ZAGREB, 15 January, 2021 - The parliamentary group of the Green-Left Bloc have refused to undergo vaccination against COVID-19 as part of a priority vaccination programme for MPs, saying that there is not enough vaccine at this point and the doses intended for them should be administered to health workers and vulnerable groups.

"All members of the Green-Left Bloc want to get vaccinated against coronavirus and support the vaccination of as many people as possible. What's more, we think the vaccination is the only way for us to get back to at least a semblance of normality and halt the pandemic that has turned all our lives upside down," the group said in a statement on their Facebook page on Friday.

They said that, like ordinary citizens, they had contacted their GPs and signed up for vaccination as soon as there was enough vaccine for the general public.

A third of lawmakers, or 51, have signed up for vaccination, scheduled for Monday at 1pm.

Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković has said it is important that MPs get vaccinated in order to send a message as politicians that vaccination is necessary and important and that it can help in the fight against COVID-19. He dismissed claims that it was lawmakers' privilege.

January 15, 2020 – At today's press conference of the National Civil Protection Headquarters, Interior Minister Davor Božinović explained the changes at Croatian borders and commented if there would be any easing of measures from February 1, 2021.

The National Civil Protection Headquarters held a press conference on the current epidemiological situation in the country.

In the last 24 hours, 715 new cases of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were recorded, and the number of active cases in Croatia today is 4653. Among them, 1855 patients are in hospital, of which 160 are on respirators. Thirty-three people died. There are currently 18,048 people in self-isolation.

Krunoslav Capak, Director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, explained the situation with testing and the incidence rate.

"5335 people were tested. A week ago, we had 1098 positive cases. The total number in the first five days of this week is 3819, 23 percent less than the first five days of last week. The incidence is below 300 – 288.8 in the last 14 days. The lowest incidence is in Dubrovnik and the highest in Međimurje. Croatia ranks 7th in the EU in terms of seven-day incidence," Capak said. The share of positive cases in those tested is 16.4 percent.

Decisions about border crossings

Davor Božinović clarified the decision on the temporary ban on restricting crossing Croatian border crossings.

"Croatian citizens can stay in neighboring third countries for up to 12 hours in case of urgent and necessary reasons. These are rare situations when there is no other choice for people. For example, funerals, absence of public transport, people in transit, students, going to the doctor, purchasing medicines, etc.," said Božinović.

He added that the decision on passengers coming from the area on the Croatian Institute of Public Health's special list applies to everyone – to their citizens and citizens of all countries coming from those countries. These are passengers from the UK and South Africa. It is valid that they can enter Croatia only with a negative coronavirus test and be quarantined for 14 days. The quarantine can be shortened to 7 days in case of another negative test.

Božinović and Capak on easing measures

As Index found out earlier, the easing of epidemiological measures is possible as early as February 1, but provided that the number of newly infected people continues to fall, i.e., the share of new cases in the total number of daily tests continues to fall. The first in line for easing the measures would be gyms and terraces of cafes and restaurants. Also, there is almost no chance that restaurants and cafes' closed spaces will open from February 1st.

At a press conference today, journalists asked Božinović if there would be any easing of measures from February 1.

"The fact is that only this week, we decided to extend the measures, which last until January 31, 2021. We will continue to work as before: daily monitor the Republic of Croatia's epidemiological situation and the countries around Croatia, EU countries. It is not in our interest to defend anything other than what is estimated to be due to the virus's spread. In that sense, we will take all factors into account a few days before this decision's expiration. This is wintertime. Everything is being done to achieve an effective way to fight the epidemic - ventilation, masks, keeping distance, etc. We are constantly thinking about measures, and we will continue to do so, but today it is not realistic to announce something, and we will not do it. We have a little more than two weeks to monitor the situation. No one in this epidemic is an island," said Božinović.

Božinoć added that when adopting measures, they must also consider the winter weather so as not to overload the health care system. Asked whether these measures would be in force until the spring, Božinović said:

"I don't know why you came to that conclusion. I just said that we would have meetings with other departments, ministers in the Government a few days before the expiration of this decision."

