February the 10th, 2021 - A Croatian Government meeting with the country's scientific council is set to take place today amid a mixed bag of news. Could Croatia's fantastic downward coronavirus infection rate trend be ruined by the appearance of the new, rapidly spreading British variant? Will restaurants and cafes be allowed to open their doors on the 15th?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, today, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic will hold a session with the Scientific Council of the Croatian Government, at which, among other things, the possiblity of easing the country's current anti-epidemic measures on February the 15th will be discussed. First of all, this will be of enormous interest to caterers and those working in the wider hospitality sector, who have been calling for weeks to be allowed to work, or to at least serve food and drinks on their outdoor terraces.

Namely, the Croatian Government and the National Civil Protection Headquarters announced earlier that the current measures could be relaxed next Monday, if the positive trends that Croatia currently has continue, and that means a continued significant drop in the number of people suffering from the novel coronavirus.

However, exactly what measures should be relaxed and by how much is still very much unknown with a lot of speculation circulating, and many European countries are gradually lifting some of their own restrictions, but it should be noted that these are restrictions that Croatia didn't even have, such as a curfew.

However, the revolt in Croatia due to the measures is becoming more and more pronounced, and among those who are especially dissatisfied are business and enterprise owners, especially caterers, who protested last week in Zagreb, claiming that their issue isn't with the protection of public health during the pandemic, but a plethora of other political problems which face business owners.

Croatian epidemiologists and indeed those from across the world, on the other hand, are constantly warning of new mutated strains of the novel coronavirus that have appeared and are calling for caution to be properly looked at at the scheduled Croatian Government meeting.

Just this morning, reports emerged that the new British variant of the novel coronavirus, referred to as VOC-202012/01 (also known as lineage B.1.1.7, 20I/501Y.V1), has now been identified in Croatia, despite all of the attempts to keep it out. How this piece of sad news will affect what is decided at today's Croatian Government meeting is yet to be seen.

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February 10, 2021 - The first three cases have been confirmed of the UK COVID-19 variant in Croatia. 

Index.hr reports that the first three cases of the UK coronavirus mutation B.1.1.7 were confirmed in Croatia today. The samples were sequenced at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljevic," the Ministry of Health announced.

According to Ivan-Christian Kurolt, who performed the sequencing with co-workers, these are mutations in the spike protein (HV69/70 deletion, Y144 deletion, N501Y, A570D, P681H, and T716I.

As of January 20, a total of 61 samples were sequenced at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases - 27 from Zagreb and Zagreb County, 16 samples from Brod-Posavina County, eight from Virovitica-Podravina County, six from Sisak-Moslavina County, and four from Bjelovar-Bilogora County. 

Mutations were found in samples of a 50-year-old man and a 3.5-year-old child from Zagreb, and a 34-year-old man from Brod-Posavina County.

Epidemiologists from the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) have been informed about everything, and they will collect additional epidemiological data from patients and their contacts who are in isolation.

According to the Ministry of Health, all three samples were also sent to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) as part of the shipment, which was sent today from the Croatian Public Health Institute with samples from various parts of Croatia.

To read more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

February 10, 2021 - Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac and Croatian tourism players discussed the 2021 tourist season expectations in Croatia on HRT's Otvoreno program Tuesday night. 

T.portal reports that Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac, as a guest on the HTV show Otvoreno hosted by Zrinka Grancaric, said domestic and foreign experts had far lower expectations last year than was the result of the tourist season, at 50 percent of the record 2019.

"We closed everything on time, and we started to open on time. In compliance with all epidemiological measures and standards, we had a tourist season. The tourism sector has proven to be much tougher than others had thought. Croatia has had good results compared to other Mediterranean countries. Of course, we will strive for that this tourist season as well. We hold regular meetings with the directors of our market offices, we have included our embassies, and the feedback is that tourists inquire about the epidemiological situation. The second issue is the security situation. The third question is the vaccination rate," she said.

