October the 26th, 2020 - The numbers have been rising in Croatia and the amount of newly infected people has surprised even experts in some cases. With major Croatian cities and their respective economies suffering at the hands of the new virus, it's difficult to imagine a place within the borders of this small country that the virus hasn't managed to penetrate - meet Crnac.

Many praise the beautiful Istrian peninsula for its management of the ongoing crisis, but very few even know about the small place in continental Croatia called Crnac, which has boasted zero infections since the very beginning of the pandemic.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, which penetrated Croatia's first lines of defense back in spring, Crnac, a small town nestled between Virovitica and Osijek in Eastern Croatia, hasn't had a single case of a person testing positive for the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. When it comes to answering the question of what is the secret of their success, Crnac's proud locals say that they respect all of the epidemiological measures, and it is to their advantage that everyone is mainly engaged in agriculture, so they're more or less always outdoors.

"You don't go to bigger cities so much for nights out. Masks are always worn in stores, disinfection is mandatory and young people follow the measures when they're at school,'' said Crnac local Bojan Stojcevic for Vijesti.hr.

As for Crnac's secret weapon, the so-called "magic potion against the coronavirus", they believe that because they are mainly engaged in agriculture, in the vast Slavonian fields, the virus would find it very difficult to spread from host to host. "Agriculture, as our ancestors say, is a factory under the open sky. Our family farms also spend their working hours outside. Maybe the secret is in that,'' said Mato Damjan, the mayor of Crnac.

Utility companies work appropriately and in line with the measures, there are no gatherings in front of shops and cafes, and during masses the measures are very much adhered to. The only ones who bring unrest to this small place and who have broken the rules are - those who come from outside of Crnac, even at a time when they had to have passes in order to enter.

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ZAGREB, Oct 26, 2020 - Croatia has registered 828 new cases of the coronavirus infection over the past 24 hours, and there have been 15 deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said on Monday.

The number of active cases in Croatia now stands at 10,919. There are 864 COVID patients in hospitals, and 65 are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of the coronavirus infection, 37,208 people have contracted coronavirus, 452 of them have died, and 25,837 have recovered, including 1,038 who have recovered in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 26,730 people in self-isolation.

To date, 449,541 people have been tested for coronavirus, 3,973 of whom in the last 24 hours.

Schools in Zagreb may switch to online classes

The head of the Zagreb City health department, Vjekoslav Jelec, said that 558 new cases of the coronavirus infection had been recorded in Zagreb in the past 24 hours.

Jelec underlined that the health system was under strain due to the fact that there was a large number of health workers who were infected or in self-isolation.

He also noted that switching to online classes was a possibility.

17-year-old girl, infected with COVID-19, dies in Split

A 17-year-old girl, who was positive for coronavirus, died in Split on Saturday.

According to unofficial sources, the girl, who suffered from asthma, became ill while at home with her parents. Even though she was quickly taken to a local clinic and then to the KBC Split hospital, the doctors were unable to save her.

A test confirmed that she was infected with coronavirus.

ZAGREB, October 25, 2020 - Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team on Sunday presented a new set of restrictions which include the maximum number of people at public gathering up to 50, and sports events will be held without spectators in the next 14 days.

Outlining the new restrictions, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, who is at the helm of the crisis management team, said that the tougher measures would go into force at midnight on Monday.

Their implementation will last 14 days, and after that the authorities are expected to decide whether they should be extended or changed.

According to the new measures, any contact within less than two metres in closed space and less than 1.5 metres outdoors should be avoided.

In attendance at wedding parties as well as at funerals no more than 30 persons can be present.

Other private gatherings are capped at 15 people, Bozinovic said.

All public gatherings and ceremonies can last until 22 hours.

The authorities have banned the sale of alcohol from midnight to 6am.

Wearing protective masks is compulsory outdoors when it is impossible to keep a distance.

Masks are mandatory during visits to graveyards and cemeteries.

Particular protocols are specified for plays and cultural programmes, film screenings in cinemas, religious rites, exhibitions in museums and similar events.

Workers with a high body temperature and problems in their respiratory systems are required not to go to work.

Also working from home, if possible, is recommended.

Bozinovic told the news conference that about a million kuna (€133,000) had so far been collected as fines for the failure to adhere to the restrictions. However, he says, the point is to make sure that all will comply with those measures.

Turning Zagreb's Arena into makeshift hospital, if necessary

Preparations are under way for turning  sports venues into makeshift hospitals, and Health Minister Vili Beros said today that there was a plan to adapt Zagreb's Arena hall to accommodate COVID patients with moderate symptoms who need hospital treatment.

