As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 12th of November, 2020, more than 12,000 Croatian employers, employing around 60,000 workers, have so far applied for the Croatian Government's economic measures to preserve jobs, and those numbers are expected to grow, Labour Minister Josip Aladrovic said recently. Just how long can the Croatian economy survive with this ''tempo'' of coronavirus spread?

The Croatian Employment Service (CES) has so far received requests for the use of money from the government's package of measures, which is in force until the end of the year for, as stated, more than 60,000 workers and 12,000 employers, Aladrovic said after a cabinet session.

These figures refer to grants for the month of October, which will continue being received until the 25th of November. He added that he "expects an influx of requests according to the planned figures" and announced the probable continuation of aid measures until after the new year.

However, given the concerning epidemiological situation regarding the speed of coronavirus spread across the country, he expects that the number of beneficiaries of government measures will be slightly higher than expected and planned, but points out that enough money has been provided in the state budget revision and that it is estimated that a certain amount should be provided in next year's budget on top of that.

"In this way, the government will help employers and employees by the end of the year, and most likely after that, in order to preserve jobs," Aladrovic said.

"As things currently stand, we're quite convinced that next year we'll have to still have certain measures in place in order to protect employment and jobs," he added. He also noted that the measures of the government from March "preserved the labour market" and he expects that it will be the same in the future.

Asked how long Croatia can withstand this rate of coronavirus spread economically, Minister Josip Aladrovic answered that it can certainly endure the situation until the end of this year, and into the beginning of next year too.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 12th of November, 2020, the director of the Croatian Institute for Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, recently commented for U mrezi prvog on when the first vaccinations against the new coronavirus in Croatia would begin. Four million and 600 thousand doses of vaccine are set to arrive in the country. The most optimistic forecast is that the first doses of the brand new will arrive in December.

"We've got the first draft plan, but we still don't know when the vaccines will come. Croatia is being provided with a vaccine from three suppliers, and we'll continue on with other suppliers. For now, we will have enough for more than 50 percent of the population. We don't know which will be the first vaccine to be registered, the most likely one will be the one from Oxford's Astra Zenica. When they'll be ready - we don't know yet, but according to what we heard from them yesterday, it should be soon. That moment is now approaching,'' Krunoslav Capak assured.

He added that once the side effects are known, further elements for the plan will be known in order to best handle the next hurdle in the battle against the novel coronavirus - SARS-CoV-2.

"Pfizer's vaccine could be the first in the world. We will start vaccinating early, we will be among the first in the world to do so,'' added Krunoslav Capak.

''Those who will administer the coronavirus vaccinations will be general practitioners, pediatricians and staff at public health institutes. Rapid vaccination teams may also be organised for special sections of the population. We will first vaccinate the most vulnerable groups, older people, and people with commodities. It's very important to include the strategically important population - healthcare workers, workers in nursing homes and possibly the police and the army. But we'll know more about that only when we know how many vaccines we're going to get,'' said the first man of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, adding that they don't even know how long the vaccine will be valid for, ie how much the vaccine will be worth, as some vaccines are valid for a mere six months.

The vaccine against the novel coronavirus will be voluntary and free for strategic and vulnerable groups of people.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, November 12, 2020 - The COVID pandemic has affected Croatian-Russian economic relations, with trade dropping 21% in the first seven months of the year, and the focus should be on turning the trend around, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) said on Thursday in a press release on a Russian-Croatian banking forum.

In the first seven months of 2020, trade between the two countries totalled US$ 228 million, down 21% on the year. We must focus on turning the trend around and work together on returning to the volume of trade which used to exceed $2 billion, the online forum was told.

Banks must play a key role in that, said Josip Zaher, the HGK vice president for commerce and financial institutions.

Croatian Ambassador to Russia Tomislav Car said relations between the two countries were slowly becoming dynamic.

"Both the interstate and economic elements are looking forward, which is a message of encouragement to all of us. However, behind all that are people with their knowledge and ambitions," he said, adding that the embassy and the HGK's Moscow office were always at entrepreneurs' disposal.

Russian Ambassador to Croatia Andrey Nesterenko said all efforts must be focused on the normalisation of relations, with emphasis on banking.

In these difficult times it is very important to continue with activities and maintain continuity in relations. It is also important to learn from one another, exchange ideas and thus find new opportunities in this crisis, he said, announcing that the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation would meet soon.

The forum's main topic was banking in conditions of the coronavirus pandemic.

Zaher said commercial bank assets at the end of June totalled HRK 444.3 billion, up 4.4% from the end of 2019, while bank profits plunged 48% annually.

The forum was organised by the Association of Russian Banks and the HGK, with the support of the Russian and Moscow Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

ZAGREB, November 12, 2020 - The Croatian government on Thursday nominated Dr Alemka Markotic as a member of the European Union's future scientific advisory platform on COVID-19.

