ZAGREB, 3 February 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has conducted 7,023 coronavirus tests, and of them 730 (10.4%)  have returned positive, while there have been 17 deaths linked to COVID-19, the country's coronavirus crisis management team reported on Wednesday.

Currently, there are 2,926 active cases, including 1,222 hospitalised patients of whom 99 are placed on ventilators.

Croatia's COVID-related death toll has climbed to 5,088.

Since the outbreak of this infectious disease in Croatia in late February, 1.2 million tests have been performed, and 233,637 persons have tested positive.

To date, 225,623 people have recovered from COVID-19, including 323 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

A total of 13,782 people are self-isolating.

February the 3rd, 2021 - Croatian epidemiologist Branko Kolaric has sought to explain why Croatia has been experiencing a downward trend in terms of the coronavirus infection rate over recent weeks despite having fairly loose epidemiological measures when compared to some other countries in the EU. Slovenia, with far harsher measures, isn't experiencing Croatia's good trends.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, recently in Croatia, the share of those infected among those who were tested was only 5 percent, and the number of newly infected people fell below 100 for the first time since September 2020.

As for global and European trends, it's difficult to find a pattern that would show why the number of infected people is growing in some countries despite the measures, and at the same time in others with less stringent measures, such as those in Croatia, the infection rate is falling. It's true to say that Croatia is far from 50 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants, which is the limit that indicates the containment of the epidemic, but we have managed to reach 216, even though we were at more than 1200 not so long ago.

The numbers say, for example, the number of people infected with coronavirus in one day in the United States halved from early to late January from 201,420 down to 107,816 on the last day of January. The decline in the number of infected people is also being recorded, for example, in Germany with 10,620 recorded on the first Sunday in January and 8425 on the last. The numbers are similar in Austria, with 1466 and 1198, but it should be emphasised that the decline isn't drastic despite the employment of some very restrictive measures that include curfews, reports Jutarnji list.

An enigma for many...

Here in Croatia, too, the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus was halved during the month of January, so all those who think that the measures should be relaxed are in ''euphoria'' because we've had only 216 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants over the last two weeks. An additional enigma for many is Slovenia which still has 885 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days and at the same time has very strict measures. Currently, the worst situations in the EU can be found in Portugal, Spain and France, where the number of infected people has doubled compared to the beginning of last month.

“There are several aspects that affect the numbers in this epidemic. For example, it can be the moment of the introduction of measures, the number of infected when those measures are introduced as well as the number of ''pockets'' of communities or closed subpopulations in which the epidemic persists,'' explained Croatian epidemiologist Branko Kolaric, a member of the Government Scientific Council for COVID-19.

"For example, when the epidemic is more widespread, ie when there are a lot of infected people at one time, then you don't have to wait as long to see results when you bring in measures. When the epidemic spreads as it did in our country a few months ago, resuling in 1,200 infected people per 100,000 people, then the results of the measures introduced can be seen much faster and more clearly. After six weeks of having these measures, we've significantly reduced the number of infected people in Croatia. But on the other hand, Germany has measures like ours and already had at 200 infected people in 100,000 inhabiants, and when the numbers started to rise to 300, they tightened them up even more.

In short, the measures give a more visible and faster effect when the infection rate is high. If we wanted to get down to 50 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants, we'd have to have much more rigorous measures, and the results would take more time to arrive. In that case, schools wouldn't be open, and a curfew would be likely, but the question is whether we'd eventually reach that goal,'' added Croatian epidemiologist Branko Kolaric when discussing the complexity of the implementation of epidemiological goals.

The peak of the epidemic's wave

He emphasised that, when it comes to the EU, the biggest enigma for him is neighbouring Slovenia, where the epidemiological measures have been in force for much longer than they have here in Croatia, and there are no results.

"It's difficult to understand why the number of infected is falling so slowly and why there is such a difference between Croatia and Slovenia. It's possible, for example, that there is more illegal socialising, ie that the measures aren't actually being implemented in the manner they're prescribed. In any case, in the case of the coronavirus, the natural course of the virus should probably not be neglected, so one wave passes and infects a certain circle of people and so on and so on, it does that in cycles.