They monitor all important parameters every day and will make a decision based on them. It is too early to announce anything, they said.

"It is evident to us that these results in reducing the number of newly infected consequences are fewer contacts, fewer gatherings indoors, fewer private gatherings, and celebrations. It is the foundation of the fight against coronavirus, especially in winter conditions. This is easier to implement in some situations and more difficult in some others. There are activities for which this is not a particular problem, and for some, it is. We are sorry for all who suffer in such a situation. We can not let the health system not respond to people's needs when it comes to Covid and other diseases."

Asked whether individual sports would be allowed, Krunoslav Capak replied: "We are analyzing the situation. We cannot announce the easing of measures. Some sports federations have sent inquiries and letters. We are responding to them and communicating with the Ministry of Sports."

Krunoslav Capak said that there had been no case of influenza infection in Croatia. Alemka Markotić pointed out that no new strain of coronavirus had been recorded in Croatia, which had been noticed in Great Britain, Ireland, and South Africa.

Sources: Index, Jutarnji list

ZAGREB, 15 January, 2021 - In the past 24 hours there have been 715 new COVID-19 cases and 33 related fatalities, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday.

There are 4,653 active cases in the country, of whom 1,855 are people who are hospitalised, including 160 on ventilators.

Since 25 February, when the first case of the infection was reported, there have been 223,812 infections, including 4,550 fatalities. A total of 214,609 people have recovered from the disease, including 1,239 in the past 24 hours.

Currently 18,048 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 1,107,887 people have been tested for coronavirus, with 5,335 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, the response team reported.

January 15, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beros spoke about relaxing measures in Croatia on February 1 and the magic number needed to get there. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Headquarters has successfully avoided giving a heads up of when something will open or close.

However, Minister of Health Vili Beros knows best about what will open, when, and what we can hope for and revealed that magic number to RTL Direct on Thursday night.

The magic 14-day incidence rate is 300 per 100,000 inhabitants.

"More precisely, we are at 344 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days, so we are not below 300 yet. This is why our epidemiologists avoid this famous traffic light. Precisely because the number of newly infected is not the only parameter. It’s not the same if you open in the winter or summer, it’s not the same if you have a mutated virus in the environment, it is not the same if the incidence is different in the environment and it is growing in some neighboring countries. Therefore, there are a number of parameters," Beros said.

However, the main epidemiologist Krunoslav Capak stated that something would change when the number falls below 300.

"Insisting on a certain orientation number, it is around 300, but at the moment, caution is needed above all. This good epidemiological situation offers optimism, but it is also encouraging the path we must take. The situation in Europe is not good, the virus mutation is not good, all these are factors that we must take into account when deciding on relaxing measures," Beros said.

The question remains when the measures will be relaxed. This is of particular interest to parents whose children are athletes.

"We have been saying since the beginning that it is necessary to monitor the epidemiological situation from day to day and make decisions. Therefore, at this moment, I cannot say that we will relax measures on February 1. This will depend exclusively on the epidemiological situation and several other factors that will be relevant in those days. If we do relax measures, it will be gradual, at this moment, we still do not have an order," said Beros and added:

"We can say that this will be one of the first activities, especially if these activities take place outside, in conditions that are epidemiologically satisfactory."

Croatia has the biggest decline in the number of new infections in Europe.

"We always say that it takes some time for the measures to take effect. There is also the responsibility of citizens, which is extremely important, and I think they increasingly realize that it is a serious disease that leads to death. Responsible behavior of citizens, as well as measures, have yielded these results," the minister said.

Vaccination in many countries is not going according to plan.

"Given that we are a small country, not so economically powerful, it is fortunate that we are a member of the European Union. It is on the principles of solidarity and fairness that ECDC has determined the dose for all EU countries using the Eurostat methodology. There is no dose war. We have a large number at our disposal, but the problem is that running in production is not easy. All producers have this problem, and later when it develops, it is a bit easier," Beros said, adding:

"Basically, I've been talking about spring, but it's more realistic to expect herd immunity by summer because 70 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated for it."