Markotic is the head of Zagreb's Fran Mihaljevic hospital for infectious diseases, a professor at the School of Medicine in Rijeka and a member of the national COVID-19 crisis management team.

The platform will soon be set up at the proposal of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The platform will include a group of respectable doctors and researchers from all EU member states whose task will be to ensure a better, faster and coordinated exchange of scientific data and expert opinions as well as practical experience at the EU level.

ZAGREB, November 12, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that Croatia was now at the most difficult stage of the coronavirus epidemic and called on citizens to abide by epidemiological rules to avoid the imposition of tougher restrictions.

Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered a record 3,082 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 32 related deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said in the morninmg.

The number of active cases in Croatia stands at 16,348, there are 1,598 COVID patients in hospitals, and 178 of them are on ventilators.

Since start of epidemic 75,922 have caught virus, 58,649 have recovered

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first coronavirus infection, a total of 75,922 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 925 of them have died, and 58,649 have recovered, including 2,215 in the last 24 hours. There are currently 35,690 people in self-isolation.

To date, 592,326 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 10,156 in the last 24 hours.

Commenting on the latest coronavirus numbers, the PM told the government that the country was passing through the hardest period of the epidemic.

"It is therefore important to call on every citizen to comply with the measures adopted by the national COVID-19 crisis management team. Those are serious and well-thought-out measureas which bring results."

He said that in the last seven days the number of new infections had risen by 5.5% compared to the previous week.

This indicates stagnation in the number of new infections and this is what we talked about when we said that the latest measures would decelerate the rise in new infections, the premier said.

However, we must be on high alert, primarily due to hospitalisation numbers and data on patients in intensive care wards, he said.

Plenkovic reiterated the necessary activities essential for efforts to curb the virus: keeping a physical distance, hand-washing, and regular airing of rooms, and he underscored that such measures were especially important at private gatherings.

1,213 COVID patients admitted to hospitals, 744 discharged in last 7 days

Health Minister Vili Beros did not attend today's meeting of the government as he underwent testing for the virus, and it was later stated that he was negative.

The health ministry's State Secretary, Zeljko Plazonic, told the government that in the last  seven days, 1,213 COVID patients had been admitted to hospitals, whereas 744 had been discharged.

Commenting on the incidence rate, Plazonic said that even though it was registering a mild increase in the number of active cases, Croatia had a rather low number of active cases compared to neighouring countries.

Commenting on the occurrence of the disease among medical professionals, he said that about 1,400 healthcare workers were now diagnosed with the infection, and an additional 913 were self-isolating.

The Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) has prepared a plan for the implementation of mass vaccination against coronavirus, which includes the monitoring of the process and detection of contraindications.

ZAGREB, November 12, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 3,082 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 32 related deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said on Thursday.

The number of active cases in Croatia stands at 16,348, there are 1,598 COVID patients in hospitals, and 178 of them are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first coronavirus infection, a total of 75,922 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 925 of them have died, and 58,649 have recovered, including 2,215 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 35,690 people in self-isolation.

To date, 592,326 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 10,156 in the last 24 hours.

November 12, 2020 - Great news for the Mali Losinj Tourist Board, which has been recognized for responsible tourism management during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

HRTurizamHRTurizam reports that the Responsible Tourism Partnership has been awarding the WTM Responsible Tourism Awards for years as part of the World Tourism Fair in London.

Among the prominent this year was the Mali Losinj Tourist Board for responding to the challenges caused by COVID-19.

Thus, the Mali Losinj Tourist Board received recognition, in cooperation with the City of Mali Losinj, the Epidemiological Service, and other stakeholders in the destination, for the protocol it devised in the event of COVID-19 infections.

The plan envisages a kind of "Insurance Policy," i.e., monetary compensation for renters of private accommodation and the guest's self-isolation costs, quick coordination of the authorities in case infection is suspected, as well as safe return to the home country.

Also, the award was given thanks to the unique FERRY FREE action in which everyone participated - from large tourism organizations to small renters. All guests who stayed on the island of Losinj for more than seven nights in commercial accommodation in September received a reduction in the final accommodation bill in the value of a return ferry ticket.

“Responsible tourism is what we do together in a destination to achieve a goal. The term 'sustainable' is too often used only in an abstract sense. Sustainability is an ambition, and responsibility requires us to show what we are doing to make tourism better and to be more transparent in what we achieve, together," said Dalibor Cvitkovic, director of the Mali Losinj Tourist Board.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the award ceremony was held online and maintained virtually for the first time in 40 years. The fair itself took place from November 9-11. Encouraged by the situation, the judges decided to commend the companies and destinations taking responsibility during COVID-19 and addressed the many challenges of this pandemic.