In addition, there are specifics of individual countries, so this also affects the implementation of any measures. But, in any case, the fact remains that this disease is mostly transmitted by droplets, so socialising is the place where it occurs the most often and is the most possible. If there is less socialising, there's less coronavirus,'' concluded epidemiologist Branko Kolaric.

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February the 2nd, 2021 - The Croatian TV show Otvoreno was the recent stage for a fierce battle of opinions regarding the current lockdown and the struggling Croatian economy as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.

As tportal writes, will prolonged closures of restaurants, cafes and other such facilities lead businesses and their workers to total ruin? While the general level of extreme dissatisfaction is only growing stronger, the government says Croatia has milder epidemiological measures than other EU member states. How effective are the existing economic measures: fixed cost compensation, money to maintain jobs, the so-called packages of COVID credit/loans? Should things be opened up?

Attempts to open a gym in Zagreb this Monday ended in a way that prevented it entirely. The show "Otvoreno" saw the issue of closed gyms and cafes etc dragged up in full force, as well as the fact that these economic entities are not covered by the latest easing of anti-epidemic measures.

''What happened is a crime and the use of a repressive apparatus against people who are just trying to do their jobs. The claim that the gym owner violated the law isn't true, he violated the decree passed by the National Civil Protection Headquarters and in no way can it be proven that the work of fitness centres and gyms are the cause of the spread of the virus. He was taken to prison without any background checks done, all just because he wanted to work. Davor Bozinovic and Krunoslav Capak assumed without any evidence that the virus is spreading in gyms, which apparently doesn't spread elsewhere,'' said the executive director of the Voice of Entrepreneurs Association (UGP), Drazen Orescanin at the show's beginning, adding that a mere 0.5 percent of the total number of cases can be linked with gyms, and a total of two percent with catering and hospitality facilities, which are of course also closed currently.

The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Tomislav Coric, often replied to the above comments, and during his responses, Orescanin laughed at his statements, also laughing at his mask with his initials (tć) on them.

''I don't believe any information that will be presented by either Bujas or Orescanin. We're talking about people who have taken advantage of this situation for their political engagement. Neither of them is responsible for what they do, neither of them is a caterer or hospitality worker, but yet they're calling for the rebellion of all responsible citizens and business owners who have abided by the law. Those who didn't do so should be sanctioned for not doing so. You can laugh as much as you want, you hide behind other people, you incite them and put everyone in a situation where Croatia as a society is wondering whether it should be responsible or listen to people like you. That won't work out very well for you,'' Coric said to Orescanin.

Mladen Vedris, a professor at the Department of Economic Policy at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, said that Croatia reacted well in the first phase of the pandemic back at the beginning of 2020, but he was not sure that this was the case now.

''There are fixed costs, loans, company-level liabilities. It's precious that we work to preserve companies, the potential that represents the wealth of Croatia, we quite simply cannot talk about them as if they're a burden. How do we find the right measure? It's something that needs to be answered, and that needs to be discussed by the people on this show,'' he said.

The President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), Luka Burilovic, pointed out that it is difficult for caterers and hospitality sector workers, but there are also traffic, creative industries and tourism to think of: ''Let's remember that a lot of things were opened up back in November, when many other countries had closed facilites down. Then, we had questions going around about what we were waiting for, why were we not closing things, do we think we're just an island of our own, etc. We introduced one lockdown of sorts, we're one of the most liberal countries in Europe,''

''For entrepreneurs and business owners, whatever compensatory measures are adopted will not be good enough because the best measure for these companies is the ability to work freely, and everything else is against the very nature of entrepreneurship,'' said the director general of the Croatian Employers' Association Damir Zoric, adding that this key need has now been taken away.