It is possible to set up 1,000 beds in Arena, he said, admitting that " the essential challenge is the medical staff and the risk of overburdening them."

The number of active cases in Croatia stands at 11,144. There are 825 COVID patients in hospitals, and 58 are on ventilators, according to the latest data.

The head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), Krunoslav Capak, told the news conference that currently in Croatia, the coronavirus incidence rate is 389.9 persons per 100,000 inhabitants, which puts the country in the middle of the rankings in Europe, while the current reproduction number, or R value, for Covid-19 is 1,99 in our country, Capak said.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of October, 2020, Sanja Kurecic Filipovic, an epidemiologist from Zagreb and head of the Department for Monitoring Infectious Diseases, spoke about the situation with the spread of the new coronavirus and why Croatian epidemiologists have and will need to continue to alter the way in which they contact newly confirmed patients and their contacts.

She said that in Zagreb they have been waiting for days not only for the test results but also for the testing itself to take place, which isn't a sustainable way of doing things.

''We're working constantly all day and during the night. The capacity stands at 500 samples. That's an average,'' the epidemiologist told RTL.

She said that as a result of the ongoing situation, Croatian epidemiologists were forced to change their current way of contacting patients.

"It's very important to say that we as epidemiologists must change our strategy and the instructions we give people. An epidemiologist won't be able to contact every sick person within 24 hours. We're not going to be able to inform them in 24 hours, let alone talk to them in more detail about anything. We invite them to contact their chosen family doctors (general practitioners). People themselves became aware of the need to contact their contacts. As we're late with contacting patients, we're clearly also late with contacting their contacts,'' she explained.

"Apart from the basic measures, we need to understand the seriousness of this situation and nurture personal responsibility and solidarity. We need to get out of our comfort zones and influence each other. Only together can we defeat this,'' said epidemiologist Sanja Kurecic Filipovic when explaining the ongoing difficulties being faced by Croatian epidemiologists during this unprecedented crisis.

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ZAGREB, October 25, 2020 - Croatia has registered 2,421 new cases of the coronavirus infection over the past 24 hours, and eight people have died, the national COVID-19 reponse team said on Sunday.

The number of new infections is higher than yesterday, when the number of single-day COVID-19 cases exceeded 2,000 for the first time.

The number of active cases in Croatia stands at 11,144. There are 825 COVID patients in hospitals, and 58 are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, 36,380 people have contracted the novel virus, 437 have died, and 24,799 people have recovered, including 1,014 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 28,177 people in self-isolation. To date, 445,568 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 8,520 who have undergone testing in the last 24 hours.

October 25, 2020 - Due to the growing number of coronavirus cases in Croatia, the Croatian Headquarters announced new measures, which are in effect from midnight. 

Index.hr reports that due to the growing number of coronavirus cases in Croatia, the National Civil Protection Headquarters met today with the expert group of the Crisis Headquarters of the Ministry of Health to discuss new measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. 

"The Headquarters meeting lasted all morning. It included the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Finance, Labor and Social Welfare and Economy," said Davor Božinović.

Krunoslav Capak gave an overview of the situation. 

"The number of confirmed cases worldwide has grown to more than 43 million; there are a total of 155,000 deaths from the virus. In Croatia in the last 2 weeks we have an increase in numbers, today we have a record again, 2421 new cases. Croatia is not an island; some of our neighboring countries have a worse situation. Yesterday there were 1964 in Slovenia, 1265 in BiH, 757 in Serbia, more than 12,000 in the Czech Republic... The number of new cases is growing throughout Europe and the world. Lately, we have constantly been breaking records, so the incidence per 100,000 inhabitants is high, now it is 389.9. We are in the middle of the scale of European countries in this regard. I can't single out any particular foci; we have several microfoci. The virus is spreading. This is the second R-0 number since the beginning of the epidemic; it is now 1.99," Capak said.

After Capak, Minister of Health Vili Beroš spoke:

"The health care system and its potential overload is a challenge. Yesterday, 825 people were hospitalized, 153 were admitted, and 65 were discharged. We have 58 patients on a ventilator. And eight people died, bringing the total to 437. Every day we monitor the situation in the Dubrava Hospital, which is now the mainstay for the admission of patients. They have a total of 226 hospitalized, 26 more than yesterday, and 11 patients were discharged. In that sense, we are adjusting further; we have set priorities. Tonight is the meeting of the expert group of the crisis headquarters of the Ministry of Health," Beroš said.

