ZAGREB, 6 Dec 2021 - The Iustitia et Pax Commission of the Croatian Conference of Catholic Bishops (HBK) on Monday joined Pope Francis in his appeal for getting vaccinated, explaining that the COVID-19 pandemic requires responsible behavior, including renouncing personal freedoms.

The HBK commission issued a press release in which it recommends vaccination against coronavirus as an act of love, as suggested by Pope Francis in several appeals, however, the Croatian Justice and Peace Commission also warned against making use of COVID certificates as an indirect form of coercion.

The press release reads that the COVID-19 pandemic caught everybody unprepared and it "often juxtaposes the fundamental values and the acquired freedoms."

"All of that requires of us to show great responsibility and prudence, as well as to make sacrifices for the sake of our fellow humans, including relinquishing certain personal freedoms."

The press release signed by the commission's president, Osijek Archbishop Đuro Hranić, reads that the developments had led to the social conflicts and divisions that caused mistrust of institutions and science, thus creating space for pseudo-scientific speech and conspiracy theories.

In this context, the commission mentions cases of persons who negated the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic and spread fear, which was conducive to the rifts in the society.

Admitting that some of those pandemic negators are members of the Church, the commission says that such persons have done damage to themselves as well as to fellow humans and to the reputation of the Catholic Church.

The press release further reads that vaccination is not a moral obligation and ought to be on a voluntary basis, however, the conscience of individuals must not become blind.

Thus, during the pandemic, people are called upon to take care of each other, and in this spirit, they are expected to follow the appeal of Pope Francis who has underscored on several occasions that getting vaccinated is an act of love.

The commission also underscores that all the approved vaccines against coronavirus are morally acceptable, as stated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and also points out the importance of complying with all the epidemiological rules, including testing and inoculation.

Vaccination on a voluntary basis

The press release, however, calls for avoiding making use of COVID-19 certificates as indirect coercion for immunization or making use of vaccination as a precondition for employment, as this causes fear and resistance among people.

For more, check out our politics section.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 6 Dec 2021 - The head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), Krunoslav Capak, said on Monday that two people in the country had been found to be infected with the new Covid variant, Omicron.

The two patients have not developed any serious symptoms of the infection and all their contacts are under surveillance, Capak told a news conference.

The patients had been at a business meeting, and there are possibilities that other participants could have caught it, too, said epidemiologist Bernard Kaić.

According to Capak, Croatia has taken all the necessary measures to slow down the spread of the new variant.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 6 Dec 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 728 new COVID cases while 51 people died of this infection, the national COVID response team reported on Monday.

There are currently 25,567 active cases in the country including 2,444 hospitalized patients with 326 patients on ventilators. As many as 23,453 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020 when the first case of the novel coronavirus was registered in Croatia, there have been a total of 631,756 cases of contagion and 11,269 people have died as a consequence while 594,929 have recovered, including 4,588 in the past 24 hours.

To date, there have been 3,512,277 tests conducted, including 2,732 in the past 24 hours.

As of Sunday, a total of 4,249,704 doses of a vaccine have been administered under the vaccine rollout. Thus, 54.40% of the total population or 64.89% of the adult population have received at least one dose.

A total of 2,207,786 people has received at least one dose of a vaccine while 1,981,397 are fully vaccinated, which is 58.74% of the adult population.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 5 Dec, 2021 - Croatia has registered 2,796 new coronavirus cases and 68 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus crisis management team reported on Sunday.

Currently, there are 29,478 active cases in the country. Among them are 2,381 people being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals, including 310 who are on ventilators. A total of 25,841 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 631,037 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 11,218 have died and 590,341 have recovered, including 4,598 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,509,545 people have been tested for the new virus, including 8,277 in the last 24 hours.

As of 4 December, 4,245,741 vaccine doses have been administered, with 54.38 per cent of the total population, or 64.87 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,206,995 persons have received at least one dose and 1,979,003 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 58.40 per cent of the adult population.

For more on COVID-19, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 4 Dec, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, 11,717 coronavirus tests have been conducted in Croatia and of them, 38% (4,465) have returned positive, whereas another 54 COVID patients have died, bringing the COVID-related death toll to 11,150, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Saturday.

Currently, there are 31,348 active cases, and of them 2,382 are receiving hospital treatment, including 317 patients on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of infection with the novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, 628,241 persons have caught the virus and 585,743 of them have recovered from the infection, including 4,712 in the last 24 hours.

During the vaccine rollout, over 4.2 million doses against coronavirus have been administered. So far, 54.29 % of the total population have got at least a jab, or nearly 65% of adults.

Furthermore, 58.13% of adults have been fully vaccinated.

For more on COVID-19, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 2 Dec 2021 - The idea of compulsory vaccination against coronavirus is not yet on the government's agenda, however, anti-epidemic measures will depend on the epidemiological situation, Croatian Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Thursday.