Dragutin Ranogajec spoke on behalf of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts and said that Croatian producers are very much tied to the catering and hospitality industry and added: ''They don't say that they will die of hunger, only the caterers and hospitality workers say that they're going to die of hunger. I know it's hard, I'd also prefer to earn 15 thousand kuna than to receive 4 thousand kuna from the state. But at the moment it's the only way to keep jobs and somehow survive all this.''

Minister Tomislav Coric reiterated that any gathering of people without masks is a potential hotbed for the spread of the novel coronavirus, responding to the statement made by Branko Nadjvinski that, for example, on Jarun in Zagreb there are places where people are gathering to buy coffee "to go". However, Coric said that there is a difference between such a gathering and the classic gathering to drink multiple coffees in cafes.

''In all those places where coffee sales still take place today you have a situation where people stand in line and then they leave that line. The terraces of the cafes are closed or semi-closed, the moment they buy coffee, they should all go somewhere else. How will this be controlled? How are we going to get into a situation where we can have a coffee and chat a bit with some with friends and not have that same terrace turn into a new coronavirus hotbed?''

Orescanin replied in a sarcastic tone: ''People are still sitting on these terraces, they're in shopping centres for hours, they're at work for hours, they're grouped together for hours working in factories, they go to school, they ride buses and trains for hours. But oh no, they can't have coffee in a cafe,''

There's been talk circulating of a possible new concession on February the 15th and the possible opening of, for example, the terraces of cafes and the already mentioned gyms.

''Look, I'm an optimist, in all the proposals that the Croatian Chamber of Commerce communicated with the government about the opening or closing of anything, they let us know that the measures will be a refund of funds for as long as the economy is closed down. I believe that "coffee to go" will be available on February the 15th, and I'd call it "Coffee to stay" because no one goes anywhere when they get the coffee, I believe that gyms will open,'' Burilovic stated.

Coric added that the worst-case scenario for Croatia would be to relax everything now, and that in a month before Easter, when the first significant groups of tourists arrive, our numbers will explode once again and we will have to go into a new lockdown. That is simply not an option, he pointed out.

At the end of the show, Luka Burilovic confirmed that he has a salary of 23,000 kuna for his work at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he receives remuneration as a member of the supervisory boards of INA and Podravka and funds as a member of the management board of the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency. The total amount of his income is about 55,000 kuna per month, something that is unimaginable to just about everyone in Croatia, let alone those who have now lost their jobs.

The Voice of Entrepreneurs Association (UGP) has called for a protest on Ban Jelacic square in Zagreb tomorrow at 10:00.

You can follow the UGP developments in the dedicated TCN section. 

ZAGREB, 2 February, 2021 - The co-presidents of the opposition Centre party, Marijana Puljak and Dalija Orešković, said on Tuesday they supported a protest announced for tomorrow by businesses closed due to coronavirus restrictions, calling on citizens to support them too and pressure the government.

"Entrepreneurs feel like second-class citizens and they only want equal rules for all," Puljak told the press.

She called on citizens to pressure the government into allowing bar and restaurant owners what shopping malls, petrol stations, bakeries and newsagents were allowed, saying they had a right to work.

Puljak said the government considered enterprise a sin and that it was spreading that climate in public.

She said Prime Minister Andrej Plenković had no working experience outside the HDZ party, "yet he is laughing at and belittling the entrepreneurs fighting for the abolishment of membership in the Croatian Chamber of Commerce."

Puljak and Orešković said COVID compensation should amount to 50% of last year's turnover and that VAT should be cut for all businesses that were not allowed to work.

Puljak said the government should find the money for that by cutting costs, reducing the number of counties, cities, municipalities, invented political functions and subsidies to state-owned loss-makers.

Orešković said they demanded that the government enable gym owners to live off their work.

She said legal certainty had disappeared because the COVID crisis and the state were managed without any scientific basis in the adoption of COVID measures. "We call on citizens... to join in the pressure which small and medium businesses are exerting and to demand that the government introduces clear rules that are equal for all."

Reporters asked her if yesterday's arrest of a Zagreb gym owner, who reopened his establishment despite a ban, was legal.

