ZAGREB, 12 February, 2021 - The national federation of war veterans treated for PTSD has described as inappropriate and potentially manipulative Croatian Chamber of Commerce president Luka Burilović's explanation of his out-of-turn vaccination against COVID-19, in which he cited his status of disabled war veteran.

"The explanation creates room for a false perception that Croatian war veterans have priority in vaccination over other citizens, people with chronic diseases and people with disabilities. We find it important to once again stress that many disabled war veterans suffer from many other chronic diseases, which puts them among at-risk groups, yet despite that, they are still patiently waiting for their turn to get vaccinated, just like other citizens," the federation said in a statement on Friday.

It called on citizens, notably those holding various public offices, to set an example to others and to have understanding for people with chronic diseases for whom vaccination can mean survival as well as to respect the vaccination priority list.

For the latest on coronavirus in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

ZAGREB, 12 February, 2021 - The head of Zagreb's Infectious Diseases Hospital, Alemka Markotić, confirmed on Friday that her 84-year-old mother, a chronic patient, had been vaccinated in that hospital, and when asked whether that was a case of abuse of position, she said at least one reporter had already been vaccinated.

"How many times have you broken (the rules) by calling me and my colleagues, asking favours for your parents, loved ones... Both your parents and my mother and all other people who could and should have come could come to the hospital. At least one of you sitting here skipped the line to be vaccinated," Markotić said.

Markotić, who is a member of the national COVID-19 crisis management team, did not say the name of the reporter who had jumped the queue to be vaccinated, but she said that he was present at the press conference, after which reporters denied they were the ones who had been vaccinated.

Answering reporters' questions, Markotić confirmed that her 84-year-old mother, who is suffering from several chronic diseases, at least two of which are connected with serious COVID complications, had been vaccinated at the hospital where she works.

"She has recently had an extensive and difficult operation, so I do not see why she could not be vaccinated if she is my mother," she added.

Markotić: Nowhere does it say no elderly persons outside of care homes can be vaccinated

In a reply to a reporter's statement on "getting vaccinated ahead of the line" and asked based on what criteria her mother got vaccinated, given the fact that the first phase of Croatia's vaccination plan has not been completed, Markotić underscored that there were no criteria saying where her mother could be vaccinated although she was not in a care home.

"You stated that persons were vaccinated ahead of the line and using favoritism," she told reporters.

"Nowhere does it say that no elderly person can be vaccinated if they are not in a care home; nowhere does it say that a health worker must be vaccinated in their own health institution," Markotić stressed.

The head of the national COVID-19 team, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, said that the director of the Infectious Diseases Hospital lived with her mother, who might not be in the first category according to the priority plan, but given Dr Markotić's profession, she might be even more at risk than others.

Asked by reporters about her attendance at a mass for the Blessed Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac on 10 February, when more than 25 people gathered outside the Zagreb Cathedral, Markotić said that she had attended the mass as a private person, not an organiser or someone who could determine the number of people attending.

She denied media claims that she had held a speech at the mass.

Asked by reporters whether she would resign due to her attendance at the mass and her mother's vaccination, Markotić did not respond, saying she was a target of a lynching campaign.

She said there were people above her, as the director of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, to whom she would answer.

For the latest on coronavirus in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

February 12, 2021 – At today's press conference of the National Civil Protection Headquarters, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic presented and explained the details of the new epidemiological measures announced by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković at yesterday's Government session. Namely, from February 15, caterers will be allowed to sell coffee to go, fitness centres, gyms, and bookmakers will be able to open. Students will be able to study in foreign language schools and in workshops.

The new eased measures, created by the Headquarters and the Government's reflection, will be valid until 28 February.

An epidemiologically, but also sociologically and psychologically justified approach

"We know how the situation can get worse in a short time. We don't expect this, but we must be careful. In the last seven days, we've even managed to get into third place in terms of incidence in Europe. But our primary interest is to lower the numbers of new infections so that, compared to other EU members, we now have the least stringent measures in Europe, which means that this effort is paying off. We must not relax totally, and just because we didn't do so before, we're able to ease some measures now.

