ZAGREB, November 16, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 1,313 new cases of coronavirus infection and there have been 33 related deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said on Monday.

The number of active cases stands at 15,699. There are 1,816 COVID patients in hospitals and 191 of whom are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, a total of 85,519 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 1,082 of them have died and 68,738 have recovered, including 2,507 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 35,071 people in self-isolation.

To date, 624,393 people have been tested for coronavirus, 4,861 of whom in the last 24 hours.

November the 16th, 2020 - As new measures are proposed for us in the Croatian capital of Zagreb and mass coronavirus testing is prepared for, what can we expect? A lockdown isn't on the horizon despite the concerning rise in the number of new lab confirmed infections, so what might be?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, a meeting was held recently here in the Croatian capital to discuss possible new measures. One of the main proposals of the members of the Zagreb civil protection headquarters was mass coronavirus testing of the citizens of Zagreb with the use of rapid tests in order to detect as many infected people as possible in a short period of time. This is one of the more optimal ways to bring the spiralling epidemic under control, because in this way, without closing the economy and causing further damage in that sense, all infected people and all their contacts can be isolated and the probability of the further spread of the novel coronavirus can be minimised, Jutarnji list writes.

''Based on the analyses we have, we're assessing the situation. We considered the possibility of more mass coronavirus testing. Validations of antigen tests have been made and procurement has been initiated. The situation is not good,'' confirmed the head of the City Health Office, Vjekoslav Jelec. Just how many of Zagreb's citizens will be tested and in what period that will occur is still being discussed. Since the beginning of October, rapid coronavirus tests have been being used at the Zagreb Clinic for Children's Diseases (Klaiceva), and so far they have performed 256 tests on 83 patients who had symptoms, as well as 173 asymptomatic people.

Among 83 patients who had at least one symptom of SARS-CoV-2, 13 of them returned a positive result on the rapid test. All of those tested were also sent for testing by the usual, PCR test: in 12 of the 13 positives, an infection was confirmed, and in one tested person, otherwise a clinic employee, the PCR test result was negative.

All negative results returned by the rapid test were also negative when a PCR test was done after. In other words, the rapid test failed on one in 83 people, giving an efficiency of nearly 99 percent in people presenting with coronavirus symptoms.

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ZAGREB, November 15, 2020 - Head of Zagreb's Fran Mihaljevic hospital for infectious diseases, Alemka Markotic, has reported on the first meeting of the EU scientific advice platform, which was held on Friday.

It was aggred that EU member states would exchange information on the pandemic and that the main focus would be on testing and reaching a consensus on the duration of quarantine and isolation, as well as on preparations for vaccination.

It was also agreed that they would exchange their experience with validating rapid antigen tests so that different EU countries would not validate the same tests.

"So far, there have been different experiences with those tests," Markotic said.

Next Friday, on November 20, another meeting of the EU platform will take place, and in the next two to three weeks a common position on testing should be established.

ZAGREB, November 15, 2020 - Croatian politician Anto Kovacevic, who was political prisoner in the Socialist Yugoslavia, died at the age of 68 from the consequences of COVID-19, his family reported on Sunday.

Kovacevic, born in 1952 in the northern village of Ada in Bosnia and Herzegovina, served 8.5 years in the prison in Zenica for his political opinions in the Communist-led Yugoslav Federation, and was declared by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience.

He was a member of the fourth parliament from 2000 to 2003 after Croatia gained independence.

Kovacevic stood in Croatia's presidential elections in 2005.

He used to be a member of the HKDU party and later of the Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starcevic.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Sunday sent a letter of condolences to the Kovacevic family, and wrote that Kovacevic would be remembered for his struggle for the Croatian cause.

ZAGREB, November 15, 2020 - Of 8,175 tests conducted for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, 29% of them, that is 2,365 have returned positive, Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Sunday.

There have been 43 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of the fatalities to 1,049.

Currently, 1,710 patients are receiving hospital treatment, and of them, 194 are placed on ventilators. There are now 16,929 active cases. 

In the last 24 hours, 2,483 people have recovered from this disease.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 84,209 people have been infected with the novel virus, and 66,231 have recovered.

To date, Croatia has conducted 619,532 tests for coronavirus.

Currently, 38,824 people are self-isolating.