He also explained the course of vaccination, i.e., when young people should be vaccinated.

"We have seven priority groups in our plan. The seventh group is younger people who do not have any health problems, and, realistically, they will start getting vaccinated at the end of March and the beginning of April," Beros told RTL.

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

January the 15th, 2021 - PM Plenkovic has announced that the Croatian Government has ordered more of the new coronavirus vaccine and plans to vaccinate the population by the end of April this year. Pfizer's vaccine has been in use since the end of December in Croatia, and mass vaccination will hopefully soon see the end of the pandemic of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, finally declared.

The advent and subsequent approval of several coronavirus vaccines has offered a much-needed light at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel for the vast majority of people, and Croatia only having a small population might finally go in its favour as vaccination is rolled out across the country.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, at a recent Croatian Government session, among other things, PM Plenkovic happily reported on the current course of coronavirus vaccination across the country and announced what the government intends to do in this regard over the next few months.

"As far as the pandemic is concerned, I want to say that after the measures we introduced back at the end of November, along with the great level of responsibility of Croatia's residents, we managed to ensure a better epidemiological picture, Croatia can now boast of the biggest two-week decline in the entire European Union," said PM Plenkovic.

"So far, 38,000 people have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. We have increased Croatia's vaccine orders from both Pfizer and Moderna. We additionally took a million Moderna vaccines. The Oxford vaccine will be approved on January the 29th, and we have ordered 2.5 million doses from that, too. Large amounts of doses of these vaccines can be expected in February and March. With that in mind, it can be expected that the majority of Croatia's population will be vaccinated by the end of April,'' announced PM Plenkovic.

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ZAGREB, 14 January 2021 - Croatia is seeing a continued downward trend in the numbers of new coronavirus infections and hospitalisations, which is reducing the pressure on the healthcare system, but there is no room for relaxing because of increases in other European countries, Health Minister Vili Beroš told a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

"For the first time since 22 November we have recorded a decline in the number of hospitalisations below 2,000," Beroš said.

Since many European countries continue to report increased numbers of new cases, despite the improved epidemiological situation in Croatia there is no room for relaxing in adhering to the epidemiological measures in place, the health minister said.

38,281 doses of vaccine have been used since 27 December

"Since 27 December, 38,281 doses of vaccine have been used in Croatia. In terms of the number of vaccinations per 100,000 people, according to yesterday's figures Croatia ranks sixth highest in the EU. 3,652 people have been vaccinated in (earthquake-devastated) Sisak-Moslavina County," Beroš said, adding that 18,489 health workers have been vaccinated to date.

He said that vaccination of people suffering from chronic diseases and people older than 65 who were not in care homes was starting gradually. He stressed the need for establishing mobile teams to vaccinate bed-ridden patients in care homes and teams to vaccinate people at their place of work.

January 14, 2021 - At today's press conference, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that the gyms in Croatia would open before January 31. At the same press conference, he said that all currently valid measures would remain until January 31.

Recall, Index.hr reports that the National Civil Protection Headquarters recently announced that all epidemiological measures adopted in late November would be extended until January 31. Among the most important measures taken at the time were closing restaurants, cafes, and gyms.

Plenkovic was asked today about relaxing strict measures in light of the ever-improving numbers Croatia is recording in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.

"A month and a half ago, we had a situation where we were the worst in Europe. Now that we have a decline among the largest in Europe, some people will put pressure on the government or the Headquarters to relax measures as soon as possible, tomorrow. I repeat, COVID-19 is a dangerous, deadly disease, which in Croatia leads to people going to hospitals and on ventilators, and some of them die. Older people and those in poorer health are dying, the average being around 78 years old. We are trying to protect that population. Since the end of November, it is clear that the measures have been successful and have protected the population. We did everything with the huge responsibility of our fellow citizens to reduce contacts, and I think that is good. Given the cold weather, the seasonality, we have no right to relax. Many countries have much more restrictive measures. We did not introduce curfew. In our country, the system was oriented towards balancing anti-epidemic measures and protecting the economy. We achieved an excellent result in that," said Plenkovic, and then began speaking about vaccination.