February 28th is going to be here in less than two weeks, and from today we'll be thinking about measures that could be further relaxed if the trends remain like this. We don't know what that's all going to look like at the moment. Still, we're going to closely monitor everything that is happening, especially in regard to to the new variants, where the profession, primarily epidemiologists, have an essential role," said Božinović.

He added that they're advocating for a gradual approach that is epidemiologically but also sociologically and psychologically justified. From day one, they've been trying to learn as much as possible about the virus and society's behaviour, and they're also taking a new strain of the novel coronavirus and its appearance in Croatia into consideration. He spoke about the easing of the country's measures in five categories.

The delivery of food, beverages, and desserts from catering facilities:

Those who pick up food and beverages must not stay on the terraces and in front of the buildings or enter the buildings. While waiting in line, they should maintain space between each other and wear masks. Staying in front of the building shouldn't be encouraged by things like playing music, the terraces should be fenced off, and tables should be removed or arranged in a way that they can't be used. Notices must be posted on facilities prohibiting entry, the maintaining of social distancing, and so on.

2. Gyms and fitness centres:

The maximum number of people inside - one person pet 20 square metres - should be taken into account, as well as proper ventilation. If the building doesn't have such artificial ventilation, the premises should be ventilated every ten minutes. Exercise machines should be disinfected after each use. Users are allowed to use only their own towels and gym mats etc. They should avoid close contact and maintain a distance of four metres between each other. The use of shared showers is still prohibited. A list of such users must be kept, and masks must be worn on arrival and checkout, as well as during registration.

3. Language schools:

It's necessary to limit the number of users per group to maintain a distance of two metres. In addition, masks are mandatory. Lecturers/teachers must keep their distance from the participants/students, wear a mask or separate themselves totally plexiglas, they must also measure temperatures. A list of participants should be kept here, too.

4. Children's workshops and playrooms:

It's necessary to limit users to one person per seven square metres and highlight that notice at the facility's entrance. You should maintain a distance and wear masks, ensure disinfection, as well as the proper disinfection of devices and toys, and of course, measure people's temperatures when they enter.

5. Slot machine clubs, bookmakers, and casinos:

Betting places/bookmakers – epidemiological measures apply here in the same way as they do for stores, depending on the facility's size. The number of people entering should be limited. Users should wear masks and keep a distance from each other, staff also, who should be separated from users with plexiglas, and they should disinfect the facility.

Slot clubs and casinos – the number of users should be limited to one user per seven metres of gross usable space. The catering part of these facilities must be closed off. Catering services can't be provided in such facilities.

When asked why children who train indoors still cannot go to their training, and bookmakers are allowed to work, epidemiologist Bernard Kaić answered, but before that, Božinović pointed out:

"Graduality means that we can't let everything open at once. We're easing these measures in a certain order, about which we've concluded at meetings. Some arguments prevail a little more in some places, others do so in other places. Epidemiologists will create a framework by which almost anything can be maintained. Still, we're going to take care to adopt our measures that favour children, which was the argument when we opened schools. The profession recommends that when we ease things, we need to first give preference to children, schools, workshops, and playrooms because children are the ones who find living like this the most difficult to grasp. Those who are older can understand the situation better. We aren't comfortable making such decisions either, but we're making them together," said Božinović.

Basic rules: limit gatherings and use your own initiative:

"Every activity carries a risk. The epidemiological framework can provide guidelines for risk reduction, but in some situations, no epidemiological framework can eliminate the risk entirely, and then the priority activities must be determined. This was discussed at the Government and the Headquarters' meeting, and this all resulted from those negotiations. Children's playrooms also pose a risk, as do children's sports and going back to school and kindergarten and the like, as well as me just going to the market. But I prefer to go to the market than to do some other activities. I agree that if all measures were eased up at once, we'd very easily have an increased number of patients. Yesterday, a Government Council member stated that there are only three basic rules: limit gatherings, small groups, and take the initiative. All of these measures that are introduced or relaxed only serve to limit gatherings, smaller and larger ones, to reduce close contacts," Kaić explained.

Božinović also referred to schools and school halls. They allowed offline classes and made sure that different classes don't interfere with each other, and that children don't all come to school at the same time. Since children aren't divided into sports groups as they are in classes, if the school halls are open, there would be more mixing between them, and then the possibility of spreading the virus is increased.

