ZAGREB, 7 Oct 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 1,748 coronavirus cases and eight related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Thursday.

There are 9,299 active cases, including 823 hospitalized patients, of whom 119 are on ventilators, while 16,379 persons are self-isolating.

Croatia has logged 413,665 coronavirus cases to date, 8,730 deaths, and 395,636 recoveries, including 1,254 in the past 24 hours.

Also, 2,885,071 persons have been tested for the virus, including 10,592 in the past 24 hours.

54% of adults vaccinated

To date, 45.39% of the population has been vaccinated against COVID, including 54.44% of adults, of whom 51.07% are fully vaccinated.

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August the 28th, 2021 - The director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, has discussed the epidemiological situation, the fact that Croatia continues to be a safe tourist destination, anti-epidemic measures and the idea of a third dose of the vaccine.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Krunoslav Capak stated on Thursday that Croatia currently has the most favourable epidemiological situation of all tourist countries in Europe, as well as of many other tourist countries globally. This has been reaffirmed by Croatia remaining orange on the ECDC's latest corona map update.

“It’s very good news; no additional measures are being introduced for tourists leaving Croatia to return home, and if we do turn red, then additional measures can be introduced, including quarantine,'' Krunoslav Capak told Dnevnik Nova TV.

He reported that no additional measures are being planned so far, and the existing ones will be extended until September the 15th, 2021.

“Now we have a slightly worse situation than we did at the same time last year, and the fourth wave started earlier than last year. Our expectations are that, given that we have more than 50 percent of the population vaccinated, it won't be such big growth and it won't last long," he added.

He noted that covid certificates have been introduced for gatherings of more than fifty people in Dalmatian and coastal counties and for a hundred people in continental counties, adding that they haven't yet considered introducing them for shopping centres, restaurants and cafes, although this option remains open and all is applicable in some European countries.

Consideration is also being given to using the certificates for the healthcare system and the social security system. Because, as Krunoslav Capak stated, it is important that when it comes to healthcare system, both patients and staff should try to avoid potentially infecting each other if possible.

“The use of covid certificates is tremendously important here, and we'd prefer everyone to be vaccinated,'' he pointed out.

"In some EU countries where covid certificates have been introduced, testing restrictions for asymptomatic people are being considered, so this will be one of the mechanisms in Croatia. We didn't definitely agree on when that would put put into practice,'' he said.

When asked about the vaccination of children, Krunoslav Capak noted that they support the vaccination of children aged 12 to 18, especially those with chronic underlying diseases where the risk of a severe form of the disease should it be contracted be higher.

"Now we're talking about it and stimulating the vaccination of children in their final grades of high school, and then high schools in which, due to the nature of the type of education they conduct, there is contact with more people,'' he added. He also invited every other child who wanted to, to come to receive the vaccination together with their parents.

Krunoslav Capak says the idea of a third dose of the vaccine is being discussed intensively, and Europe's position is rather conservative on the issue - most EU countries believe there is still a long way to go before we should need to start talking about that.

"So far, we don't have the infrastructure in place for that, nor the possibility to record the third dose, and we're also working on that. We epidemiologists will agree on which vulnerable groups we'll start giving the third dose too first,'' he stressed.

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August the 27th, 2021 - The Croatian Health Ministry has, in principle, expressed its support for the idea of unvaccinated healthcare workers employed in Croatian hospitals paying monetary compensation to patients who become infected with the novel coronavirus while in hospital.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian Health Ministry recently welcomed the move of the management of KBC Osijek, which warned its unvaccinated employees in a letter about the possibility of paying compensation to patients who become infected during their hospital stay.

The letter warns the employees of KBC Osijek about the possibility of paying compensation if a patient becomes infected in the hospital and decides to sue the institution. In the letter, the management states the possibility that, if this happens, the hospital will be able to seek compensation from unvaccinated staff members.

The Croatian Health Ministry estimates that the management of KBC Osijek, as part of its competencies and responsibilities for the work of the hospital, "timely and properly informed its employees about the need to raise the level of individual and collective protection against coronavirus'' and accordingly increase overall patient safety.

“It's clear from the letter that the management of KBC Osijek is transmitting information to all of its employees about the existence of civil lawsuits of persons alleging that their family members were infected with coronavirus when they were receiving hospital treatment (such as in the KBC Zagreb case) and that they consider the hospital responsible for the contaction of the infection, and as such the employees of the institution as a source, ie vectors of the infection,'' stated the Croatian Health Ministry.

It referred to a claim for compensation, more precisely a settlement with the hospital due to the death of an 84-year-old woman from the novel coronavirus, who the family believes was infected while being treated in a medical institution. According to Jutarnji list, the family demanded compensation of 632,000 kuna from KBC Zagreb.