"Now it is time that we will activate the previously existing plans and increase the accommodation capacity in KB Dubrava, and we have decided to mobilize the Arena as a tertiary center. We will do our best not to bypass other health needs. Everyone has a similar problem, how to respond to COVID, but also to provide the basic health care," said Beroš and added: "We all decide on the future together, alone."

"We have prepared a decision that will take effect tomorrow at midnight. Firstly, the decision on necessary epidemiological measures restricting gatherings. I want to emphasize that we are passing a measure that prescribes a strict measure of physical distance, avoiding close contact at a distance of at least 2 m indoors and 1.5 m outdoors," Božinović began and continued:

"Also, a ban on holding all public events and gatherings with more than 50 people is ordered. There can be a maximum of 30 people at weddings. At funerals, a maximum of 30 people. There may be a maximum of 15 people at other private ceremonies and gatherings. Sports competitions can only be held without spectators. Public events, gatherings, and ceremonies can last until 10 pm maximum, except for weddings, which can last until midnight. Gatherings and ceremonies in catering facilities may last no longer than the end of working hours, determined by the Headquarters' decision. We are introducing the obligation to submit notifications on holding public events, gatherings, and ceremonies with more than 30 people to the competent civil protection service, and the obligation to keep written records of participants in all events with more than 15 people. A ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages is introduced from midnight to 6 am. It will be mandatory to use face masks or medical masks outdoors when it is not possible to maintain physical distance, and it is mandatory to use masks when entering and staying in cemeteries," said Božinović.

"The necessary epidemiological measures that I have read are determined over a period of 14 days, and then we will assess whether they will be changed or extended. When it comes to the number of people at gatherings, they do not refer to professional art performances and programs, cinema screenings, religious ceremonies, exhibitions in museums, etc., because they are prescribed special protocols.

As far as workplaces are concerned, employers are obliged to prohibit the arrival of workers with fever and respiratory problems. It is recommended to reduce physical contact whenever possible, introduce work from home when possible, introduce sliding working hours, organize work in shifts and groups, and reduce physical meetings. Controlling the adherence to the recommendations and instructions of the CNIPH will be carried out by the officers of the Civil Protection Directorate, inspectors, police officers, and civil protection headquarters. If there is a milder epidemiological measure for a special decision for the area of ​​an individual unit of local and regional self-government, this decision will be applied, and local headquarters can only apply stricter measures than these," said Božinović.

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October 25, 2020 - The coronavirus permeated throughout the Croatian First League and disrupted the HNL schedule. This weekend, only two of the five games of the 9th round are being played, though the HNS commissioner claims that everything is under control.

"Obviously, we live in such a time that it had to happen," said Josip Brezni, adding: "So far, there is no reason to panic."

Gol.hr reports that five matches were postponed in the first two months of the new season because of COVID-19, and three more due to the European obligations of individual clubs.

"Thus, after the 9th round, only Varazdin and Sibenik will have the maximum number of games played. Dinamo, Slaven Belupo, Gorica and Istra will have one game behind, Osijek and Hajduk are two matches behind, and Rijeka and Lokomotiva are three," he said. 

As the Europa League continues in autumn, Rijeka could see even more delays.

"Even before the start of the Championship, we knew that if any of our clubs qualified for the group stage of Europe and postponed any match, as Rijeka postponed two due to the UEFA competition and now one due to the coronavirus, they could only make up games in the spring," says Brezni.

The regularity of the championship is not in question, for now.

"If we are possibly held back from the Headquarters or anything, and the situation worsens, resulting in further interruptions, of course, we will then adjust and possibly think about some next steps," Brezni points out.

Therefore, the HNL is deciding on possibly shortening the championship; however, the deadline for such a decision is strict.

"The last option for possibly changing the way this year's championship is played would be to play two more rounds in the spring part of the Championship."

Even if the situation worsens, Brezni does not see a realistic option for the HNL to be played in the same city, without spectators, and for the teams to be in a "bubble" modeled on the NBA or the Champions League final.

On Saturday, the Istrian headquarters received a recommendation to postpone all inter-county competitions, which would mean that Istra 1961 cannot play its HNL matches. 

The HNL commissioner commented:

"I personally think that there is really no reason for professional clubs to be restricted from playing matches. Eventually, it is realistic to think that the stadiums will be closed again and that we will play without spectators for most of the championship," he concluded. 

The worst situation is in Gorica, which has 13 infected players, followed by Osijek with seven coronavirus-positive players. Some postponed matches will start to be played next week.