November the 15th, 2020 - As the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to cause enormous issues for travel and tourism, several Croatian hotels have turned to ''hotel office'' offers. Two popular hotels here in the capital, Westin and the Sheraton Zagreb, have decided to dip their toes in such an offer.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, through active participation in the global programme of the world's largest hotel group, Marriott International, under whose brands the Westin and the Sheraton Zagreb operate, HUP Zagreb's hotels have joined the growing trend of supplying ''hotel offices''. Specifically, Westin and the Sheraton Zagreb offer two options, Stay Pass and Day Pass, as part of Marriott's "work anywhere" programme, as has been found out from HUP Zagreb.

The Stay Pass programme includes bed and breakfast in one of the rooms or suites, early check-in (06:00) and late check-out (18:00), free access to a small meeting room, a welcome coffee, tea or fresh organic juice, a private workspace (desk and chair), enhanced Wi-Fi and connectivity, as well as credit for consumption in restaurants and bars. Under this programme, guests also have free access to the pool, spa and fitness centre at the Westin.

Both of these Zagreb hotels also offer a Day Pass programme, they also offer packages which will cover several days, with free parking, use of the hotel's business centre, lunch and refreshing healthy juices and snacks throughout the day to boost immunity. The total price of the Day Pass package is HRK 560 for 1 day, HRK 1,400 for a three-day service and HRK 2,600 for a seven-day service, with the proviso that the Day Pass which covers several days doesn't need to be used continuously.

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ZAGREB, November 14, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Saturday that he would support the imposition of tighter restrictions if the current situation regarding the spread of coronavirus did not improve, however, there would be neither lockdown nor curfew.

Beros visited the city of Varazdin and the local hospital that is currently caring for 156 patients diagnosed with the coronavirus infection.

The minister held meetings with local authorities and admitted that the epidemiological situation in the north of the country was not good.

All that heightens the pressure on the healthcare system, and cooperation between the counties as well as at the level of the whole country is necessary, he added.

Considering new measures to suppress the virus, Bros said that he supported the activities aimed at tighter restrictions if the situation did not improve.

 "Another lockdown or curfew are out of question," he said adding that gatherings could be further restricted and working hours of some hospitality services could be changed.

Varazdin County Prefect Radimir Cacic said that currently this part of Croatia had the highest coronavirus numbers in Europe and that on average, about ten COVID patients were admitted to the Varazdin hospital on a daily basis.

ZAGREB, Nov 14, 2020 - Croatia has recorded 2,866 new coronavirus cases and 38 related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national COVID-19 response team reported on Saturday morning.

The number of active cases currently stands at 17,090. Of them, 1,655 are receiving hospital treatment, including 184 who are ventilators.

A total of 41,615 people are currently in self-isolation.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 81,844 people have been infected with the novel virus, 1,006 of them have died and 63,748 have recovered, including 2,484 in the last 24 hours.

To date, a total of 611,357 people have tested for coronavirus, including 9,614 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, Nov 13, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 3,059 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 43 related deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday.

The number of active cases now stands at 16,746, there are 1,620 COVID patients in hospitals, and 179 of them are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first coronavirus infection, a total of 78,978 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 968 of them have died and 61,264 have recovered, including 2,615 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 38,585 people in self-isolation.

To date, 601,743 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 9,417 in the last 24 hours.

The COVID-19 response team has introduced additional epidemiological restrictions for several communities in Split-Dalmatia County.

ZAGREB, November 13, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that Croatia would today again have more than 3,000 new coronavirus cases, appealing to citizens to comply with epidemiological measures so as to avoid the introduction of more restrictions and noting that the situation is currently under control.

"The current situation is definitely the most difficult since the onset of the epidemic and we all must behave in such a way to help reduce those high numbers as soon as possible," Plenkovic said at a government session.

He said that the measures adopted two weeks ago had significantly slowed down the spreading of the epidemic and that the situation in Croatia was not as bad as in some other countries but that it was serious.

In five counties epidemiological measures are in force that are stricter than those at the national level.

"If we want to avoid stricter measures, personal responsibility is crucial. We believe this can be achieved with joint effort, with measures currently in force and with responsible behavior," he said, calling for physical distancing, wearing of masks and social distancing, with less contact with friends and relatives and less unnecessary contact.

Sufficient hospital capacity, sufficient number of beds, ventilators

The situation is currently under control even though the number of hospitalised patients is growing, which is due to an increase in the number of infections of about ten days ago, but the increase has been slowing down. The health system is under strain but it is not on the verge of collapse, Plenkovic said.

He noted that in Zagreb's KB Dubrava hospital alone, there were more than 500 available beds.

The hospital has been converted into a COVID hospital.

"Even though tests cannot discover all new cases, the slowing down of the number of new hospitalisations confirms that the situation with the epidemic is not getting out of control in relation to the measures in force and the capacity of the health system," he said.