The above decisions will be valid for two weeks, and then the Headquarters will think once again about the further opening up of other facilities if the number of infections continues to fall.

Source: Jutarnji.hr

February 12, 2021 - A snapshot of Croatia in 2021, for any aliens looking to learn a thing or two about the quirks of human behaviour. 

It has been a funny year. 

A year when one's perception of the world and attitudes to the virus changed from week to week. 

I remember the feeling of internal panic as we drove off the ferry at Sucuraj on the eastern tip of the island of Hvar almost a year ago, after school closures of two weeks were announced. Varazdin was among the first to have recorded cases in Croatia (I think there were 8 when we headed south), and Hvar had none. What if we brought the virus to the island? 

So paranoid was I that I did not go within 2 metres of - or even speak to - anyone outside the immediate family for over a month. When I did leave the house for my evening walk by the Adriatic, I took care to be on the other side of the path if there were any people coming my way. It felt odd and a little farcical, but it soon became normal. 

I remember how shocked I was coming back to Zagreb some 63 days after lockdown on Hvar to see a bar crammed full of people with no masks, drinking and partying like it was a regular Friday night in the old normal. 

And yet numbers stayed low.

Let me be clear. I am not advocating lockdown, nor am I advocating a full relaxation of measures. My opinion doesn't matter, and I am certainly not qualified to judge what Croatia's correct approach should be. But I am advocating one thing:

Consistency.  

As I wrote in my last editorial As Gym Owner Faces Prison, the Virus Must be Laughing at Croatia's Inconsistent Measures, corona is beginning to feel a little like a university course in the study of human behaviour at the University of Aliens on Mars. Just observing the inconsistencies of applications of the measures in Croatia (and many other countries as well). As the aliens will have learned by now, there seems to be one rule for some, and quite another rule for the others. 

Back in March, even though the lockdown was hugely inconvenient, I took a strange pleasure in the whole experience. My days were filled with work, so it was never dull, but it felt like we were all in it together. Tough times for sure, but there was a feeling that we all needed to pull together. It took me back to my days as an aid worker two weeks after the genocide in Rwanda, when there was no electricity, running water, and scarcely any food. Alemka and Vili were national heroes, and we took pride in being praised as one of the best global responses to the initial lockdown. 

That was then. Inevitably, in Croatia, that feeling of unity did not last, and it was not long before the stories (as in other countries) of 'exceptions' hit the media, with official justifications for each seeming indiscretion. It was election season, as well as the important tourist season, and politics took over as the most important driving factor in the battle against corona. It has remained that way ever since. 

I still have respect for Vili and Alemka - their jobs must have been impossible with all the various people pulling them in different directions - but it is clear that politics has overtaken the need for a unified approach that our alien university students would applaud, and any sense of national unity has long since disappeared. Add to that the desperation that people in the hospitality industry (and elsewhere) are feeling, and that lack of consistency and double standards is really beginning to grate. 

My visit to Flower Square in Zagreb summed up the absurdity of the situation - cafe life without the cafes. Cafes and their terraces remained shut and off-limits, but you could buy a coffee to go at the bakery and sit on a bench next to the closed cafe terrace. People were actually huddled closer than they would have been sitting at a cafe table. 

February 15 was hailed as the date when measures would be eased, when some semblance of normal would return with the opening of at least the outdoor terraces of cafes. To be clear to our alien university students, this would have meant that instead of buying a beer from a supermarket or coffee from a bakery and then sitting on a park bench next to a cafe, people could sit in the relative comfort of a cafe terrace and be served by a waiter some two metres away from the bench. 

The announcement for new measures came yesterday, effective February 15 - cafes, like bakeries and other outlets, could now serve 'coffee to go' but would remain shut. Gyms and fitness centres would open, as would foreign language schools, as would casinos, bookmakers and slot machine clubs - all indoor activities of course. 

Meanwhile, the one organisation to arrange a protest, Glas Poduzetnika (Voice of Entrepreneurs), was slapped with a 30,000 kuna fine (20 for the organisation, 10 for its president, Hrvojje Bujas). You can read about the protest, which TCN attended, in A Foreign Eye at UGP Croatian Entrepreneur Protest in Zagreb.

