ZAGREB, 28 January 2021 - Schools will reopen their doors for elementary school pupils and for the senior students of secondary schools on Monday, 1 February, Education Minister Radovan Fuchs said on Thursday.

The minister added that online education would continue for students of the first, second and third year of secondary education for the next two weeks and that further decisions would depend on epidemiological developments.

ZAGREB, 28 January 2021 - In the month since the first earthquake in Sisak-Moslavina County, there has been no surge in coronavirus cases nor water or food poisoning which occurs in such disasters, the head of the county Public Health Institute, Inoslav Brkić, said on Thursday.

Speaking for Croatian Radio, he said that despite the fact that people were shocked and forgot about epidemiological measures initially, there had been no surge in infections.

"The area is epidemiologically safe and fully under control. We have neither water poisoning nor food poisoning either."

Brkić said the obligation to boil water due to possible damage to pipes, despite findings that it was potable, would remain in force until the aftershocks stopped and the supply and sewer systems were repaired.

Speaking of coronavirus vaccination, he said 6,000 doses had been administered in the county, including 1,000 given as second shots.

Brkić said that after the initial shock, people in the country resumed adhering to the epidemiological measures.

Education ministry secretary Tomislav Paljak said all schools in the county had been inspected and that 24 sustained no damage in the earthquake, 11 were given the green label, 12 were temporarily unusable and nine were totally destroyed.

He said over 2,100 pupils had been relocated but that this did not mean they had left the area, while several dozen said they had moved out.

ZAGREB, 28 January 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Thursday the government and the relevant authorities had responded in a timely and effective manner to the circumstances created by COVID-19 with the aim to protect people's health.

Presenting in parliament the first report on the effects of measures taken during the epidemic, Beroš outlined everything the government and the national COVID-19 response team did from 11 March 2020 to 15 January 2021.

"The team adopted the measures in a timely manner, in line with the epidemiological situation, relaxing them when the situation allowed. The team monitors the epidemiological situation on a daily basis and responds alone or in coordination with the county response teams, maintaining a flexible approach."

Beroš said Croatia launched the measures to curb COVID very early, adding that sometimes they differed between counties depending on the epidemiological situation.

He said Croatia had two waves of curbing the epidemic, the first in spring 2020 and the second in the autumn, which saw a surge in new cases and which lasted until mid-December, when the situation started to calm down thanks to new restrictions.

"Today's incidence is 119.5 new infections in 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants, which ranks us as the seventh most successful country in the EU."

Vaccine procurement

Beroš also spoke about the procurement of vaccines. "The member states authorised the European Commission to negotiate with vaccine manufacturers on their behalf at a time when it was still unknown who would develop a vaccine and when, and to conclude advance purchase agreements with those it thought would manage to manufacture the vaccines."

Doses have been distributed to the member states under Eurostat's methodology, in solidarity and proportionate to the population, and Croatia has signed agreements with five manufacturers to ensure enough doses for the free vaccination of all citizens, Beroš said.

"By 15 January, we ordered 6.8 million doses, which covers our needs, with each patient receiving two doses."

Interior Ministry State Secretary Terezija Gras said the national COVID-19 response team introduced the measures primarily to protect people's lives and health, and that it did so proportionally so as to restrict the economy and other spheres of social life as little as possible.

"The opinions and recommendations of epidemiologists and scientists were acknowledged," she said, adding that precedence was given to prevention and education, rather than enforcement.

ZAGREB, 28 January 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday announced a mild easing of epidemiological restrictions in two sectors - education and sports.

"Following discussions in the government and with the national COVID-19 response team, we are in a position, owing to our citizens' responsible behaviour as well as the measures taken, to announce a relaxation of epidemiological restrictions but only in two sectors," Plenković said at a government session.

There is a possibility for primary school pupils in grades 5-8 to start having face-to-face classes again and additional sports activities could be allowed, notably those taking place outdoors, he said.

The anti-epidemic measures will be reviewed in mid-February, depending on how the epidemiological situation develops, said Plenković.

ZAGREB, 28 January 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 619 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 30 deaths linked to COVID-19, the national COVID-19 response team said on Thursday.

The number of active cases now stands at 3,173. Among them are 1,326 people who have been hospitalised, including 128 on ventilators.

Currently 15,505 people are self-isolating.

To date 1,175,831 people have been tested, including 5,994 in the last 24 hours.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia registered its first case, 230,978 people have contracted the novel virus, 4,943 of whom have died.

A total of 222,962 people have recovered, including 466 over the past 24 hours.