Orešković said the High Administrative Court yesterday delivered a ruling in the case of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić "who, contrary to the law, received HRK 24 million in donations after the presidential campaign was over."

"What kind of state do we live in? Milan Bandić is fully exculpated from any responsibility, while a man who tried to open his own gym to live off his work is a big thief," she said, adding that such a state was not law-based.

Asked if that ruling actually killed off the Conflict of Interest Commission, Orešković said the Commission was killed off when the Constitutional Court handed down a verdict in the case of former HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko.

Since then, considering the strength and role it should have in a democracy, it is as if the Commission no longer exists, she added.

For more on the activities of the Glas Poduzetnika movement, follow the dedicated TCN section.

ZAGREB, 2 February, 2021 - The ministry of science in Germany's state Hessen has awarded Professors Ivan Đikić and Maike Windbergs from the Goethe University in Frankfurt a grant of €8 million for a research project, ENABLE, aimed at researching new medicines in the fight against COVID and bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

The ENABLE project involves the use of innovative technology in creating new medicines against inflammatory and infectious diseases, said Ivan Đikić, whose team has focused on researching COVID since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Thanks to team work and cooperation between researchers, Goethe University has been recognised as one of the most successful COVID-19 research centres in Germany.

"The project of researching co-infections with bacteria and coronaviruses is especially significant because little is known about this. Inflammatory processes are common for bacteria and viruses, however it is vital to find out more about acute changes in cytokine secretion and immunological reactions in patients simultaneously infected with coronavirus and various bacteria," Đikić, who is the project leader, underscored. 

This generous financial support will enable Đikić's team to use modern technology, such as chemical trials and biological medicines, in the hope of discovering a new specific medicine against COVID and inflammatory processes in to numerous diseases such as tumours and cardiovascular diseases.

"Even though we already have developed vaccines that protect against the spread of the infection, it is still necessary to find medicines against COVID. That is particularly important for people who contract COVID-19 and develop serious symptoms," said Đikić.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

February the 2nd, 2021 - Croatian hotel owners have their sights set past Easter, focusing on the upcoming 2021 summer tourist season which is hopefully miles better than the disaster that was 2020.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, while in normal years, Croatian hotel owners would have their hands full with looking for manpower for the summer season ahead and polishing up seasonal facilities to start work on Easter weekend or on May the 1st, right now ,most of them don’t know when they can open their doors at all.

Although a few weeks ago they announced through the Croatian Tourism Association that they were ready to open from Easter onwards, in the meantime, a good part of the market has entered a total closure due to mutated strains of the virus appearing and vaccination not quite going as planned.

As mentioned above, the process of procuring vaccines that was supposed to speed up the end of the pandemic has stalled, which also affects the enthusiasm of guests, so the concern is currently greater than it was about a month ago.

The biggest dilemma which lies in front of Croatian hotels is the current need to weigh up the cost-effectiveness of opening their doors, which is a criterion to study even in the best years. Easter falls early in 2021, at the very beginning of April, and as such they need to figure out how to bridge it until May the 1st and then until Pentecost at the end of May, when the swimming season is already starting.

Tourist consultant Sinisa Topalovic warned the public about this last week, and as we reported, he believes that tourist traffic in the pre-season in 2021 is illusory to expect.

There are no concrete plans yet...

Therefore, Croatian hotel owners have already focused on the summer season in terms of their marketing, for which they're offering discounts and various combinations to attract guests to push the button right now and book their holidays for summer. In the meantime, they are trying to fill the facilities that are intended for year-round operation and are open despite very low tourist traffic.

Valamar currently has only one hotel open, Diamant from Porec, and two camping resorts in Istria and Krk. On the eve of Easter, they plan to open only three of their hotels, Porec's Marea Suites, Padua on Rab and President down in Dubrovnik, as well as eight camps in Istria and Kvarner.

Other facilities are planned to open successively, depending on the state of booking, as is the case with Plava Laguna/Blue Lagoon, which has three hotels open, Molindrio in Porec, Melia Coral in Umag and Bonavia in Rijeka. At the moment, their traffic is mostly made up of sports groups, but they have no concrete plans to open in the spring yet, their plans to open depend entirely on demand.