"The Mali Losinj Tourist Board is recognized as a driver of change that leads to making tourism more sustainable by taking responsibility for reducing the negative and increasing the positive effects of tourism," concludes Cvitkovic.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

November 11, 2020 - Croatia national team player Domagoj Vida played coronavirus-infected in the friendly match between Croatia and Turkey on Thursday evening, which ended 3:3.

On Thursday, we will find out what the further procedure is and whether this situation will affect the Nations League matches this Saturday against Sweden and Tuesday against Portugal.

We are transmitting the HNS press release in its entirety:

"Immediately after midnight local time in Istanbul, the Croatia national football team's medical service received the SARS-CoV-2 virus test results, among which was a positive result among the players.

After all the players and staff members were negative in the regular test for the match against Turkey on Monday, the regular test for the match against Sweden was done on Wednesday morning. HNS received the official test results after midnight local time, which showed that national team member Domagoj Vida is positive for coronavirus.

The Croatia national team's medical service received initial information at the end of halftime that there was one potentially positive result. This is a common test procedure, and a questionable result is retested to confirm the result.

At that time, coach Zlatko Dalic had already decided to substitute Vida. The national team's medical service isolated Vida according to all epidemiological measures until the confirmation of the test results.

Vida will spend the next few days in self-isolation in Istanbul following regulations.

All other national team members and staff members, who tested negative, will travel to Stockholm. It is taken into account that the national team complied with all epidemiological measures, following UEFA's Return to Play protocol.

In addition to Vida, one member of the HNS delegation was also positive, and was not in contact with national team members or staff members."

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, Nov 11, 2020 - The European Commission approved a contract with German pharmaceutical firm BioNTech and its US partner Pfizer on Wednesday, guaranteeing that the EU would receive 200 million doses of their experimental coronavirus vaccine and an additional 100 million dozes upon its verification.

Pfizer & BioNTech Group reported on Monday that their experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective based on initial trial results.

This prompted EC President  Ursula von der Leyen to tweet on Monday afternoon that the Commission would soon sign a contract with the Pfizer and BioNTech pharmaceutical groups for the procurement of 300 million doses of vaccine against Covid-19.

Following news that a COVID-19 vaccine would be available soon, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday evening that "Croatia will get a verified and certified coronavirus vaccine as soon as the EU gets it."

The agreement which the EC today signed with Pfizer & BioNTech Group is the fourth contract which the EC has signed on behalf of the European Union member states.

Von der Leyen was quoted as saying today: "In the wake of Monday's promising announcement by BioNTech and Pfizer on the prospects for their vaccine, I'm very happy to announce today's agreement with the European company BioNTech and Pfizer to purchase 300 million doses of the vaccine. With this fourth contract we are now consolidating an extremely solid vaccine candidate portfolio, most of them in the advanced trials phase. Once authorized, they will be quickly deployed and bring us closer to a sustainable solution of the pandemic."

Capak: COVID-19 vaccines booked for more than half of Croatia's population

"Croatia is making serious preparations for inoculating the population against coronavirus, and we have booked the doses of vaccines for more than 50% of our population," the head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), Krunoslav Capak, said on Wednesday.

He added that Croatia had previously concluded an agreement with AstraZeneca for 2.7 million doses.

Capak said he expected the first supplies to be delivered in the first quarter of 2021.

Croatia has also ordered 900,000 doses from Johnson&Johnson and concluded a contract with Pfizer for their vaccine.

"We have ordered a million doses, however, we do not know how the EU will distribute vaccines and how many doses will be given to us," Capak told a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday.

Vaccination against COVID-19 will be voluntary, and administering doses to vulnerable groups of citizens and to strategic groups of citizens will be free of charge, he said

Citizens aged above 65, patients with underlying conditions, medical professionals and workers in the welfare sector will have a priority in the inoculation schedule.

Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 2,597 new cases of coronavirus infection and 28 related deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said on Wednesday.

The number of active cases in Croatia stands at 15,513, there are 1,545 COVID patients in hospitals, and 178 of them are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first coronavirus infection, a total of 72,840 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 893 of them have died, and 56,434 have recovered, including 1,580 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 32,225 people in self-isolation.

To date, 582,170 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 9,681 in the last 24 hours.

 Capak said that currently, the number of new cases was rising at a weekly rate of four or five percent, after a jump of 80% to 110% on the week.

The percentage of coronavirus tests that have returned positive is 28%. The incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants is 772 over 14 days, which places Croatia among EU countries with the highest incidence rates.

The mortality rate per million inhabitants is 208, which puts Croatia in the middle of the EU ranking.

ZAGREB, Nov 11, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 2,597 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 28 related deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said on Wednesday.

The number of active cases in Croatia stands at 15,513, there are 1,545 COVID patients in hospitals, and 178 of them are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first coronavirus infection, a total of 72,840 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 893 of them have died, and 56,434 have recovered, including 1,580 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 32,225 people in self-isolation.

To date, 582,170 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 9,681 in the last 24 hours.