She added that occupations for travel exist, bookings exist. Camps, holiday homes, nautical tourism, active holidays are mostly booked. Today's tourist is looking for that through security, she added. She pointed out that the certificate for health purposes was discussed at the last meeting of state and government heads.

"COVID passports, which are used as a travel document, were not discussed, but a document that would serve as a vaccination certificate. The vaccine is optional. It is not yet available to the general population, and therefore to set something like that is to restrict freedom of movement," she stressed.

Veljko Ostojic, director of the Croatian Tourism Association, said there was significant interest in hoteliers' vaccinations.

"Today, it is only clear that if the county is in a green area, there are 25 or fewer new cases in the last 14 days. There is no possibility of travel restrictions. Everything else is still not clear. And that was one of the basic problems of the past year. There was no agreement at the EU level. It is now important that we try to vaccinate as soon as possible. We need clearly defined rules at the European Union level and to ensure that tourism professionals are well prepared," he said.

He added that the same result should be made in terms of epidemiological measures. Croatia was a safe destination last year before the vaccine was found, and there is no reason why it should not be this year.

Damir Krešić, director of the Institute for Tourism, said that the upcoming tourist season's key messages are quite clear and related to safety.

"We must send the message that we are a safe destination and that we keep the epidemiological situation under control. No matter what you do, the success of the 2021 season will depend on the epidemiological situation. If the epidemiological situation is good, we have reason to expect a very good tourist season," he pointed out. He added that it is good that Croatia has traditionally been perceived as a safe destination.

"We are entering this tourist season under less favorable circumstances than it was last year. Then we normally prepared for the tourist season, in April we counted the infected on one hand, and now if we have a figure less than 200-300, we can say it is a good day," he said.

Brnjac believes that it is essential for tourism workers to be vaccinated because they are in direct contact with the guest. That sector cannot be pushed because the Government has adopted a vaccination plan, the first and second phases, and it is known what the priorities are. After that, when the third stage of vaccination occurs, tourism workers would be added.

Martina Nimac Kalcina, president of the Family Tourism Association of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, said that it was difficult and that a critical period was coming when those who managed to earn money last season had used up their supplies.

"Now the question is how to survive until May, June when the arrival of the first guests is announced. We have many tourism workers interested in vaccinations, and I am sure that the number of renters and other tourism workers would increase over time. We will certainly not all be able to get vaccinated by the end of this season. It is not only possible to distinguish between guests and tourism workers who have been vaccinated and who have not, but work should be done to enable testing. Other states will set the condition that one cannot enter their country, their citizens cannot return if they do not have a negative test in the last 72 hours. It costs about 100 euros for a foreigner to take a test in Croatia. What if you have a family of four who has to spend another 400 euros to return to their country? On the other hand, there are not enough checkpoints, and that testing is not organized enough," she said.

Minister Brnjac replied that meetings had been held with the Croatian Institute of Public Health to provide tourists with arrival and departure testing. They had begun discussing processing facilities and providing a sufficient number of testing sites. She also added - standard rules need to be regulated at the EU level. Damir Krešić agreed with this, believing that it must at least be easier to do if testing could not be cheaper.

Selimir Ognjenović, owner of the company I.D. Riva tours appeared on the show from Germany. He says the interest in vacationing in Germany is high. All of these ‘lockdowns’ have resulted in a great desire to travel.

He considers the experience from last year to be the biggest Croatian argument for entering the 2021 season.

"Our guests were protected, and we proved to be an excellent host," he emphasized. "Thirty camps were open all winter. Do you need more proof of trust than that?" he asked.

ORF journalist Christian Wehrschutz said that the question of what conditions the Austrian government will set regarding travel is crucial. If it is a two-week quarantine and an additional test - that's not good. Austrian hoteliers have asked the government for a clear strategy for testing on departure and arrival, the issue of nightclubs, and the vaccination of tourist workers. He believes that Austria will invite its citizens to spend their summers in their country, especially after the catastrophic winter season.