Commenting on the situation in the country, National Civil Protection Headquarters  member Alemka Markotic said:

“Any irresponsible behaviour that can contribute to endangering someone else’s life and health has elements of bioterrorism as harsh as that word may sound.”

No comment from me either way - my focus is on consistency. 

Just days later and a few metres from where the entrepreneurs' protest took place, the annual mass in memory of Cardinal Stepinac on the anniversary of his death, was held. As you can see from the video above, there were several hundred people gathered in the same manner as the entrepreneurs just a few days ago. Whether or not religious gatherings contain the same level of bioterrorism threat as other gatherings is up for discussion, but there was one surprising attendee given her recent comment on bioterrorism - Alemka Markotic from the National Civil Protection Headquarters. 

Gatherings are supposed to be limited to 25 people, yet the funeral of a prominent HDZ politician, Miroslav Tudjman, was attended by far more than that, as you can see in the video above. Again, it was explained away as being perfectly fine and in accordance with the rules. And even though restaurants are all closed, the head of the local civil protection unit in Knin denied that he had been in a restaurant (as it turns out with someone who was self-isolating) until confronted with the truth by the media.

All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. 

I was speaking to a young politician recently, who has decided to fight for change rather than emigrate. I asked him how it was going and what the biggest challenges are.

"It is incredible. There are just SO many scandals at the moment, as always. It is impossible to know which one to comment on, as you can't give comment on them all. What is the top story in the morning is forgotten news in the evening."

And so too, it seems, with writing. While writing this article, there have been calls for Markotic to resign after she disclosed that her mother had been vaccinated at her clinic.

And just as I was digesting that news, another breaking story, this one about the one million kuna luxury car bought by the Croatian Chamber of Economy for its leader, Luka Burilovic. This after it emerged that he too managed to get himself vaccinated, days after it was revealed that his income is an eye-watering amount, especially by Croatian standards. 

I remember those isolating days of unity with fondness now, a year on. Croatia is a wonderful country with so much potential and such a bright future. Will those fighting for a better tomorrow be able to break the grip of the Mighty State of Uhljebistan? 

If you were a betting man in Croatia in 2021, it is something you could have a gamble on at the bookies, but if you wanted to discuss it in a cafe over a coffee or something stronger, you are in the wrong country. 

And so the only vocal protest that exists continues. The protest of emigration on the streets of Dublin, Frankfurt, Stockholm and many other cities hosting young Croatians who have made the painful decision that their brighter future perhaps lies elsewhere.  

ZAGREB, 12 February. 2021 - In the past 24 hours there have been 371 new cases of COVID-19 registered in Croatia and 19 people have died, the national COVID response team reported on Friday.

There are currently 2,471 active cases in the country, including 1,007 hospitalised patients, 91 of whom are on ventilators; 12.946 people are in self-isolation.

To date, a total of 1,255,786 tests have been conducted, of which 4,931 in the past 24 hours.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was identified in Croatia, there have been 237,080 registered cases of coronavirus infection in the country; 5,282 people have died as a result while 229,327 have recovered, including 431 in the past 24 hours.

For the latest news on coronavirus in Croatia, check out the dedicated TCN section.

ZAGREB, 12 February, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš announced on Thursday evening that there would be an inquiry into the reported cases of people who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 out of turn, stressing that such cases deserved the strongest condemnation.

The vaccination plan adopted by the government provides for the free vaccination of all adult citizens of this country and determines which groups of citizens have a priority, the minister wrote on Facebook, adding that county public health institutions are responsible for ensuring that the order of vaccination is observed.

"All the cases of out-of-turn vaccination reported by the media deserve the strongest condemnation, especially if some of the citizens have been deprived of their right," Beroš said.

The Health Ministry will order an inquiry into all these cases and it calls upon all those responsible for vaccination to observe the set priorities, he added.

"All the individuals who took advantage of the right to vaccination to the detriment of others will have to face moral accountability before the Croatian public," the health minister concluded.

The media have reported that Zagreb University Rector Damir Boras and his wife were vaccinated against COVID-19 out of turn, at a time when care home residents and staff and health workers are a priority.

