one another," Kresic told a news conference in Vinkovci, calling on everyone planning pig butchering to do so within their own family.

The increase in new cases is also due to the introduction of fast antigen testing, and the number of new infections is expected to continue to grow in the coming days, Kresic said.

"What is worrying is the fact that there is a larger number of patients who do not know how they got infected, which indicates horizontal transmission of the virus and a high risk of infection," Kresic said, calling on the residents of Vukovar-Srijem County to comply with epidemiological restrictions and behave responsibly.

Currently, 62 people are hospitalised due to COVID-19 and the number of hospitalisations and releases has been even recently.

An additional facility has been prepared for the admission of patients with milder clinical symptoms as the number of new infections is expected to grow.

A record 226 new infections were confirmed in this eastern county on Saturday, and 1,406 people are self-isolating.

ZAGREB, November 22, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros, who is isolating at home because he has coronavirus, said on Saturday the situation with the number of infections and related deaths was alarming and announced that he would talk with county heads on Tuesday.

Speaking for RTL television via video link, he again called for people to be more responsible.

"Tuesday is an important day, when all of us at national level will once again talk with prefects, which will be an opportunity for the national, local and regional governments to hold constructive talks and assess all problems."

Asked if that meant they would discuss new restrictions, Beros said every opportunity was good for talks.

He said many were criticising the national COVID response team's measures, but added that many in the world claimed that milder restrictions would be effective if people complied with them.

"We can impose stricter measures, but if people won't wear masks and (if they) socialise at private gatherings... Everything is an opportunity to show responsibility."

Asked if it was realistic for a vaccine to be in Croatia by Christmas, Beros said, "We joined early enough all European initiatives for procuring vaccines from various manufacturers. As a state, we have done everything. Now it's all up to the manufacturers."