The minister did not rule out the possibility of the fifth wave of the pandemic hitting Croatia if the country failed to reach the necessary vaccination rate.

"We have been emphasizing all along that vaccination is voluntary, and we have not considered the vaccination mandate. Since the onset of the pandemic we have been saying that all the measures are on the table and that epidemiological developments shape our choice of the measures," Beroš told a news conference after the government's meeting today.

He recalled that in Europe there are warnings that if a certain vaccination rate is not achieved, the fifth wave of the pandemic is possible in February.

"No one can know what awaits us so I cannot completely rule out the introduction of mandatory vaccination," Beroš said, admitting that mandatory vaccination could deepen the divisions in society and provoke resistance.

"Therefore, let us get vaccinated to deter a possible fifth wave and the emergence of new variants (of the virus)."

Croatia has seen a decline in new coronavirus numbers over recent days, which the minister associated with more and more people getting inoculated and with the introduction of the COVID certificate mandate.

Although he expressed hope for a more serene Christmas season, the minister called for exercising caution.

As for the inclusion of his name on the "Croatian Traitors" website, Beroš said that he felt extremely bad about it.

"Every single move and decision we make... is aimed at protecting the health of Croatian citizens. Anything else is bad stories that will be judged by history," the minister said.

For more on politics, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 2 Dec 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said at a government session on Thursday that the number of new coronavirus infections was down 14.5% from the previous week and that the number of hospitalizations was also slightly smaller even though pressure on the health system was still significant.

The test positivity rate in the past 24 hours was 38.35%, a drop of 14.5% compared to last week and 26.5% compared to two weeks ago.

A total of 2,391 people are hospitalized, which is a slight decrease in the number of hospitalizations. In the past 24 hours, 30 people were put on ventilators and 24 of them are unvaccinated, said Beroš.

Despite the decline in the number of infections, hospitals are still under strain and the situation is most difficult in the northwest of Croatia, in the hospitals in Zabok, Varaždin, Čakovec and Koprivnica, where nurses and ventilators from other health institutions are being sent.

"The capacity for the admission of COVID-19 patients keeps increasing, and over the past month, the number of beds for those patients was increased from 2,253 to 3,580, which is currently insufficient. The number of hospitalizations in that period grew by 85%, from 1,330 to 2,545," he said.

As for the new coronavirus variant Omicron, the minister said that it was considered more dangerous because it had twice as many mutations as the Delta variant. However, experts note that vaccines continue to provide a high degree of protection from severe clinical symptoms and hospitalization, he said.

A total of 209,000 people have received the third vaccine dose so far.

As for vaccination with the first and second doses, one should strive to achieve the vaccination rate of Zagreb (75%), with the 70-74 age group having the highest vaccination rate, with 90% having received at least one shot.

For more on politics, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 2 Dec 2021 - In the last 24 hours, 13,928 coronavirus tests have been conducted in Croatia and of them, 38.3% (5,341) have returned positive, whereas another 76 COVID patients have died, bringing the COVID-related death toll to 11,043, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

In the last 15 days, the coronavirus infection has claimed roughly 1,000 lives in the country.

Currently, there are 32,603 active cases, and of them 2,391 are receiving hospital treatment, including 311 patients on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of infection with the novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, 619,255 persons have caught the virus and 575,609 of them have recovered from the infection, including 4,676 in the last 24 hours.

So far, 54% of the total population have been vaccinated, and 57.63% of adults have been fully vaccinated.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 29 Nov 2021 - In the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 1,031 new cases of coronavirus and 67 COVID-related deaths, the national COVID response team reported on Monday.

There are currently 29,891 active cases, including 2,598 hospitalized patients, 308 of whom are on ventilators, while 21,971 people are self-isolating.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, a total of 604,347 cases of coronavirus have been registered and the death toll has climbed to 10,826, while a total of 563,630 people have recovered, including 5,399 over the past 24 hours.

A total of 3,437,227 tests have been conducted to date, including 3,466 in the past 24 hours.

As of 28 November, a total of 4,115,040 doses of a vaccine has been administered, with 53.62% of the total population or 63.99% of the adult population having been vaccinated.

A total of 2,176,068 people have received at least one dose, while 1,931,878 have been fully vaccinated, which is 57.06% of the adult population.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 28 Nov, 2021 - In the last 24 hours 3,339 coronavirus cases and 64 COVID-19 deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national crisis management team said on Sunday.

There are 34,326 active cases, including 2,538 hospitalised patients, of whom 330 are on ventilators, while 22,900 persons are self-isolating.

To date 3,433,761 persons have been tested for the virus, including 9,010 in the last 24 hours.

Croatia has registered 603,316 coronavirus cases to date as well as 10,759 related deaths and 558,231 recoveries, of which 3,502 in the last 24 hours.

To date 53.59% of the total population has been vaccinated against COVID-19, including 63.95% of adults, 57.01% of whom have completed vaccination.

For more on COVID-19, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.