The head of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Luka Burilović, confirmed to N1 television on Thursday that he had been vaccinated against coronavirus on 13 January and 4 February. He noted that being a disabled war veteran because of a severe pulmonary condition he belonged to a risk group and did not think he was out of turn.

For more on the coronavirus crisis in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

ZAGREB, 12 February, 2021 - As of Saturday entry into Slovenia without having to go into quarantine or presenting a negative COVID test will be possible for anyone who has received two doses of a COVID vaccine or has recovered from the virus and has a doctor's certificate to that effect, the Slovenian government decided on Thursday.

Anyone who has recovered from COVID in the past six months and at least 14 days have passed since they received a second dose of the vaccine will be allowed to enter Slovenia without any further requirements.

The new regime refers to citizens and residents of EU and Schengen Area member states, while others will have to have a negative PCR tests or go into quarantine, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs confirmed.

As of Monday ski resorts will accept people with a negative COVID test no older than 7 days whereas until now that test could not be older than 24 hours. People who have recovered or been vaccinated against COVID will also be allowed at ski resorts.

Slovenia has decided to ease some restrictions as of Monday due to the downward trend in new COVID cases, including lifting a ban on movement between municipalities and face-to-face classes for all elementary school pupils and secondary school graduates.

Stores are reopening with special epidemiological measures. All store keepers and staff will still need to be tested once a week and the cost of testing will be covered by the state.

A curfew will remain in force.

In the past 24 hours a total of 26,270 PCR and antigen tests confirmed 1,385 new cases of the virus and ten people died of COVID.

For more on the coronavirus crisis in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

ZAGREB, 12 February, 2021 - Several guilds in the hospitality sector on Thursday commented on the government's announcement that it will allow the sale of coffee to go, saying that it is a psychological rather than a financial measure and will not help them as measures designed to maintain their business operations would.

Commenting on the government's decision to allow hospitality businesses to sell coffee to go as of 15 February, which restaurants were allowed to do until now but cafes were not, Žaklina Troskot of the Independent Association of Hospitality Businesses, which is part of the national association, told Hina that there is nothing much to say about the decision and that it would have a psychological rather than a financial effect.

"This corrects a certain injustice and we believe that now all hospitality businesses will be able to sell coffee to go but we do not know the details until they are officially released and we have read them. The decision does not mean much financially for hospitality businesses but it could have a psychological effect," said Troskot, underlining that the most important thing was to secure finances for them to continue operating.

"We expect the government to adopt measures to maintain business operations because even when we do open, we will not have anything to work with, just like we don't have now. Last year we worked for a total of six months with a limited turnover and six months without any income, and if the government does not introduce any measures, it will be difficult to save businesses," stressed Troskot.

For more on the coronavirus crisis in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

ZAGREB, 11 February, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that as of 15 February bars would be allowed to sell everything on their menus but that their terraces, if they had them, would not reopen, the concept being that customers would order a beverage to go.

Speaking to the press after a cabinet meeting, he said the details of the mild easing of COVID restrictions as of next Monday would be provided by the national COVID response team tomorrow.

Plenković said the sale of coffee to go, which bars would be allowed to sell as of the 15th, did not mean the sale of coffee alone.

"It's a synonym for the opening of completely closed establishments. It means they will be able to sell tea, some other drink or beverage. They will be able to sell what they have on the menu. It's just that there will be no sitting on terraces. You take it to go and walk."

As for compensation for bar and restaurant owners, Plenković said it was too early to say if it would be paid after this month. "If it is possible for them to work, they will work. If the epidemiological situation still isn't good enough, we'll continue with the aid."

He said gyms and fitness centres would reopen on 15 February with epidemiological measures, without crowds, and that betting shops and casinos would have to comply with the same measures.

The opposition keeps politicising

Asked about the opposition's dissatisfaction with the easing of the restrictions, Plenković said he had no message for them.

Two months ago, he said, the opposition demanded the closure of everything and now they are demanding the opening of everything. "That's politicising that doesn't surprise me. If they won't be responsible, we will."

He also commented on the participation of Alemka Markotić, a member of the national COVID response team, in a religious service in the open with more people attending than the 25 allowed under COVID restrictions.