The company Sunce Hotels encourages its guests to direct their summer booking where they will receive a guarantee of the best offer, now they have a special offer in which they offer a 35 percent discount on early bookings. On their website, the calendar only opens from April the 30th, and they decided to start work on May the 1st, but only in part of the hotel. Solaris has opened for early booking, but only for mobile homes and villas.

The smaller Croatian hotel owners are the most flexible

Due to the nature of the business, small hotels are somewhat more flexible in their decision-making, as it is easier to fill 10 rooms instead of 500 of them.

The Istrian wine hotel San Canzian recently informed its guests on social media that it opens the season on March the 19th, Boskinac from Pag is urging its guests to book their places now, because they have already sold out all the rooms for Valentine's Day.

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February 1, 2021 - As frustration and desperation take hold, Croatia's inconsistent measures to combat COVID-19 are only exacerbating such feelings. 

As the conspiracy theories continue to circulate regarding coronavirus, I am beginning to think that this pandemic is a university degree course in the study of human behaviour at the University of Aliens on Mars. 

Subject: How would humans react to battle a deadly virus spreading with ease all over their planet? A pandemic that knows no politics, emotion or mercy. 

A year into the pandemic, these alien students might be surprised to learn that humans still could not agree on some basic things regarding the battle, such as the benefits or otherwise of wearing masks.  Or that a nation's politics and a general election could completely reorient a national strategy. But alien students taking a closer look at a case study of a country like Croatia might find the nuances of the battle against the pandemic rather fascinating indeed. And completely illogical. 

Before I continue, let me say that I don't have a public position on the pandemic. Not that my opinion matters anyway as a non-expert on the subject (there are enough scientists and Facebook experts out there if you are looking for an opinion). I believe in making the information as available as possible and letting people draw their own conclusions. But as I travel a little around the country and the wider region, I do see so many inconsistent measures that completely undermine the whole point of the exercise. Inconsistent measures which are now pushing many people to boiling point. 

One of the things I have observed these last 12 months as people travel a lot less, is that people become somewhat accustomed to the measures imposed upon them and they have little appreciation of how things are elsewhere. I was fortunate enough to spend the first lockdown on sunny Hvar,  63 days of being chained to a laptop with an hour by the Adriatic each evening on a beautiful island devoid of tourists and with just two cases of the virus during my stay. 

I remember how nervous I was taking the ferry to Split when it came time to leave. Having been sheltered from the virus by my island status, how would things be on the mainland? I remember being shocked at coming to Zagreb that evening and seeing a bar packed full of people rubbing against each other without a mask in sight. 

It was the same feeling in mid-June on a business trip to Brussels and Munich. While the Germans were taking things very seriously with masks, early restaurant closures and contact details taken in every establishment, things could not have been more relaxed in Brussels. Some very different approaches to the same problem, our alien students would have noted. 

I have spent much of this past few months on my sofa in Varazdin, rarely venturing out of the house. The cafes and restaurants of Croatia are once more closed for about two months now, and the incentive to meet people has diminished due to the virus threat, cold weather, and simply that there is nowhere to meet. 

After weeks of this new normal, I went on a business trip to Albania via Bosnia and Montenegro. I was surprised in Neum that my usual restaurant stop was open for business, and I tucked into a mixed grill with a cold one with relish. What a completely strange feeling!

It was the same in Montenegro and especially in Albania, where I spent two very pleasant days conducting my business from distance with people across cafe tables. Apart from getting the business done in civilised surroundings, I also began to relax mentally, able to destress over a pint in a relaxed atmosphere. The old normal. These neighbours of Croatia all had fully open bars and restaurants, combined with a 10pm curfew. So people could go about their business, socialise a little and then be home before things got rowdy. Rather than go to other people's houses and drink to all hours as there was nowhere else to go.