Damir Krešić agreed with that. He believes that small domestic tourist demand is a big problem in Croatia. In other countries, about 40 to 50 percent of guests are locals, while in Croatia, the number is about 10 percent. Therefore, he believes - Croatia should focus on Central Europe's markets and the regional markets of BiH and Serbia, depending on the epidemiological situation in those countries.

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ZAGREB, 9 February 2021 - The first inoculations with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine in Croatia were administered in Šibenik on Tuesday, with ten persons receiving that vaccine while another ten were given Moderna's jabs during immunisation organised in the coastal city's health centre.

All 20 persons were older than 65 and patients with chronic conditions.

Four-hundred doses of the AstraZeneca and 200 of the Moderna vaccine arrived at the Šibenik-Knin County Public Health Institute yesterday and were distributed to local health centres.

Local epidemiologist Ankica Parat Baljkas said the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines were all "quality vaccines," adding that the AstraZeneca vaccine offered "60 to 70% protection from getting sick, but in 100% of cases it protects from serious illness and death, as do all other vaccines."

Until now Croats have been inoculated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

The first batch of vaccines developed by Moderna arrived in Croatia in mid-January, while Zagreb took over the first 9,750 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on 26 December.

February the 9th, 2021 - Just how does a trip from London to Zagreb look during pandemic-dominated times? I got to experience it yesterday as I made the journey and it was a mixed bag. 

At the end of December, I went to the UK to spend Christmas there and deal with some urgent and pressing matters which unfortunately couldn't wait. I had a bad feeling about it, but went ahead anyway as for some things, time wasn't on my side.

I left on the 20th of December on what turned out to be the very last flight (Zagreb-London) which Croatia allowed to operate between the two countries as an initial 48 hour flight ban was introduced impulsively and suddenly as the news of the new ''British variant'' of the novel coronavirus, referred to as VOC-202012/01 (also known as lineage B.1.1.7, 20I/501Y.V1), had been discovered circulating in southern Britain. 

The new variant, a mutated strain, was believed to spread more quickly and efficiently, but not to cause a more severe clinical picture than the ''older version'' of the novel coronavirus. Of course, a rapidly spreading pathogen causes issues even if the symptoms remain more or less the same, as hospital capacities fill even more quickly and the strain on the healthcare system becomes even more difficult to cope with. The need for extra caution was understood.

As soon as I landed at an empty Heathrow Terminal 5, which was all but devoid of life with the exception of me, a few other stragglers and some rather bored looking staff, my phone pinged, letting me know that Croatia had joined what was then a handful of other countries to place a sudden and temporary ban on passenger transport from the United Kingdom. It was initially for a mere 48 hours. Brilliant, I thought, as I stood waiting for my case breathing in the eye-watering smell of bleach which managed to penetrate my mask.

I read Plenkovic's tweet, UK and Croatia flag emojis thrown in for good measure, and combed through the comments of disgruntled and angry people stuck on both sides of the English channel as they tore into the decision as my case and I wandered through the empty baggage reclaim area to the exit.

''Given the new findings about the more rapid spread of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, we're going to temporarily end passenger transport from the UK out of caution for 48 hours, until we find out more precise information about this possible new variant of the virus. Our priority is the health of citizens''

I arrived to where I was meant to be following a journey through an empty, silent and eerie London, began my ten days of self-isolation and on the tenth day, the area I was in went into Tier 4, the then highest tier of the UK's restriction system. A few days later, the entire country went into lockdown as cases rose, with over 1000 deaths recorded per day for a while. The country with the highest death toll in Europe was continuing down a deeply unwanted path.

Fast forward a few weeks and I begin planning to return from London to Zagreb as the situation calmed in Croatia, hoping to quickly make the journey before anything else altered within the blink of an eye, as has become so commonplace since the virus emerged.