The Croatian Health Ministry considers that lawsuits with high compensation claims, based on the argument that the hospital, ie its employees, didn't take all available measures to protect patients from contracting the infection, prompted the management of KBC Osijek to remind its employees that timely vaccination means taking the available protection from infection and the transmission of that same infection to patients, including adherence to all of the prescribed epidemiological measures.

Over recent days, KBC Osijek has stated that they aren't forcing any of their employees to be vaccinated, emphasising that it is still their duty to warn their employees about responsible behaviour and what may happen should they choose to refuse the vaccine.

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August the 21st, 2021 - More than 50 percent of the Croatian adult population is now finally vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which is a target the country had hoped in vain to reach before the tourist season began. Still, it's better late than never.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian Institute of Public Health director Krunoslav Capak stated that every second adult living in Croatia has made a positive step forward and been vaccinated against the virus. The fact that more than 50 percent of the Croatian adult population is now vaccinated is cause for celebration in the eyes of Capak.

''In order to preserve their personal health and life as well as the health and lives of their fellow citizens, every second adult in Croatia has now received at least one dose of vaccine. Everyone who was vaccinated, with this selfless gesture, has contributed to health, safety, preservation of life, the preservation of the hospital system, and the preservation of jobs as well as the tourist season.

I'd like to thank everyone who responded to the vaccination invitation as well as the healthcare professionals who did a great job. We're moving on,'' said the director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, epidemiologist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Krunoslav Capak.

The highest coverage of vaccinated with the first dose was achieved in the City of Zagreb (48.0 percent of the total population, ie 58.0 percent of the adult population), and the best level of those fully vaccinated was also achieved in the City of Zagreb (44.2 percent of the total population, ie 53.5 percent of the capital's adult population).

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August the 8th, 2021 - While vaccination isn't mandatory, many limits are being gradually placed on those who aren't vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Could Croatian employees who aren't vaccinated ever face being ''let go'' by their employers? Croatian lawyer Antonio Volarevic weighed in on this question.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, due to the continued spread of the novel coronavirus and sometimes poor vaccination coverage, many countries are imposing restrictions on the unvaccinated. Some unvaccinated people are even being fired from their places of work. Namely, in Italy, you absolutely can't enter theatres, museums, gyms, or the insides of cafes and restaurants without being able to show a green pass proving you're vaccinated. According to the US CNN, three unvaccinated employees were fired.

Lawyer Antonio Volarevic revealed for Dnevnik whether there are legal grounds for such moves here in Croatia.

"In Croatia, there's really no legal basis for such repression. There is no law or regulation that would restrict the freedom of movement of citizens in that sense,'' he said.

For example, on CNN, three unvaccinated people were fired. Here in this country, according to lawyer Antonio Volarevic, that is simply not allowed, but in America "it obviously is".

America, he explains, has a strikingly different legal system - a system of precedent. In this country, something must actually be prescribed in advance in order to be sanctioned.

"I say that it's inadmissible because an employer, in order to want to terminate an employment contract for something, must therefore have some justification, a legally valid basis. The fact that the worker wasn't vaccinated cannot be the basis for their dismissal,'' he explained.

If the employer fired an unvaccinated person because they're unvaccinated, then they wouldn't be punished because that isn't prescribed by law. That said, the worker can go to court and then the court can decide whether the dismissal was justified or not. In that case, the employer must return the worker to work and pay them the salaries he would have received if they'd stayed at work, as well as compensation for damages,'' lawyer Antonio Volarevic said.

The employer has no right to request an employee's vaccination information, nor do they have any right to keep records of who has been vaccinated and hasn't been vaccinated,” he stated.

"All of this, creating an atmosphere of fear where people should be afraid they could lose their jobs, that they'll end up getting fired if they aren't vaccinated - it's completely illegal,'' lawyer Antonio Volarevic concluded.

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June 7, 2021 – With many in Croatia hoping for a more relaxed summer than 2020, all eyes and ears are on the country's healthcare professionals. Here's some news from the COVID front and the adult population vaccination rate in Croatia.

The constant following COVID19 infections are getting rather tiring for everyone. Croatians have turned their attention massively towards the tourism season and summer as the only chance to enjoy a bit of rest and relaxation. As the strain on the health system starts to lessen, the questions surrounding the future of restrictions imposed on businesses grow more common.

It is evident the main factor for getting life back to normal will be the vaccination process. Index.hr reports on the latest trends. Their article quotes Diana Mayer, an epidemiologist with the Croatian Institute of Public Health. She expressed her satisfaction with the interest in vaccination. It is no secret there have been those opposing the vaccine in Croatia But it seems a bigger part of the population is willing to get vaccinated in hope of restrictions being lifted. The official data says 1,33 million Croatians have been vaccinated at least once, with roughly 564,000 of those receiving both doses. In a country of barely 4 million inhabitants, this is not a negligible result. According to Mayer, we are to see half of the population vaccinated by the end of June. Hopefully, this translates into a calmer Autumn.