Having had a glimpse of my former life, I found myself wanting more of it on the drive back to Croatia, and the island of Hvar. It is a long drive from Tirana, and the only place to stop on the way back for lunch once more was Neum, I reflected at the Croatian border as I showed my negative PCR test - everything was of course closed in Croatia. 

Having spent weeks on my sofa but now back to life after my Albanian escapade, I was curious how people were socialising in Croatia with all cafes closed. The answer in Jelsa was that there were now two spots to socialise. The bus station has a vending machine selling coffee, where locals go of a morning and afternoon to meet, huddling together much closer than they would in an outdoor cafe. And for a wider choice of refreshments, the petrol station just out of town is another congregation point. Both are much less pleasant than the normal cafe, both huddle people closer than they otherwise would be on the cafe terrace. 

An odd thing, the aliens might have noted - in Croatia, you can order a takeaway coffee from a bakery but not a cafe.

Next stop Split, where I had a meeting at 07:45 in temperatures of minus 1. Where to go for the meeting, those Tirana cafe memories fresh in my head? I asked a local hotel if it would be possible to sit in the reception area, without success. In the end, we clocked up 6,000 steps walking the supermarket aisles of the local Spar for an hour.  

Meanwhile in Zagreb, as the cafes remained closed, it was perfectly ok to buy a beer at Konzum and sit on a bench in the park with a friend, just metres from a cafe terrace that had been forced to close for weeks. How would those alien students quantify the difference? 

Meanwhile, if you want to forget your current woes and indulge in a little wellness, you can visit a well-known wellness retreat in Croatia as a non-resident. 95 kuna buys you all-day access to the pool and water slides, and for 195 kuna, you can get all day in the saunas as well. Much warmer than huddling around a vending machine coffee at the bus station. 

As non-residents, access to the restaurant is restricted, but if you are staying in the hotel, then the restaurant is open. If you have a business meeting with international partners or investors, you can only have it in the hotel restaurant if you yourself are a paying guest. Otherwise, you can check out the special offers in the local Spar as you wander around. 

Perhaps the most absurd example of attempts to contain the virus concerns a recent experience with the rideshare app, Bla Bla Car. Over Christmas and before the Petrinja earthquake, travel between counties was heavily restricted, A friend was going from Varazdin to her home in Zagreb and so was allowed to cross the county border. She booked a seat on Bla Bla Car in a car with just the driver. An hour before departure, she went to check the departure point in town and was surprised that there were now five people in the car. Apart from the corona risk, would it not be a problem crossing the county border, she asked the driver?

"Ha, not at all, I do this trip 4 times a day with a full car each time."

(Last year's Za Krizen procession on Hvar caused an outrage when it went ahead, even with its severely restricted numbers of 15 per procession.  but nobody seemed to mind the hundreds of people queueing for shopping in Zagreb the following morning. Read more in Jelsa Za Krizen, Croatia Not Wuhan & Cabin Fever Perspectives.)

Not that it is important to the non-discerning virus, but our alien students might note two other things of significance to the human decision-making. One is the economic impact that all this is having on many small (and larger) entrepreneurs, cafes, restaurants, gyms and other service industries, which are prevented from operating when similar activities are ongoing all around. Their anger is building, and so is their desperation. Various mass openings were planned for today, with most deciding against due to the threat of draconian fines and arrest by the authorities. One gym owner in Zagreb did open his doors, but not for long, and he is now in custody and facing a two-year prison sentence according to Croatian media. 

The other issue which is become bigger as every day goes by is the mental pressure this whole pandemic is putting on people. Lack of job security, everything closed, lack of human interaction. I honestly was shocked at what a powerful impression those days of normality in Albania made on me. And it made me crave them more and more. They are simply not available in Croatia at present.

I took my kids to school this morning. As we cleared the snow in temperatures of minus 8, I asked them how they felt after weeks of online schooling. Less than enthusiastic, came the reply. It was going to feel weird being with friends in real life. School - and friendships - are much better on Zoom these days, you can talk more to your friends that way and have more of a laugh.  

Quite what the longterm effects on this lack of interaction and school time will have on our youngest is a big unknown.

