ZAGREB, October 16, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Friday that Croatia had a serious increase in new COVID-19 cases and called on citizens to act seriously otherwise the virus would control their lives.

"Today the number of new infections for the first time has exceeded one thousand. The virus is spreading to the health system, retirement homes and is a serious threat all around. It is high time we took matters into our own hands. If we give up on personal responsibility, the virus will control our lives," Beros said and called on the citizens to adhere to epidemiological measures.

The measures are not a punishment, the minister said, addressing the public together with Croatian Public Health Institute head Krunoslav Capak regarding the record high number of 1,131 new coronavirus infections in Croatia.

Over the past 24 hours, 117 patients have been admitted to hospital, and three people died yesterday, Beros said.

He said that the health system was still functioning.

"Our goal is not to shut down economy, but to find a way to coexist with the virus," the minister said.

Capak: Worrying increase in infections

Capak said that there was a serious and worrying increase in the number of new infections, although there were no particular hotspots.

"We call on the citizens to accept the measures we have adopted this week and to act responsibly because that is the only way we can stop the increase," Capak said.

He added that introducing new epidemiological measures was not being considered at the moment, as they were waiting for the recently adopted measures to take effect. However, there is still room to tighten the measures.

Arena hall and other facilities to be put into operation

Ivica Luksic from Zagreb's KB Dubrava hospital said that KB Dubrava was becoming increasingly filled with patients, while Zagreb's "Dr Fran Mihaljevic" infectious diseases hospital was filled to capacity, but the number of patients requiring intensive care had not increased significantly.

We are keeping things under control, but we as a society have to be serious and protect the health system, Luksic said.

According to Beros, the health system should be able to meet the needs, and he noted that there are 917 intensive care specialists and residents, 14,460 hospital beds, 800 ventilators and about 1,450 beds in intensive care units.

Plans are underway to put additional facilities, including the Arena hall in Zagreb, into operation if the number of COVID patients continues to grow.

"If the health system becomes overburdened, there will be problems with treating all patients," the minister said.

ZAGREB, October 16, 2020 - Of 5,693 tests performed in Croatia for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, a record high 1,131 returned positive, and one related death has been reported, according to a press release issued by the national coronavirus response team on Friday.

Currently, there are 4,233 active cases in the country and 505 of them are hospitalised, including 24 who are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 23,665 people have contracted the novel virus, 345 of them have died and 19,087 have recovered, including 459 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 17,242 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 385,072 people have been tested for coronavirus to date.

ZAGREB, Oct 15, 2020 - Austria has introduced partial warnings related to travel outside the country and as of Saturday, seven Croatian counties that have a favourable situation regarding Covid-19 will be exempt from warnings against travel, Croatia's Embassy in Vienna has said.

"The epidemiological developments in Croatia and Bulgaria allow us now to take a regional approach thus reducing travel restrictions for people in Austria," Foreign and European Affairs Minister Alexander Schallenberg said as carried by the embassy's press release.

The seven counties that are exempt from the travel warnings are Brod-Posavina, Istria, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Osijek-Baranja, Sibenik-Knin, Varazdin and Zadar counties.

The latest measure enters into force in the night between Friday and Saturday.

Anyone coming from regions or countries with partial travel cautions will still have to provide a negative test for SARS-CoV2 upon returning to Austria, the press release said.

Schallenberg added that it is still recommended that citizens do not travel unless it is necessary.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of October, 2020, the National Civil Protection Headquarters and those working in the profession will determine the so-called ''scoreboard'' or ''coronavirus traffic light'' as soon as possible, and as such bring clear numerical criteria for the four levels of severity of the spread of infection (green, yellow, orange and red), as well as a list of measures to follow when a particular level is reached.

The duration of self-isolation for contacts of infected persons will be equal to the duration of isolation for actual infected persons, ie it will be shortened from 14 down to 10 days, and sparks are still flying between politics and the profession over whether contacts of infected persons should be located and quarantined by epidemiologists, as they are also lacking the help they have been promised for months, or if it will be enough to transfer that obligation to the sick themselves.

This is part of the decision made yesterday after the number of infected in Croatia reached an unexpected 748 new cases, and as for coronavirus traffic lights, as Jutarnji list writes, the goal is, following the example of most EU countries, to adopt clear, numerical criteria for each ''colour of the epidemic'' and the measures that would follow if those criteria are met. The most commonly used criteria are the average number of infected people per 100,000 inhabitants over a period of 14 days, followed by mortality and the share of positives in the total number of individuals tested.

The profession is also busy discussing whether self-isolation measures should be shortened to 7 days, but it is considered that 7 days is still too little and that after 10 days the risk of the number of patients is acceptable, ie that most who get sick will develop coronavirus symptoms within a period of 10 days.

This was also discussed at yesterday's Croatian Government Scientific Council for Health, and it was said that it is crucial to monitor and isolate contacts, which obviously people cannot just be expected to do alone.

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ZAGREB, October 15, 2020 - Of 6,696 tests performed in Croatia for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, a record high 793 returned positive, and ten related deaths have been reported, according to a press release issued by the national coronavirus response team said on Thursday.