"We ordered 1.9 million doses from Pfizer, a million doses from Moderna. Most importantly, today, there are indications that the EU Medicines Agency will approve the AstraZeneca vaccine, of which we ordered 2.7 million doses. I said we would finish by April to vaccinate most of the vulnerable population," the prime minister said.

"We have to make a shield for those most at risk. That way, we are preparing for the economic recovery and the tourist season. That means we decided a day or two ago that what is now in force remains until January 31. Don't be afraid; gyms will open before January 31," Plenkovic said.

This confused the journalists present, and one of them asked, "Right away?"

To this, Plenkovic said: "Yes, right now."

"It will be like this until January 31, we will analyze the situation with experts, and then we can loosen measures. The winter months are not months to relax," Plenkovic said.

Index immediately checked the information about gyms opening before January 31 with the National Civil Protection Headquarters. They unofficially said that they did not have that information.

Government: No gym openings before the end of the month

Index also contacted the government.

The government said that "the prime minister announced that the measures will be relaxed depending on the epidemiological situation from February 1 and that he will inform the journalists about it before gyms are reopened."

"There are no gym openings before the end of the month," the government said.

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

ZAGREB, 14 January 2021 - The APL California ship arrived at the Rijeka Port from China on Thursday, carrying close to one million euros worth of protective equipment which the government procured for the Commodity Stockpiles Directorate from the Chinese company Sinopharm.

The government said in a statement that this was the third delivery of protective gear from China in January.

The latest delivery as well as the previous ones serves to maintain the continuity of protective equipment reserves necessary to fight the coronavirus epidemic, the government said.

After it is unloaded, the equipment will be transported to the Civil Protection logistical centre at Jastrebarsko outside Zagreb from where it will be sent to medical and welfare institutions as well as other institutions involved in the fight against the epidemic.

The value of the protective gear delivered today is €905,934 and it consists of FFP2 face masks, protective overalls and shoe covers.

ZAGREB, 14 January 2021 - In the past 24 hours there have been 980 new COVID cases registered in Croatia while 45 people have died, the national COVID response team said on Thursday.

There are 5,210 active cases in the country, of whom 1,921 are patients in hospital treatment, including 176 patients are on ventilators.

Since 25 February when the first case was recorded in Croatia, there have been 223,097 registered cases of the novel coronavirus and 4,517 people have died as a consequence. A total of 213,370 have recovered, with 1,025 of them recovering in the past 24 hours.

Currently, 18,272 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 1,102,552 people have been tested for coronavirus, with 6,847 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, the response team reported.

January the 14th, 2021 - Dr Alemka Markotic, a professor and director of Zagreb's ''Dr Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases has issued a warning and an appeal to those who have contracted the novel coronavirus and are now enduring the symptoms of the disease.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Dr Alemka Markotic has stated that some coronavirus patients have a tendency to come to the hospital to seek treatment when it is too late, and when providing relief and treatment for them becomes much more challenging.

''Some patients sometimes come to the hospital too late and then the treatment is much more difficult to administer. I'm issuing a warning and an appeal to all those, especially those who have underlying chronic diseases, to definitely contact their doctor or hospital if they have more pronounced symptoms of the disease,'' Dr Alemka Markotic stated clearly.

"After coronavirus runs its course, there can be more different consequences, one study was published in Lancet, which is the study that covered the longest period and dealt with the most respondents. They followed about 1,733 patients for six months. This is the longest follow-up time with the largest number of respondents. Worryingly, 76 percent of the patients monitored had at least one of some symptoms that affected their quality of life and health. I must mention that females reported more symptoms than men did. What has been most commonly reported so far is that one is very pronounced fatigue and muscle weakness, in 63 percent of patients. 26 percent of them had problems with sleeping, and 23 percent had certain psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety.

If you look at the lung function in a significant percentage of people, things weren't running as adequately as they do in healthy people,'' added Dr Alemka Markotic, warning once again that patients who have any underlying health issues must make medics aware of their infection as soon as possible in order to make their chances of getting the proper treatment for their symptoms higher.

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