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

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 24th of October, 2020, when it comes to buying real estate and other types of land, the beautiful Lika region, known as Croatia's green heart has become fashionable. There has been a huge interest in the last few months.

Would-be buyers are seeking out and purchasing old homes, demolished rural properties and construction land, business is continuing to run and paperwork is being sorted out. It isn't surprising, when the extremely low price of fertile agricultural land in the Lika region comes into play, which is offered at a price of just one to two kuna per square metre in some cases.

In addition to the availability cheap land, as well as houses for renovation that can be found for as little as twenty thousand euros, the increased interest in the Lika region was accelerated by the ongoing crisis, which led people to invest in the are and in the production of their own food.

It isn't only Dalmatians in the game, lately the people of Zagreb have been fleeing to the Lika region, to whom the devastating earthquake has brought additional fear. For a hundred thousand kuna, they can quickly become the owners of beautiful houses in the mountains, in solitude, for example on the stretch from Gospic to Karlobag, with an abundance of fertile soil and forest at hand.

"I think I'm the only man in the world who wants the coronavirus pandemic to go crazy for at least another five years. Because since it arrived, the business in my real estate agency, the only one left in Lika, has been booming. For some six to seven years, I've been recording an increased interest of Dalmatians in buying real estate or land in the area from Otocac to Gospic, literally across the whole of Lika. But in the last few coronavirus-dominated months in my agency alone, we've closed about eighty sales. Dalmatians are buying agricultural land en masse, they're attracted by the extremely low prices, and all locations are at stake. If I were to make a comparison, agricultural land is doing even better than houses and properties are,'' Ivan Bizanovic, the owner of the Lika nekretnine agency, the only one in the area, and vice-president of the Real Estate Association at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, told Slobodna Dalmacija.

In the Lika region, the first row to the river has an elevated status, much like the first row to the sea in Dalmatia has. Namely, there are no more such localities along the river Gacka, and if any are found for sale, they disappear in the blink of an eye. But even in the Gacka river's general vicinity, the price already ranges somewhere between 20 to 35 euros per square metre, with the price of construction land ranging from five to 25 euros.

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October 24, 2020 - As of Saturday, the city of Zagreb and four more Croatian counties are on Germany's red list. Namely, Karlovac, Osijek-Baranja, Varazdin, and Bjelovar-Bilogora counties. 

T.portal reports that other Croatian counties were on the list already. Thus, almost the entire territory of Croatia, with the exception of Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Zadar, and Sibenik-Knin counties, is a risk area.

Returnees from these areas are subject to 14 days of self-isolation after arriving in Germany and reporting to local health services. A negative coronavirus test excludes mandatory self-isolation.

Based on the recommendation of the Central Epidemiological Institute Robert Koch, the German government placed the whole of Poland and Switzerland, as well as almost all of Austria, with the exception of Carinthia, on the list of risk areas.

According to the latest list, almost all of Italy is a high-risk area, while the Canary Islands have been removed from the list.

At the same time, Denmark closed its border with Germany due to the increase in the number of new infections in Germany.

Merkel called on citizens to reduce contacts

In her regular Saturday video message, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated her call on citizens to reduce the number of personal contacts as much as possible and to adhere to hygienic measures and rules for wearing protective masks.

Police in Berlin today is intensively checking compliance with measures such as wearing masks in pedestrian zones and a ban on pouring and selling alcohol after 11 pm.

In recent days, Germany has seen a sharp rise in the number of new infections, which exceeded 11,000 on Thursday and Friday.

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ZAGREB, Oct 24, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday that the national COVID-19 crisis management team was preparing new restrictions which should go into effect as of Monday.

Plenkovic held a news conference in Government House on Saturday afternoon after a meeting of his cabinet on preparations of the national development strategy until 2030 and the national recovery and resilience plan.

He called on the Croatians to show full responsibility in efforts to combat the coronavirus infection.

The premier said that the national COVID-19 crisis management team was preparing the new measures, including the reduction of the number of people in public gatherings.

He recalls that people who are self-isolating are asked to working from home, and added that some more measures would be considered within plans to reduce the risk of infection at work.

Plenkovic informed the news conference of the efforts to prepare the  National Development Strategy 2030 and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

"I expect the document (strategy) to be put for public consultation in early November so as to take into consideration proposed improvements."

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan is a document necessary for the disbursement of the EU funds. That document will serve as a reform basis for the absorption of the funds in the next four years, he added.

This about 22 billion euros that can help boost Croatia's economy, the premier said, recalling that also funds from the EU have been ensured for the reconstruction of the quake-hit Zagreb and its environs.