I booked a Croatia Airlines flight for the 8th of February, leaving London for Zagreb at around 17:00. At that time, people entering Croatia with a reason or those with residence or Croatian citizenship (which applied in my case) could technically enter without presenting a negative PCR test which was no older than 48 hours as long as they tested immediately upon crossing the border, went into isolation and emailed their (hopefully) negative result to the border police, an email address which was provided to such passengers upon arrival.

Of course, having a negative PCR test in hand already was the more desirable situation, and back then, no self-isolation of any kind was needed if you could present that negative result upon arrival. Still, it was pleasant to see that the Croatian authorities recognised that this demand was difficult to achieve (other countries typically ask for 72 hours), and that they were willing to cut people some slack.

That quickly altered.

The new ''British variant'' was gaining traction in southern England and forcing infection numbers to soar and the Croatian Institute of Public Health created a new list of countries. No longer was it just EEA and non EEA, but a list of countries with ''special epidemiological measures'' applied to them. On the list back then were the United Kingdom and South Africa, which had its ''own'' concerning variant, with the later addition of Brazil. 

For those countries, a PCR test no older than 48 hours was needed, accompanied by self-isolation for a period of 14 days with ''test to release'' measures in place to cut the period of self-isolation short after seven days if, on the seventh day at the earliest, the person tests negative again at their own expense. This isn't obligatory and you can just end your self-isolation without any more tests after 14 days if you so wish.

The 6th of February arrived and I called to book a PCR test for that evening. I arrived to the facility and underwent the test for the fourth time since the pandemic began. I had contracted coronavirus only several months before and was aware I'd more than likely return a negative result, but I did have some doubts as I saw the swab taken out of my throat and nose and pushed into the red liquid in the test tube and sent away to the lab. Just 18 or so hours later on the 7th, my negative result arrived in the form of a text and an email. 

Obstacle one was dealt with.

I went to check in online on Croatia Airlines' website, only to be hit with what is obviously an outdated and very, very poorly thought out message that ''flights are banned'' until the 15th of February from the UK to Croatia. This of course isn't true at all for essential travel and I immediately realised that it simply meant I'd have to go to the check-in desk in person upon arrival as they'd need to see a reason as to why I was travelling, and if I had a right to do so as the UK remained in lockdown with a ''stay at home'' order in place. Although I understood that, I'm not sure others who are less observant of the situation would.

Paying the price Croatia Airlines wants for a very, very basic less than two hour flight from London to Zagreb (and the same is indeed true in the other direction, which is thankfully a trip I only make twice per year) and then being hit with a ''flight ban'' message isn't really ideal. Would it be so hard to issue a message stating that online check-in simply isn't currently available rather than inciting yet more confusion? Obviously.

On the 8th, I made the journey to Heathrow and prepared myself mentally for some more potential issues. Here's where things were impressive and I have to take my hat off to Britain (which is something I do seldomly). Both its rate of vaccination (there were over 10 million people vaccinated at the time of writing this, more than twice Croatia's entire population) and its proper and efficient checks on travel seem to be second to none.

I saw a few people told they couldn't fly from London to Zagreb due to having incorrect documentation, which must have been devastating, as a staff member called me to a check-in desk.

I presented a British passport and a Croatian ID card and he went to have it checked, 2 minutes later he returned saying that it was fine, sending my suitcase off to the plane as I went to the empty security. Passing through in 3 minutes (which is unheard of at Heathrow) and entering the empty departure lounge to await my flight.

As the gate for Zagreb was announced and the handful of people boarding the plane gathered, passports, ID cards and PCR test documents in hand, staff demanded negative tests before anyone could board the flight. Each person appeared to have an issue or two as boarding staff rushed back and forth from passenger to phone, calling the authorities to ask questions which were obviously not made properly clear. Some people were convinced they didn't need a test to enter, referencing the previous rule which stated that a PCR test could instead be obtained upon arrival, which now no longer applied to anyone (regardless of their status or citizenship) coming directly from the UK. Others had expired test results as 48 hours is difficult to achieve in many places across the UK due to demand.