Currently there are 3,562 active cases in the country and 439 of them are hospitalised, including 26 who are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 22,534 people have contracted the novel virus, 344 of them have died and 18,628 have recovered, including 431 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 17,805 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 379,379 people have been tested for coronavirus to date.

On Wednesday, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis response team reported 748 new cases.

October 15, 2020 – Istria the only Coronavirus free region in Europe, is safe to visit this autumn

Travel information provided by Belgian Foreign Affairs authorities currently places the Croatian region of Istria as the most successful in Europe at curbing the spread of Coronavirus. The region stands alone in being coloured green on the Belgian governmental map. As things currently stand, it can confidently be referred to as Istria, the only Coronavirus free region in Europe.

The map is produced by Belgian authorities as a travel guide. Although it currently says Istria the only Coronavirus free region in Europe, the situation could change at any time. The travel advice and map are constantly updated.

The green colour allocation is the highest possible allocation on the map. It means that 'travel is possible - hygiene and social distancing rules still apply.' This is great news for those hoping to visit Istria during autumn.

The autumn season is particularly inviting to many fans of Istrian cuisine as it is the time of year in which fresh truffles can be taken from the county's forests. Anyone planning to this year join the hunt for truffles can now do so confidently as Istria the only Coronavirus free region in Europe.

On 6th October 2020, Total Croatia News's Donatella Pauković wrote about the county's excellent epidemiological situation in an article in which Boris Miletić, mayor of Pula said 'Istria is Again an Example to The Rest of Croatia!'

The head of Istria County's COVID-19 crisis management team, Dino Kozlevac, praised residents of Istria for their widespread respect of suggested hygiene measures. Explaining the county's good epidemiological situation, he said that residents of Istria have been wearing protective masks in closed spaces for three months, and it is those efforts that have created these positive results. While the awarding of the green status does not mean there is zero risk of Coronavirus being currently present in Istria, its lone standing within the continent does mean that Istria is right now the safest place you can travel to in Europe.

Istria was in the world headlines earlier this month when it was voted the world's best olive oil making region in the world, for the sixth year running. Today it may be famous as Istria the only Coronavirus free region in Europe, but it will always hold its title as one of Europe's best areas of gastronomy. As well as olive oil and truffles, Istria is internationally recognised as one of southern Europe's best wine growing regions. Istrian malvasia and teran are famous all over the world.

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ZAGREB, Oct 14, 2020 - Sixteen small border crossings between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina that have been closed since April in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus will be reopened on Thursday, Bosnia and Herzegovina's border police said on Wednesday.

After an agreement was reached between the two countries, small border crossings will be reopened to facilitate crossings for children who attend schools in Croatia and business and agricultural activities in cross-border regions.

"Border crossings will be opened to traffic as of 15 October 2020. Crossing the border will be conducted in accordance with the agreement and valid legislative regulations," Bosnia's border police informed.

Residents in the area around Tomislavgrad, Capljina and Ljubuski have protested on several occasions over the past month and called for small border crossings to be reopened so that their children attending schools in Croatia can cross the border more easily.

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ZAGREB, October 14, 2020 - A record number of 748 new coronavirus cases and four related deaths have been recorded in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Wednesday.

Currently there are 3,210 active cases in the country and 441 of them are hospitalised, including 27 who are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 21,741 people have contracted the novel virus, 334 of them have died and 18,197 have recovered, including 308 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 16,598 people are in self-isolation.

A total of 372,683 people have been tested for the coronavirus to date, including 6,448 in the last 24 hours.

The previous record number of daily infections was reported on October 8 when 542 cases were confirmed.

October 14, 2020 - The Croatian Institute of Public Health has published new recommendations for weddings in Croatia, which were announced on Tuesday. 

During the entire time spent in all areas, including arrival and departure, a physical distance of 1.5 meters is recommended. This rule does not have to apply among members of the same household or persons who are otherwise in close contact.

Each person at the wedding must have at least 4 square meters of space. In case there are more than 50 guests, Covid guards will also take part in weddings.

Records of all participants must be kept.

There must also be no standing places or high tables at weddings where only standing guests are possible.

Seats must be pre-marked and spaced one and a half meters apart, and there must be a distance of 3 meters between the tables. The maximum number of people at one table is eight.

The guests enter the space where the wedding is being held so that they do not linger or gather in groups and should immediately sit at their table. It is recommended that people from the same household sit at the same table, as well as that the seating arrangement does not change during the wedding.

Only newlyweds are allowed to dance

Only newlyweds and their parents or close family members are allowed to dance, and only at the beginning of the celebration. After that, dancing is not allowed.

You can read other measures for weddings in Croatia below:

https://www.scribd.com/document/479907241/Preporuke-svadbe-ver-3-11-10-2020

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ZAGREB, Oct 13, 2020 - In the last 24 hours 372 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia as well as three deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said on Tuesday.

The number of active cases is 2,774, including 424 hospitalised patients, 27 of whom are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was registered in Croatia, 20,993 persons have contracted the virus, 330 of whom have died, while 17,889 have recovered, including 307 in the last 24 hours.

Currently 15,912 persons are self-isolating.

To date 366,235 persons have been tested for coronavirus, including 5,259 in the last 24 hours.