ZAGREB, 28 January 2021 - The Croatian Employers Association (HUP) said on Thursday the measures to help the economy should be extended for as long as the consequences of the coronavirus crisis were felt.

HUP said in a press release it would continue to negotiate with the government on new measures given that the current ones were in place until the end of February, adding that the uncertainty was not good either for employers or their workers.

The shorter working hours measure was adopted at HUP's initiative and is in place until the end of the year, which provides for "transparency and predictability in doing business," the press release said, adding that it was "a good example of adopting measures in agreement with the business sector" and that it "saved tens of thousands of jobs."

In upcoming meetings, HUP will ask for the existing measures to be extended after February, for as long as the economic consequences of the coronavirus crisis are present, as well as for support to all with drops in turnover and revenue, regardless of whether they are formally not allowed to work, the press release said.

January the 28th, 2021 - Just how has the ongoing coronavirus pandemic affected Croatian pets? Croatian vets from one Zagreb faculty are seeking to find out more about precisely that, offering Croatian residents a chance to describe how Croatian pets dealt with their owners being infected with the novel coronavirus.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Zagreb has invited interested Croatian residents who own pets to participate in the research on the impact of the stay of pets in households with COVID-19 positive owners on their health.

As they explained, the daily increase in the number of new coronavirus cases is also accompanied by a greater possibility of infection of pets with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Although it has been proven that pets are not a source of infection for their owners, the impact of coronavirus infection on the health of our pets is almost completely unknown. At the same time, insufficient scientific knowledge remains a valid concern to both animal owners and the general public.

“We want to offer owners the possibility of a clinical examination of Croatian pets in order to establish signs of respiratory infection and test pets for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. At the Clinics of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, we'll perform a clinical examination of such pets, take some blood samples, swabs of mucous membranes and X-rays,'' they explained.

In order for pet owners to apply to participate in the study, it is necessary to have a COVID-19 positive test result from the owner or another household member (PCR or rapid antigen test), proof of ownership of the animal and a completed attached questionnaire.

The questionnaire is somewhat more extensive and consists of two parts: data on the animal and data on the owner and members of the household who were infected.

“The data from this questionnaire is extremely important to us so that we can give guidance to owners in the future on how best to protect their pets from infection. We emphasise that all data from the completed questionnaire will be confidential and will be collected and stored in accordance with the General Regulation on Personal Data Protection,'' they stated, noting that the examination and testing of Croatian pets who have owners who are currently positive and as such in isolation will be carried out only after the expiration of the prescribed period of isolation.

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January the 28th, 2021 - The very gradual easing up of Croatian measures against the spread of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is set to begin. The final draft of what we can expect after the expiration of the current measures, due on the 31st of this month, is now being polished up.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the brushing up of the package of the slight easing of Croatian measures that are set to replace the current ones on February the 1st isn't over yet. Discussions are still going on, two days ago the matter was discussed at a coalition meeting in the Government, and epidemiologists held meetings with various ministers who represent domains of currently banned economic activity on Monday, reports Jutarnji list.

The government will most likely present the package at a session on Thursday, explaining how those whose operations have been suspended or restricted due to epidemiological measures will continue to be financially supported.

Meetings of epidemiologists of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) with representatives of the Ministries of Economy, Tourism and Sport, Science and Education and the Interior were held on Monday, and epidemiologists gave their final suggestions on the easing of Croatian measures.

Some interlocutors of Jutarnji list claim that in this new wave of concessions, caterers would be exempt, ie that cafes will not be allowed to sell coffee outside or to go because that would mean the partial opening of cafes, which increases the overall epidemiological risk, while others say that this matter hasn't yet been agreed upon.

The president of the National Association of Caterers, Jelena Tabak, says that they have no information about a possible concession, and they have the impression that cafes will be allowed to at least issue coffee outside/coffee to go, but they ask that support measures remain in place for restaurants.

When it comes to re-opening schools, at the coalition meeting, everyone agreed that the decision to open them back up again should be left to individual counties, depending on the epidemiological situation, Jutarnji list writes.

"There will certainly be some concessions. At the national level, children from the 5th to the 8th grade will be allowed to return to school, talks are being held intensively to allow sport and outdoor recreation to take place. For everything else, we'll just have to see, at this moment we don't have any definitive information on what will be allowed and what won't,'' said the head of the CNIPH, Krunoslav Capak, on Tuesday.