The boarding staff kept calling the authorities, heading back to passengers, back to the phone, and looking very flushed. They then asked for ''Enter Croatia'' forms which don't need to be filled in if you're a citizen or a legal resident, but the staff had to take passengers' words for that as it was indeed as clear as mud. Ah, Croatia.

The process was very long, one woman was nearly denied boarding until a phone call from the authorities allowed her to enter Croatia despite some sort of issue with her PCR test. The phone kept on ringing and Heathrow's poor staff continued to look more and more confused as rules seemed to be interpreted differently by each and every person. Ah, Croatia. Again.

The plane took off after de-icing as it was snowing in England, air stewards handed out and then took back Passenger Locator Forms, and we landed in Zagreb just under two hours later. Usually, the border procedure is fast at Zagreb Airport, regardless of how busy it is. This time, despite the relatively few people travelling, we were stuck there for an hour. Frustrated people called taxis, family and friends waiting to pick them up to apologise repeatedly as only two border police were (very slowly) facilitating entry to passengers, with the occasional appearance of one or two others who came and went of their own accord.

One policewoman struck up a conversation with me because an apparently ''fast-track smart border'' device had broken, that very device was supposed to be used by precisely those people coming from London to Zagreb that day. We spoke in Croatian as she used my passports to try to see if it would work. It didn't. She was pleasant and it passed the time a bit quicker as she complained about the new technology and joked light-heartedly about the self-isolation measures. Each and every person arriving experienced issues because of their PCR tests, but were let in following repeated documentation checks as their mandatory self-isolation was on the cards anyway.

Upon finally arriving to the competent border guard, the surprisingly smiley and cheerful man took my documents and asked for my PCR test. He appeared confused by it, despite being well intentioned, and I had to explain in Croatian what each part meant. He appeared surprised by my willingness to explain and joked that this was all so difficult to follow. His exhaustion with the rules he must keep up with showed for a second or two before his cheerfulness returned, telling me that was all fine with a slight Dalmatian twang, copying the papers I gave him and asking me if I wanted my instructions for the removal of my self-isolation measure in Croatian or English. 

''Svejedno mi je'' I said. (Either of them, it doesn't matter to me), to which he provided both versions and waved me through, looking happy that his day dealing with often confused arrivals from countries with ''special epidemiological measures'' applied to them was almost over.

The 5 or 6 people left by that point in time in Zagreb Airport took their bags, sitting rather sadly on the now motionless carousel and exited, happy to remove their masks and breathe in the fresh, cold winter air outside after hours stuck in oxygen-poor queues and on planes.

All in all, the process was pleasant given the amount of stress actually involved. Heathrow did excellently, but Croatia and Croatia Airlines could improve on several things. Simply say that online check-in isn't available during lockdown rather than selling basic one-way flights at what truly are often extortionate prices and then issuing a very wrong message when people naturally attempt to check in online.

Croatia is continuing to deal with the pandemic excellently, dragging the infection and death rate down enormously in just a matter of weeks, and it is more than obvious that this 48 hour PCR test requirement (48 hours from the swab having been taken, not from the result!) is in place to make it as difficult as possible and to make even essential travel for citizens and residents problematic. The majority of other comparable countries ask for that time window to be 72 hours, which is much more reasonable and attainable.

Some institutions which do PCR tests in the UK do not expilicitly state that the test which has been done is a PCR test as this is typically implied. If you have a rapid antigen test or a lateral flow test, it will state in your result what that test is, but a ''coronavirus test'' in the UK implies that it is PCR in the vast majority of cases. Of course, some places which do them will write much more on the result, but others won't, and it's impossible for you to know that beforehand.

