ZAGREB, 5 January 2021 - A Croatian team of researchers and doctors have sequenced about 60 genomes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, collected in Zagreb and north Croatia, and preliminary data does not confirm the detection of the fast mutating variant from England, the team reported on Tuesday.

The samples for the testing were taken in Zagreb and in the northern cities of Varazdin and Cakovec and the sequencing of the genomes was conducted at the start of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, that is from August to November 2020. Also, some of the relevant testing was conducted in early December.

The project is being led by Kristian Vlahovicek, a professor at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Science.

The purpose of the project is to establish the connections between the genetic basis of the virus and the development of more serious symptoms of the COVID disease in some patients.

The first stage of the project lasts until the end of 2021.

Vlahovicek said that the good news was that those 60 sequenced genomes found by researchers did not match the fast-mutating strain detected in England in November 2020.

However, the professor underscored that the findings did not mean that that variant was not present in Croatia, but in the event that it spread to Croatia, it had not been a dominant variant.

On the other hand, 30% of the samples analysed showed mutations matching the variant of the virus in Scotland, found there in August.

The professor said that this mutation was perceived to be connected with faster spreading of the virus and not with development of serious symptoms.

January 5, 2021 – National Civil Protection Headquarters members presented the news related to coronavirus in Croatia at today's press conference.

In the last 24 hours, 1071 new cases were recorded, and the number of active cases in Croatia today is 5908. Fifty-three people died, of which one 36-year-old who had asthma and obesity. There are currently 17,448 people in self-isolation.

The Croatian Institute of Public Health director, Krunoslav Capak, said that in a week, we have 23 percent positive cases from those tested, and Slovenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Poland are worse than us.

According to last night's data, 13,798 people were vaccinated, of which 443 were in Sisak-Moslavina County. A total of 1,040 people were vaccinated in Sisak.

No relaxating measures yet

As Index reports, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said that at this point, our numbers are slightly better. However, analyzing our situation and beyond in Europe, Croatia sees something that is already called the third wave of the epidemic.

"Many countries are entering a new lockdown, and we will closely monitor all trends to avoid similar developments in Croatia. We take seriously the experience of easing measures in Europe and the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus discovered in an increasing number of countries. It may appear in Croatia sooner or later," said Božinović.

Alemka Markotić, the Director of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljević" in Zagreb, said they had not found any associated mutations so far.

"Some samples are still being tested. It is the work of several teams. The analyzes are comprehensive, so we would not like to fly out with half-information. As soon as we get all the necessary information, we will go public with it," said Markotić about the new strain of coronavirus.

Božinović added that they need to pay attention to the effects of earthquakes, Christmas, and the New Year. In that context, they have not yet made a decision, but there are no thoughts about any relaxation of measures yet.

As for local headquarters, Božinović says it is not an option for them to propose easing measures. Passes were revoked due to the known circumstances related to the earthquake, and the Headquarters are not considering reintroducing them.

Vaccination in front of the camera

Today, the National Civil Protection Headquarters members Davor Božinović, Alemka Markotić, and Krunoslav Capak were vaccinated in front of the camera, but not Health Minister Vili Beroš. As he says, he will be vaccinated when his acquired natural immunity drops. Namely, the Health Minister recently overcame the coronavirus himself.

"I was in doubt about what to do myself, and after consulting with the profession, I support vaccination. I will get vaccinated when my acquired natural immunity drops. Seeking extra protection when there is not enough vaccination is not considered ethical, "said Beroš.

As he said, he is not the only one who got over the coronavirus. There are 214,000 people who did. All of them who overcame the disease three to six months ago should not be vaccinated at this time, but when their acquired immunity is degraded.

Beroš also stated that an 82-year-old woman from a nursing home in Čakovec died of a heart attack one day after being vaccinated from coronavirus. Her death has nothing to do with vaccination, the Minister explained. Following the law, the entire event was reported to the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices HALMED.

"A thousand people die in Croatia every week. When you vaccinate older people because you are trying to protect them from coronavirus, which is very deadly for them, of course, some of them will die. Just before my arrival here, I received information that 13 people died in Europe, and it was proven that it was not related to the vaccine," said Capak.