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ZAGREB, 27 January 2021 - The Catering and Tourism Guild within the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK) on Wednesday urged the authorities to specify short-term and long-term measures to bail out the hospitality sector against the background of the epidemiological situation and poor conditions in that sector.

HOK recalls in its press release on Wednesday that the hospitality and tourism sectors along with other related businesses, have been worst affected by the pandemic and most businesses in that sector have not worked for more than two months as a result of the COVID response team's decisions.

"The hospitality sector is more than aware of the importance to secure the best possible epidemiological image for Croatia on the global tourism map if we are to take the 2021 tourism season seriously," HOK said.

"In that regard we understand why the government is still hesitant in relaxing restrictions in hospitality despite the relatively good epidemiological trends. However, it is also quite clear that currently the hospitality sector is on its knees and it is calling for firmly defined short-term and long-term measures and their implementation to bail out the hospitality and tourism sectors" the head of HOK'sCatering and Tourism Guild, Joso Smolić said.

The guild calls for short-term measures to be implemented as of 1 February so that the work of cafes and restaurants are treated equally and be allowed to provide "services to go" and retain the right for a reimbursement of fixed costs and jobkeeping measures.

HOK demands that as far as fixed costs are concerned that owners of hospitality premises should be allowed to send their bills to the competent body for payment and that jobkeeping measures continue until the end of the year.

With the continued programme of fast and cheap credit lines, VAT should be reduced to 13% for the preparation and serving non-alcoholic beverages as well as warm drinks, wine and beer, the HOK's guild says. It asks that the consumption tax be abolished which is imposed exclusively on the hospitality sector, Smolić underscored.

January 27, 2021 - Some positive corona news today, as Istria becomes a COVID-19 orange zone according to the EU. 

Jutarnji List reports that as of today, Istria is in the orange zone concerning the number of COVID-19 cases, according to European statistics. The Istrian Civil Protection Headquarters is thus asking the National Headquarters to enable the opening of gyms, sports halls, and individual outdoor sports training in Istria from Monday.

"Looking at the trend of the last 14 days, the incidence of infections in Istria County has fallen below 100 people per 100 thousand inhabitants. Following the share of positives on the number tested, which fell to 3.1 percent last week, and according to the number of tests according to EU criteria that the number of tests must be above 300 every week in the county, we have concluded that Istria County, according to European criteria, enters the orange zone," said the director of the Istrian Institute of Public Health, Dr. Aleksandar Stojanovic. The situation is also better at Pula General Hospital, where the number of hospitalized dropped from 80 at the end of December to 30 today.

"We reiterate that we want gyms, fitness, sports, and recreation centers to be open from Monday and that it is possible to train individual sports outdoors immediately. That is what we are asking from the National Headquarters. We have heard that it will be possible for all catering establishments to sell coffee for outside and ready-made food, which we absolutely support. We want to consider mitigation measures in February that would be current by activities as assessed. We are in daily communication with the National Headquarters, so we will see how the whole situation regarding easing the measures will go in February. Everyone is burdened with the region's situation, that is, a new strain of the virus. Experts say that it is already in Croatia and that it should be discovered as soon as possible," said the head of the Istrian Headquarters, Dino Kozlevac.

Stojanović believes that the current epidemiological situation in Istria would enable the opening of restaurant and cafe terraces, but that it would be OK to wait for the National Headquarters' decision on that topic.

As for schools' opening from next week, the Istrian Headquarters will decide by the end of today or tomorrow morning.

Istrian County Prefect Fabrizio Radin and Pula Mayor Boris Miletić are also satisfied with the situation in Istria and thanked the citizens and the system for the good epidemiological picture. But Miletic said they would like decisions on measures to be lowered to the regional level.

"Many times we have been asked what is the phenomenon of a green oasis in Europe. But when we stressed the need for regional decision-making back in March last year, few looked at us strangely. However, timely decision-making has enabled Istria to develop a tourist zone and become a green oasis. That is why difficult decisions had to be made. We see that now the proposals coming from the regions, specifically Istria County, are viewed differently. Why is that? If our citizens have shown responsibility, if our experts have proven that it knows how to manage the battle with this pandemic and make timely decisions, I do not see why this regional approach would not be applied in our country," said Miletic. He added that entrepreneurs should be allowed to work if the preconditions are created.

"Therefore, an appeal to the National Headquarters - listen to the experts and accept the regional approach," concluded the mayor of Pula.

Fifteen newly infected people were registered in Istria today based on 266 samples. There are currently 90 active COVID-19 positives in the County, and two seniors died today. Thirty people were hospitalized, 4 of them on a ventilator.

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