It would be beneficial for Croatia, people making essential journeys between the two countries and indeed airport staff who have been swept up into this to look more into what the procedures the country they're placing further restrictions on actually look like so as to avoid such confusion.

The 48 hour window is, as stated, a bit of a challenge most of the time. I spoke to a man standing near me at the border who had to travel from Wales to London two days before and pay for a hotel in order to obtain his PCR test at Heathrow on time for his flight, costing him far more time and money than is needed. His test more than likely expired during the border procedure as most of ours had done. Surely it would be better to ask for a window of time a little bit longer rather than to demand something you actually do not allow to be fulfilled because the queues are too long, the rules are too easily misunderstood and there are only two guards working?

It is quite typical of Croatia to ask for something that either doesn't exist, is difficult to acheive or is actually prevented from being fulfilled by Croatia itself. 

To end this London to Zagreb saga on a positive note, it was nice to see that there was a level of understanding and flexibility from the border police, and even real friendliness, which offered the message that they are as fed up as we all are with this seemingly endless situation. It's difficult to imagine that for the last seven years I have caught God knows how many flights from London to Zagreb and back again for next to no money and with zero issues (I miss you, British Airways!). Let's hope that if and when that ease of travel returns we'll learn to appreciate it that much more.

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ZAGREB, 9 February 2021 - Parliament will continue its sitting on Wednesday with eight items on the agenda, including a bill on investment promotion, designed to help alleviate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government has proposed three more measures to those previously adopted to promote investment, Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić explained.

Investment subsidies will be expanded to include enterprises that did not have any difficulties until 31 December 2019 but in the period from 1 January to 30 June 2020 faced difficulties in doing business.

Businesses that receive subsidies for investment projects whose implementation coincided with the start of the pandemic will be able to prolong their implementation for one year.

As for obligations taken on prior to 31 December 2019, the loss of jobs in the same or similar activity that has occurred in the period from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2021 in a beneficiary's facility or project in the common European economic area is not considered transfer within the meaning of the Investment Promotion Act.

Parliament will also debate a government motion to amend the law on the state commission in charge of overseeing procurement procedures.

Lawmakers will also debate a proposal to not allow anonymous complaints against teachers.

"A review of complaints against teachers... has shown that about one-quarter of anonymous complaints are unfounded," Education Minister Radovan Fuchs said presenting the bill on school inspections.

ZAGREB, 9 February 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Tuesday attended a virtual meeting of the China+17 initiative, thanking the Chinese authorities for their assistance in providing protective equipment at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The initiative, launched in 2012 with a view to boosting Chinese investment in Europe, held its last summit in Dubrovnik 2019 when it was joined by Greece. Live meetings were postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Addressing the video conference, Plenković said that China+17 was a unique initiative building bridges between Europe and Asia, adding that it was complementary to the European Union.

He thanked the Chinese leadership for prompt assistance with protective gear at the start of the pandemic, which helped save many lives. I must say how useful this framework of cooperation was when the pandemic broke out, he added.

Plenković said that solidarity would be needed to ensure vaccines for the whole world, which would be the key to bringing the pandemic to an end.

The Croatian prime minister said that cooperation between China and Europe would provide an opportunity for a speedy and strong recovery of the two sides in the time ahead.

In this regard, Croatia is particularly focused on infrastructure, science and innovation, as well as tourism, mobility, and small and medium enterprises. Croatia supports a free market with a level playing field, reciprocity in access to markets, sustainable development and the fight against climate change, Plenković said.

In this context he cited the Pelješac Bridge project, which is financed by the EU and built by a Chinese company, and the NORINCO wind energy project, the largest Chinese investment in clean energy at Senj in Croatia, due to be completed by the end of 2021.

Plenković said that after a successful agreement on exports of Croatian dairy products to China he was hoping for a similar agreement for meat, fish and honey producers.

He said that Zagreb and Ljubljana would conclude an agreement this year on establishing a 17+1 sports centre under which Croatia would become a centre for summer sports and Slovenia for winter sports.