Plenković said it was an outdoor service and that he was confident everyone present took care of distancing. "We have to be realistic in such situations, if they are in the open, distance is kept, people don't stay there," he said, adding that there had been many such gatherings and that the restriction of 25 people still applied.

Plenković said that event could not be compared to a restaurant in Zagreb which worked recently despite a ban. "Restaurants weren't allowed to work at all. Being outdoors and indoors is not the same."

The government won't interfere in decisions on Zagreb University rector

Asked if Zagreb University rector Damir Boras should go because he received a COVID vaccine despite not being in a priority vaccination category, the prime minister said such decisions were in the remit of the university, which was autonomous, and that the government would not interfere.

He said the vaccine was primarily being administered to health workers and patients, adding that if any was left in a vial, it was given to someone else so that it did not go to waste.

Plenković reiterated that those who needed it the most would be vaccinated en masse and that the AstraZeneca vaccine was as effective as Pfizer's and Moderna's.

"It's important that we have faith and trust in the decisions of the World Health Organization, the European Medicines Agency and experts who have assessed that all three vaccines circulating in Croatia as equally effective for what is important. It's important to be vaccinated so as not to die of COVID-19."

Plenković said a decision was made to ease restrictions this month because it was estimated that the epidemiological situation allowed it. He added, however, that if there was a deterioration, the restrictions could be tightened.

"The goal is to go through the winter months with as few consequences as possible so that during the spring, notably in the two remaining months of the first quarter and the three months of the second quarter, we vaccinate as many people as possible."

Plenković said he would insist on the fastest delivery possible of all vaccine doses so that Croatia could be as protected and safe as possible by summer.

"If we are protected and if other countries vaccinate, and all intend to vaccinate as many people as possible, then the arrival of tourists will be safe. Few will come somewhere they don't feel safe and others don't want to import people who could be contagious," he said, adding that the EU would continue talks on this to find a common solution.

Filipović is HDZ's first and only choice for Zagreb mayor

Asked about his party's candidate for Zagreb mayor, Davor Filipović, Plenković said he expected him to win and that he was the HDZ's first and only choice for that post, adding that the party had talked about but that it had not negotiated with Damir Vanđelić, the temporary director of the post-earthquake Reconstruction Fund, about being the HDZ's mayoral nominee.

Asked to evaluate President Zoran Milanović's first year in office, Plenković said "Everyone does their job their own way."

Plenković did not wish to reveal how much Croatia had offered Hungary for energy group MOL's stake in Croatia's INA.

He said the procurement of fighter jets was continuing. "There is no long-term delay with the aircraft, just a logical, reasonable non-adoption of a decision in the month behind us."

ZAGREB, 11 February, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine protected the elderly against death, ventilators and more serious symptoms, and that therefore there were no obstacles to administering it to people over 65.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, he said that this morning he spoke with representatives of pensioner unions and associations which demand that people over 65 are not given the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Plenković told the public, notably older people, that all three COVID vaccines, Pfizer's, Moderna's and AstraZeneca's, "are 100% effective against death, against situations on ventilators and more serious symptoms."

He said that according to the information at the government's disposal, there were no obstacles to people over 65 receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

"We believe that in these circumstances as many people as possible whose health is at risk, whose health is fragile, who are older, to whom coronavirus can cause major health damage in a short time, should be vaccinated."

Plenković said additional studies and trials would confirm that the AstraZeneca vaccine was equally effective in reducing the number of COVID deaths in Croatia.

The number of new infections keeps falling

Speaking of the epidemic, he said the decrease in new infections was continuing, as confirmed by this week's numbers.

Today Croatia is third in the EU by the weekly average of confirmed cases per million inhabitants and has the fifth largest two-week decrease in COVID deaths, he added.

"We are in the winter months and a strong cold wave has been announced, the British virus strain has been identified, so many European countries, which have much stricter measures, are extending or further restricting them."

Plenković said there were indications that vaccine deliveries would step up and that greater quantities could be expected by the end of March.

Croatia has received about 150,000 doses, another 600,000 are expected by the end of March, so it will be possible to vaccinate a markedly larger number of people, he added.

It is important that the Health Ministry, the Croatian Institute of Public Health, hospitals and general practitioners ensure mass vaccination, he said.