He added the second phase of vaccination will begin in the second half of January. Minister Božinović emphasized once again that there was still no indication of easing the measures

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ZAGREB, 5 January 2021 - Due to the third wave of the epidemic in Europe, the strict epidemiological measures in Croatia will most likely not be relaxed, but the reintroduction of passes is not likely, the head of the national civil protection team, Davor Bozinovic, said on Tuesday.

Although the number of new infections in Croatia is slightly lower, the team is not considering the relaxation of measures as there are already signs of a "third wave of the epidemic" in Europe, and a large number of EU countries are introducing a new lockdown, Bozinovic told a press conference.

The situation in European countries, in which the number of infections surged following a relaxation of measures, as well as the appearance of a new strain of the virus, are being taken into account. We will carefully monitor all trends and make optimal moves to avoid that, he said.

The impact of the earthquake and the Chrismas and New Year holidays on the epidemic will be visible only in a few weeks, and for now the team is not considering a relaxation of measures, Bozinovic said.

The ban on leaving one's county of residence has been lifted because of the earthquake, and its reintroduction is not being considered.

Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) director Krunoslav Capak said that a week ago there had been 1,350 newly-infected people out of 7,411 tested, and the week before that 1,595 out of 9,088 tested. Last week saw a drop of 48% week-on-week, and this week saw a 16% drop.

The incidence rate has declined considerably compared to previous weeks, although in some counties, such as Medjimurje County, it remains high, while in others, like Dubrovnik-Neretva County, it remains low, Capak said.

We are 19th in the EU in terms of mortality. Last week, the percentage of positive tests was 23%. To date, 13,78 people have been vaccinated, 3,758 of whom are in the health sector.

Capak said that six side effects of the vaccine had been reported to date, mostly pain at the injection site, which is the most common side effect.

ZAGREB, 5 January 2021 - Croatia has registered 53 coronavirus-related deaths and 1,071 new infections in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Tuesday.

A total of 2,390 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, including 200 on ventilators, and the number of active cases stands at 5,908.

With the 53 latest fatalities, the death toll has climbed to 4,179.

Since the start of the epidemic in late February, 214,390 people have been infected with the novel virus and 204,303 have recovered, including 1,009 in the last 24 hours.

Currently 17,448 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 1,041,678 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 6,602 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, 4 January, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Monday that an additional 17,550 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been delivered earlier in the day, and that 12,285 people had been vaccinated since Croatia started administering the vaccines against this infectious disease.

Beros said that a lower number of tests performed in the last few days could be ascribed to the fact that this was the period of Christmas and New Year holidays.

The minister expects more tests to be conducted as of mid-January.

As of the current stringent anti-COVID measures that are in place until 10 January, the minister said that their prolongation would depend on the epidemiological situation.

Croatia has registered 361 new coronavirus cases and 54 infection-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Monday.

The number of active cases stands at 5,899 and 2,453 people are receiving hospital treatment, including 196 on ventilators.

With the 54 latest fatalities, the death toll has climbed to 4,126.

Since February 25, when the first case of infection was confirmed in the country, 213,319 people have been infected with the novel virus. A total of 203,294 have recovered, of whom 852 in the last 24 hours. Currently 16,865 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 1,035,076 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 2,985 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, 4 January, 2021 - Croatia has registered 361 new coronavirus cases and 54 infection-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Monday.

The number of active cases stands at 5,899 and 2,453 people are receiving hospital treatment, including 196 on ventilators.

With the 54 latest fatalities, the death toll has climbed to 4,126.

Since February 25, when the first case of infection was confirmed in the country, 213,319 people have been infected with the novel virus. A total of 203,294 have recovered, of whom 852 in the last 24 hours. Currently 16,865 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 1,035,076 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 2,985 in the last 24 hours.

January the 4th, 2021 - The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has been the topic of endless conversation since it began last year. With measures still in place, could Istria County have plans to get things moving again?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, since the beginning of the pandemic, those in the hospitality and catering sector have been among the most vocal against the repeated an ever strict anti-epidemiological measures and closures. They say that this crisis has brought them to the very brink when it comes to survival, local portal Glas Istre writes.