Plenković also thanked China for showing solidarity and providing assistance to Croatia after last year's earthquakes, and expressed his best wishes for the Chinese new year, which is celebrated on 12 February.

ZAGREB, 9 February 2021 - In the past 24 hours there have been 283 new coronavirus infections and 26 related fatalities in Croatia, and currently, there are 2,329 active cases, the national COVID-19 response team said on Tuesday.

A total of 1,082 people are being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals and 93 of them are on ventilators.

There are currently 12,850 people in self-isolation.

To date a total of 1,237,686 tests for the virus have been conducted, including 6,878 in the past 24 hours.

Since 25 February, when the first case of the disease was identified in Croatia, there have been 235,756 registered cases of coronavirus and 5,224 people have died as a consequence while 228,203 have recovered, including 335 in the past 24 hours.

February 9, 2021 – In a Croatian media TV interview, epidemiologist of the Croatian Institute of Public Health Bernard Kaić yesterday said the plan to vaccinate half of the population by the summer will be delayed. He predicted that if Croatia continues vaccination at its current rate, the goal would not be reached until autumn, possibly late autumn

Epidemiologist of the Croatian Institute of Public Health Bernard Kaić, speaking to Croatian media RTL, told them the plan to vaccinate half of the population by the summer will be delayed. The epidemiologist predicted that if Croatia continues vaccination at its current rate, the goal of vaccinating half of the population within the country will not be completed until autumn, possibly late autumn.

"I can't say (by) exactly how much,” he told RTL, regarding how much delay will occur, “because we still don't know how many vaccines we'll get in March. And (how much) after March we (still) have no idea.”

“If this pace continues, it would take four million doses to vaccinate half the population. We won't achieve that until autumn for sure, and it’s late autumn,” the epidemiologist said.

According to an article in Index, the epidemiologist said that, as things currently stand, there will be three vaccines used in Croatia - AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech. They will be used concurrently, with vaccinations from all three available in Croatia at the same time.

When asked which vaccine he would choose to be vaccinated with, the epidemiologist answered that he did not know and that he was glad that he did not have the opportunity to choose. "There was only one offered so I got vaccinated,” said the epidemiologist. “It would be really hard to decide."

When asked why some states have given up vaccinating those over the age of 65 with the AstraZeneca vaccine, the epidemiologist explained that in currently available results from clinical studies the messenger RNA vaccine had proven to be somewhat more effective in preventing mild forms of Coronavirus than the AstraZeneca vaccine. Some of the vaccines work in different ways. However, the epidemiologist ultimately said that it was expected the AstraZeneca vaccine would prove to be effective, it was just that this had not yet been proven statistically.

RTL screenshot

Later in the interview, the epidemiologist was asked “Due to skepticism towards AstraZeneca, many associations in (Croatia's) border areas plan to take pensioners to Serbia for vaccination. How smart is it to accept such an arrangement?”

The epidemiologist replied; “My only fear is that such organized trips do not turn into corona-trips so that people do not get infected on the way back and forth and do themselves harm. I would wait.”

The three vaccines for which Croatia is currently expecting deliveries are now not the only vaccines available. Speaking in a discussion on the same evening on another Croatian media outlet, HRT, Zlatko Trobonjača, an immunologist from the Rijeka Clinical Hospital, spoke about the Russian vaccine.

"Our country is obviously following the EU and its decisions,” he said. “The EU has entered into talks with Russia. It can be expected that these talks will continue. It is a quality vaccine, it provides high protection.”

"As for the quality of the vaccine, we can see that it is not harmful and it could be used in our country. The EU is oriented towards Western companies. And now, they (the companies) did not stick to the agreement," Trobonjača said, adding that he would be vaccinated with the first vaccine that was made available to him.

ZAGREB, 8 February, 2021 - Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, who heads the national COVID-19 response team, said on Monday that young people who gathered in several public places in Zagreb over the weekend did not violate epidemiological restrictions.