Positive Trend

On Sunday the 6th of June 2021, there were 157 new cases of COVID19 infections in Croatia. The numbers seem to be going down, but it is way too early to draw any optimistic conclusions about the trends in near future. The waiting time for people who register for vaccination is also declining. Epidemiologist Mayer said this is not due to the decline of interest. More positive news comes from KB Dubrava (Clinical Hospital Dubrava), the largest COVID hospital in Croatia. KB Dubrava is to resume its normal function today and starts receiving non-COVID19 patients after 217 days. Let's hope this is just the beginning of a long-lasting positive trend.

 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.

June the 4th, 2021 - The Croatian vaccine rollout has been picking up its pace from its rather slow and problematic beginnings earlier this year, and with the numbers remaining favourable and epidemiological situation remaining somewhat stable, a new way of vaccinating Croatia's residents has been announced.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Neda Ferencic Vrban, a specialist from Zagreb's Andrija Stampar Institute, recently commented on the situation with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the Croatian vaccine rollout at the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebacki Velesajam).

"We invited about 2,000 people for vaccination today (on the 3rd of June), we think that everyone who has been invited will be vaccinated if everything goes according to plan as it has been over recent days," said Neda Ferencic Vrban, who vaccinates people herself at the aforementioned Zagreb location, writes N1.

Commenting on where the people were being invited to for their vaccinations, she said: “We don't have public calls, those people were referred for vaccination against the novel coronavirus by their GPs and through the Cijepi Se platform. A public call will come soon because we've set a goal to get 50 percent of the adult population vaccinated, so it will only be a mere matter of days before the public call is sent out and then there'll be no need to apply, people can just turn up, especially after these quantities [of the vaccine] have arrived,''

They currently don't have AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer is now being used for both doses in the Croatian vaccine rollout, she pointed out.

Speaking about giving people different doses, she said: “So far, we don't have any recommendations from the CNIPH in regard to mixing doses with different vaccines. As long as the instructions are that both doses must match from the same manufacturer, we'll continue to do it that way.''

When it comes to the topic of the vaccination of minors, she said: "The recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health have arrived with regard to research and the recommendation is for children aged 12 to 16 to be vaccinated with Pfizer, and first of all that will involve vulnerable groups who have existing conditions which would worsen if they became infected.''

Commenting on the rapidly approaching tourist season and the Croatian vaccine rollout's relation to it, she said: “The recommendation is vaccination, responsibility towards oneself and to others. Only vaccination will finally take us out of the pandemic and let us return to our normal way of living.''

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 choose your preferred language.

May the 21st, 2021 - Just how is the Croatian vaccination process going and what is the situation for those who will be leaving their registered place of residence during summer, but need to get their second dose?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, what will the Croatian vaccination process and receiving the second dose of the vaccine look like in the upcoming season which will be full of summer holidays in Croatia with people staying for longer periods outside of their place of residence? All of that was explained the Croatian Institute of Public Health, which has informed people to contact the health services of their places of registered residence.

''There's a possibility that people who will be outside of their place of residence during their planned second dose of the vaccine can be vaccinated before or after going to the coast or even when on holiday with a doctor of their choice or at public health institutes if the recommended vaccination interval allows,'' the Institute stated.

The recommended interval between the first and second dose of Comirnaty (Pfizer) is three to six weeks, Moderna four weeks (it can be extended to six weeks if necessary), and for Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) that recommended interval is between four and twelve weeks.

More practically, the Janssen Johnson & Johnson vaccine is administered in just one single dose.

In case of urgent need, it is okay for all of these vaccines to deliver a second dose four days before the earliest recommended date. Alternatively, people can be vaccinated at the place where they will be staying at the scheduled time for their second dose of the vaccine.

''We'd like to note that the organisation and planning of vaccination, given the distribution plan and characteristics of these vaccines (which arrive in certain quantities which are planned for) we require advance information about the planned number of doses and types of vaccines.

Therefore, we'd like to ask people to announce and pre-arrange their second dose of the vaccination with doctors in their place of temporary residence, or at the competent health centre at that location, so that the necessary additional doses can be planned and provided, with a request to understand that this may not always be possible at the requested time,'' they stated from the Institute as the Croatian vaccination process picks up its pace.

Just what will this procedure look like in practice when it comes to tourist areas, primarily in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, whose tourist destinations on the coast and islands see population increases of several times during the summer? Dr. Vladimir Micovic answered this for Novi List.

''The idea is for people to be vaccinated before they leave their places of residence and to get vaccinated in the areas where they live. But of course, if they find themselves in our area, we'll do our best to get them the necessary vaccine. At this end, we'll open up some additional channels for communication. So far, in some cases, we've vaccinated people who don't have registered residence in this area, as well as foreign citizens who live here,'' Micovic explained.