The UGP Voice of Entrepreneurs Association is gaining in strength, and it has called for people to come to protest on Wednesday on the main square in Zagreb. It will be a protest TCN will be following and reporting on. 

(Meanwhile, in Madrid, the things you can't do in France)

Meanwhile, in the University of Aliens on Mars, homework has been set:

Looking at the human behaviour and the inconsistent measures in Croatia, imagine you are a strategy consultant for COVID-19. Name 5 strategies to help the virus spread using human failings, and elaborate on each. 

I wonder if any of the students will focus on religion. Cafes may be closed, but churches are a great congregation point.

Should we be in total lockdown? Perhaps. Should everything be open? Perhaps. Should it be somewhere in the middle? Perhaps.

But whatever the strategy is, let's be consistent, transparent and not discriminate. As those students on Mars will tell you, the virus does not discriminate or get beaten by inconsistent measures. 

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

ZAGREB, 1 February, 2021 - In the last 24 hours Croatia has registered 94 new coronavirus cases and 27 related deaths, the national coronavirus response team reported on Monday.

A total of 1,881 people have been tested for the novel virus in the last 24 hours.

The number of active cases currently stands at 2,551 and 1,288 patients are hospitalised, of whom 98 are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the infection was confirmed in the country, 232,520 people have been infected with the virus and of them, 5,054 have died.

A total of 224,915 people have recovered, including 439 in the last 24 hours.

Currently 14,303 people are self-isolating and so far a total of 1,193,006 people have been tested.

February 1, 2021 - The Croatian Civil Protection Headquarters announced there were fewer than 100 patients on ventilators in Croatia, a figure we haven't seen since November 2, 2020. 

Jutarnji List reports that in the last 24 hours, 94 new SARS-CoV-2 virus infection cases were recorded, and the number of active cases in Croatia today is 2551, the National Civil Protection Headquarters reported.

Among them, 1288 patients are in hospital, of which 98 are on ventilators.

Twenty-seven people died.

Since February 25, 2020, when the first case of infection was recorded in Croatia, 232,520 people infected with the coronavirus have been documented to date, of whom 5,054 have died, a total of 224,915 have recovered, of which 439 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 14,303 people in self-isolation.

To date, 1,193,006 people have been tested, of which 1,881 in the last 24 hours.

There hasn't been such a small number of new infections since September 28 last year.

"Today, we had 94 registered new cases and 1881 tested. This week we had a total of 3346 new cases. From January 25, we had 134 new cases out of 2423 tested, the week before 174 new cases out of 2369 tested. From January 19 to 25, we had 3926 cases, and this week we have 11.7 percent fewer new cases than in the week before.

The current incidence is 188.8, the highest is. in Sisak-Moslavina (330.4), and the lowest in Istria (55.1). According to the 14-day incidence rate, Croatia ranks seventh in the EU - Denmark, Cyprus, Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, and Greece have a lower incidence, and others are higher. The total mortality rate per million people is 1217.7, which puts us in 20th place in the EU," said Krunoslav Capak, director of the CNIPH.

He also spoke about the vaccine.

"41,223 doses were used in health care, 35136 in nursing homes, 1694 in emergency services in Sisak-Moslavina, and the rest for civilians in Sisak-Moslavina County. Regarding side effects, HALMED publishes a list on their website, and by February 1, 430 suspected adverse reactions to Pfizer and 13 suspected for the Moderna vaccine were received. There were 26 allergic reactions to Pfizer, two of which were severe and the others milder. All other side effects related to Pfizer and Moderna are mild," said Capak.

Health Minister Vili Beros said that the curve regarding hospital care is on a downward trend.

"The number of patients on ventilators is below a hundred, and with yesterday's six new it is not as it seems. This is the first time since November 2 that we are under a hundred patients on ventilators," said Beroš.

He also said that the bigger picture should be considered because of the clinical pictures and new strains.

"At the Headquarters, during a daily conversation with epidemiologists, we look at all these elements, we watch the development of events to be ready for all scenarios," he said.

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