Recently, the Chief of the Istrian Civil Protection Headquarters announced that he would request an exemption for Istria County from some measures from January the 8th, which means that then, the county's deeply harmed hospitality and catering facilities might start working again. The president of the Guild of Caterers of Istria County, Stanislav Briskoski, explained that talks on this very topic were in progress last Tuesday morning, when they were interrupted by the horrendous news of the earthquake which struck the now severely damaged Sisak-Moslavina County.

''The original date that was defined referred to December the 21st, but the measures continued indefinitely after that, without a specific date by which they could remain in force. It is in the interest of all of us to improve the epidemiological situation. Now, due to the new situation, we'll all focus on helping Petrinja, Sisak and the surrounding areas in any way, but soon, we're going to be sitting at the table with the authorities and negotiating the possibilities and a potential date for when things can start opening up again. I think we're all interested in the results of what was planned to be done by closing these facilities and whether anything did come to fruition, and to see what we will do and how we can proceed.

Those in the catering and hospitality sector suffered tremendous economic losses throughouth 2020, and January and February should not even be taken into account, as these are always quite weak months due to Croatia's seasonality anyway.

''Even with a weaker tourist season, we were doing well and everything was fine until Istria was placed on the red list back in mid-August. Then there was an extreme drop in guests that we didn't deserve at all,'' concluded Istria County's Stanislav Briskoski.

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January 4, 2021 - Another statistical milestone, as Croatia becomes the 17th country to record more than 1,000 COVID-19-related deaths per million, according to Worldometers.

As the world battles a global pandemic, Croatia has had to deal with the devastating effects of powerful earthquakes, which have inflicted misery and destruction of a different kind. 

Heartbreaking images of young mothers holiday their newborns in a Zagreb hospital in the aftermath of the March 22 quake went all around the world, and the country is currently dealing with the destruction caused by the more powerful earthquake in the region around Petrinja. 

Efforts to contain the virus continue, with restaurants, cafes and many other business shut for weeks now, and inter-county travel restrictions were introduced just before Christmas - only to be relaxed in the aftermath of the earthquake, as people from all over Croatia and abroad rushes to help the victims. 

Statistics have little compassion, and another grisly milestone was reached today, according to global statistical monitoring site, Worldometers, as Croatia became the 17th country in the world to record 1000 coronavirus deaths per million inhabitants.

Of the 17 countries to reach the unwelcome milestone, only two - Peru and the United States of America - are not in Europe. 

Croatia is the fifth of the six former Yugoslav republics to record this ratio (Kosovo is not included), with four of the others in the top 11 (Slovenia, 3, Bosnia and Hercegovina, 4, North Macedonia, 6, and Montenegro, 11). Only Serbia has yet to reach the thousand. 

As for the reasons why, Nenad Bakic offered an explanation on TCN on December 20, before Croatia was close to the 1000 mark. Nenad Bakic: Why Has the Virus Become So Deadly in the New EU Countries?

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ZAGREB, 3 January, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 5,611 tests performed for coronavirus, 696 tests, that is 12.4%, have returned positive, and 56 COVID patients have died, Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team stated on Sunday.

The death toll stands now at 4,072.

There are currently 6,444 active cases, including 2,453 hospitalised patients, of whom 211 are placed on ventilators.

A total of 18,299 people are self-isolating.

Since the start of the epidemic in late February, 212,958 people have been infected with the novel virus and 202,422 have recovered, including 1,142 in the last 24 hours.

As many as 1,032,091 tests have been done.

ZAGREB, 2 January, 2021 - In the last 24 hour, of 1,740 tests performed for coronavirus, 255, that is 14.6%, have returned positive, and 55 COVID patients have died, Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team stated on Saturday.

The death toll stands now at 4,016.

There are currently 6,946 active cases, including 2,437 hospitalised patients, of whom 219 are placed on respirators.

A total of 20,585 people are self-isolating.

Since the start of the epidemic in late February, 212,262 people have been infected with the novel virus, and 201,300 have recovered, including 1,480 in the last 24 hours.

As many as 1.02 million test have been conducted.