For more on the Croatian vaccination process, make sure to follow our lifestyle section.

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

ZAGREB, 20 May 2021 - As of today, every third adult in Croatia has been vaccinated against COVID-19, the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, 19 May, 43,890 doses of the vaccine were used, and the number of persons that have received at least one dose reached 1,109,161, which is 27% of the population or 33% of the adult population, while 341,008 persons have received both doses.

According to data from the eCijepih platform, as of 20 May, every third adult in Croatia has been vaccinated, which is a big step forward compared to early May, when on 1 May every fifth adult citizen of Croatia had been vaccinated, the HZJZ said.

First dose vaccine coverage is highest in Zagreb, 31% of the total population or 37.6% of the adult population, and second dose vaccine coverage is highest in Sisak-Moslavina County, 12% of the population or 14.4% of adults.

"These are encouraging data that give us reason for optimism when it comes to meeting the goal of vaccinating over a half of Croatia's adult population by the end of June. Vaccination is going according to plan, the epidemiological situation is better than in previous weeks and this is certainly good news, especially in the context of the upcoming tourist season," said HZJZ deputy director Ivana Pavić Šimetin.

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 choose your preferred language.

April the 30th, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beros has announced changes in the Croatian vaccine rollout following the embarrassing situation surrounding the Cijepi se vaccination portal and issues with turnout and vaccine arrivals.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the health minister has stated that so far, more than a million doses of vaccine have arrived in Croatia, with around 825,000 doses having been administered.

''Vaccination coverage greater than an average of 16 percent was achieved in the 65 and older age group. The highest coverage with the first dose is in Zagreb, standing at 18 percent, followed by Sisak-Moslavina County. The Croatian Institute of Public Health has issued recommendations to prevent the spread of the infection during election rallies. A revised list of countries for which special entry measures should be applied upon arrival in Croatia has also been published. India has now added to the special entry measure list,'' said Vili Beros.

"As part of the intensification of the Croatian vaccine rollout and its campaign, we sent a letter to the Ministry of Defense and the Red Cross for their active involvement. We've been asked if we can allow people to visit patients who are in critical conditions in hospital. The pressure on the hospital system isn't subsiding, but we're still managing to take care of the sick.

The arrival of a larger amount of vaccines makes it possible to intensify the Croatian vaccine rollout at mass vaccination points. By registering with a family doctor, by phone or by registering on the Cijepi se platform, I'd like to invite people to please register for vaccination,'' he added.

He emphasised that a sufficient number of vaccine doses has now been been provided.

“The Croatian Government has provided sufficient quantities of the coronavirus vaccine. The establishment of a clear chain of command is also crucial. The main coordinator is the director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health. This is being achieved on the basis of new legal decisions such as the decision on the mandatory participation of public and private healthcare workers in the implementation of the Croatian vaccine rollout. Three new coordinators have been appointed - the first for the organisation of vaccination sites, the second for distribution and the third for IT support.

“The new operational plan for the vaccination of the working population is clearly elaborated in detail. Family physicians are required to take out a list of persons who haven't yet been vaccinated from their files and they'll be vaccinated through the use of call centres. Mobile teams have also been formed. Additional locations are being determined throughout Croatia,'' Beros said.

"Sufficient quantities of various vaccines will be provided at all of the locations. The precondition for issuing a vaccination certificate is the enrollment in a digital platform. It's clear that this is a preparation to dynamise the Croatian vaccine rollout, to make it an effort we stick to seven days a week," PM Andrej Plenkovic added.

On Thursday, Plenkovic pointed out that the number of newly infected people had begun to fall in recent days compared to the previous two weeks, but also said that there was still no relaxation in terms of the need to fully adhere to all current epidemiological measures.

"It's encouraging that our numbers have started to fall in recent days compared to the past two weeks, but we should continue to be maximally responsible because this is the best way to accelerate the decline in the number of infected and dead people,'' Plenkovic said during a government session.

''Each of us has an active role in this process and our behaviour can contribute to the protection of life and health, but also to the economy and jobs,'' he stressed.

This, he added, especially refers to the tourist season and he expressed satisfaction that the process of vaccinating tourist workers has already begun down in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, which should continue.

He also mentioned that last weekend, he asked the Minister of Health to prepare a concrete, updated action plan to intensify the Croatian vaccine rollout and reiterated that Croatia will have a total of at least 3.2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine available from the end of December to the end of June.

"All those who want to receive the vaccine will be able to get it," he assured, reiterating his appeal to residents, especially those with chronic diseases and the elderly, to get vaccinated at checkpoints that will be established or which already exist throughout Croatia.

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.