Addressing a news conference held by the national coronavirus crisis management team, Božinović said that this past weekend, police received reports about students gathering outside the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, in the city's Jarun recreational park, and outside the nearby Sava student dorm, after which they went to those locations but did not find any violation of epidemiological restrictions or elements of offences or misdemeanors.

Police acted preventatively at the Sava student dorm to avert non-compliance with restrictions, after which those who gathered there started to disperse, he said.

Božinović said the national COVID-19 response team considered the events as a consequence of the current epidemiological situation having lasted almost a year, but warned that the danger remained until the health minister proposed that the government declare the epidemic over.

He reiterated that Croatia had the most liberal restrictions compared to other EU members with which it was managing to lower the number of new infections, and noted that many more businesses would be closed if restrictions were adopted at EU level.

Božinović said that he did not think that the young people who gathered over the weekend posed a bigger epidemiological risk than other events that had not been reported about.

He expressed hope that despite the duration of the epidemic, one was entering a period when, with the right application of restrictions, vaccination and warmer weather, the psychosocial aspect of the situation would improve because Croatia was registering increasingly favourable trends.

Minister: Funeral organised in line with epidemiological rules

Health Minister Vili Beroš commented on the funeral of HDZ MP Miroslav Tuđman, which was attended by more than the prescribed 25 people, which caused the revolt of young people who over the weekend organised gatherings at the HNK, the Sava student dorm and Jarun.

He said that the company operating city cemeteries had organised the funeral in line with the anti-epidemic measures in force.

"There were several restricted areas to allow for the attendance of the allowed number of people - family members, officials and Croatian Army members. There were designated areas for attendees, with the prescribed distance between them," the minister said.

"There were people in charge of keeping order at the event and many people were prevented from attending. We trusted the company in charge of city cemeteries and the way the event was organised was not bad," said the minister.

He also said that the government planned the revitalisation of the Institute of Immunology and that an interdepartmental task force would present its concept to the government in a month's time.

HZJZ head: AstraZeneca vaccine efficient, safe, tested correctly

The head of the Public Health Institute, Krunoslav Capak, said that the AstraZeneca vaccine was efficient and safe and had been correctly tested and that the European Medicines Agency had approved it for all citizens above 18.

Several EU countries have recommended not using the vaccine to inoculate people older than 65 and their argument is that there is no sufficient evidence to prove that the vaccine is efficient for that age group. Our argument is that the vaccine is efficient, safe and has been tested correctly as well as that it has been approved by the EMA for people above the age of 18, said Capak.

As for the Russian Sputnik vaccine, he said that if necessary, one would consider the possibility of emergency imports but that there was no such decision for the time being.

Capak said that 2,953 people had become infected over the past week, 14% down from the previous week, and that incidence in Croatia was the lowest in Istria County and the highest in Split-Dalmatia County.

In terms of incidence, we are fifth in the EU, four countries are better than us - Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece and Finland, said Capak.

The situation is good and there are probably no new virus strains in the country which spread 30-40% faster, said Capak.

He noted that so far 99,593 doses of the vaccine had been applied and that 629 reports of side-effects had been submitted, of which 612 referred to the Pfizer vaccine and 17 to the Moderna vaccine. No side-effect was serious.

Capak also noted that there was no danger that those who got vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine would not get the second dose.

Asked about the efficiency of the vaccine in the context of the South African strain of coronavirus, epidemiologist Bernard Kaić said that there were indications that it was less efficient but added that no vaccine was 100% efficient, however, they all protected against severe forms of the disease.

Kaić also stressed that there was no medical reason why someone should not get vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

He noted that it was better to vaccinate everyone with a 70% efficient vaccine by spring than with a 90% efficient vaccine by autumn.

Croatia has the infrastructure and people to do the genome sequencing of the new virus strains and it is preparing for it, it was said at the news conference.

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