As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of August, 2020, Autumn is the traditional time of large fair exhibitions at the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebacki Velesajam), and when it comes to just what will happen with the numerous planned events due to the situation with the coronavirus pandemic, no one knows, not even those in charge.

Poslovni Dnevnik didn't receive a concrete answer to their inquiry about the Zagreb Fair's business plans due to the coronavirus drama, which could worsen in the autumn. Unofficially, it has been learned that something more precise will be known at the beginning of September, but that everything will depend on the epidemiological situation. For now, the Zagreb Fsir is obviously continuing according to plan.

For this year, as many as eleven fair events are planned. While most of them are intended for a small circle of people, some of them are mega-popular fair exhibitions that are also a kind of 'tradition' for the Zagreb Fair. Although the Zagreb Auto Show took first place for a long time, its one-time revival a few years ago, after a ong break, fell somewhat flat in comparison to past glory.

However, for years now, the Interliber book fair has been a regular and well-attended book fair, which has become a kind of social and cultural event of the year in Zagreb and in Croatia as a whole. As tickets aren't sold for this fair, it is difficult to estimate just exactly how many visitors there typically are, but the numbers go up to 150 thousand.

Specifically, last year, 300 exhibitors were presented during the six days of the book sales exhibition, and the Zagreb Fair estimates that more than 130,000 people visited Interliber. Interliber should take place from November the 10th to the 15th, and there is no information about its fate, and it seems that everything will depend on the epidemiological situation and the measures and recommendations of the National Civil Protection Headquarters.

Last year, 481 exhibitors from 28 countries exhibited at Ambienta, and the Zagreb Fair placed particular emphasis on the growth of business visitors by 15 percent when compared to 2018.

The first announced fair is the International Dental Fair Dentax which is announced for September the 24th. As this is a specialised fair which brings together a very narrow circle of professional visitors, its holding in accordance with very strict epidemiological measures might even be conceivable. For a slightly wider audience, the next beauty and hairstyles fair is “Beauty & Hair Expo Zagreb” which should last from the 25th to the 27th of September.

What follows is a popular exhibition of furniture, interior design and its accompanying industry, Ambienta, from the 14th to the 18th of October. Last year, 481 exhibitors from 28 countries exhibited at Ambienta, and it was visited by 21,259 visitors. Last year, the Zagreb Fair especially pointed out that they were happy with the growth of business visitors by 15 percent when compared to the year before. The Art Fair Zagreb art fair is also planned this year.

There should be several more fairs held at the Zagreb Fair before 2020 draws to a close. Additionally, three fairs for 2021 have already been announced.

Back in June, the Global Framework for the reopening of trade fairs and B2B events after the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic was presented, prepared by the Global Fair Industry Association (UFI), which states that after the blockade due to the crisis, trade fairs must only open under tightly controlled conditions.

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The situation with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is expected to worsen as autumn and winter approach and bring with them much colder weather. During the summer season, the entire Croatian health system worked at about fifty percent of its usual capacity, as it does every summer, because at that time there were few patients, nor were there doctors available for full-time work, so Croatian hospitals were not crowded.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of August, 2020, the preparations being undertaken by Croatian hospitals for the autumn ''meeting'' with a potentially more difficult situation with the new coronavirus were discussed at a recent meeting between Health Minister Vili Beros with the directors of numerous hospital institutions.

The summer season when the vast majority head to the Croatian coast en masse is always a more quiet time for hospitals and other health facilities across the country. However, the situation will soon change significantly, so a reminder of caution is necessary, Jutarnji list writes.

At the centre of the discussion yesterday were visits to children in hospital and parental dissatisfaction by limiting the meeting to just fifteen minutes, which has been a topic of heated debate and heightened emotions ever since the move was put into practice in an attempt to slow the rate of the spread of infection. The conclusion is that the health and safety of children being treated in hospitals must come first. The organisation of parental visits will depend on the capabilities of each individual hospital or health institution.

The Minister informed his colleagues that according to the European Commission's programme, another 250 respirators will arrive in Croatian hospitals soon, which means that the country would then have a total of 1,050 of them for those who have a dire clinical picture and require oxygen. Experts claim that this is a sufficient number if the situation with coronavirus in Croatia worsens.

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ZAGREB, Aug 19, 2020 - The head of the national COVID-19 response team, Davor Bozinovic, said on Wednesday that the regulation banning the work of night clubs after midnight would definitely be extended considering that most new cases of infection are young people who have visited night clubs, notably in central Dalmatia. 

"The ban will definitely be extended, we'll see if there is room for some modifications because there have been attempts to bypass the ban through restaurants and bars, which are allowed to work after midnight," he said, noting that inspectors would continue checking up on those establishments.

Croatia is not an unsafe country

"Of course Croatia is not an unsafe country in any segment of security," he said in a comment on Slovenian government spokesman Jelko Kacin's claim that Croatia is an unsafe country due to a surge in the number of new COVID-19 cases.

He said that it was a fact that the number of new infections in Croatia was growing but that Croatia was also one of the few countries whose tourism did exist in the current pandemic, with figures for July and August equalling up to 70 and 80% of last year's results.

"There is greater movement of people, people tend to relax when on holidays so the increase in new infections is not unexpected," he said.

He said that most of some 100,000 visiting Slovenians were staying in Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, and Lika-Senj counties, which together had ten new infections in the last 24 hours.

He said that those guests felt safe in Croatia. "In order to convince them to return home, as soon as possible, one is possibly fomenting tension but we are confident that tourism trade will continue and that visitors will continue coming from all the countries that have now started to call on their nationals to come back home."

Bozinovic noted that the epidemiological situation was good in regions where tourists were staying, except for a few counties in central Dalmatia.

Germany could put us on the red list as well

Asked if he believed it was a matter of days when Germany, too, would put Croatia on a list of unsafe countries, he said that it was possible.

"That is possible but I would like to say that they all know very well the situation in our counties, in tourist destinations, and I'm confident every country will have to make effort to explain its decision to its nationals because less than 1% of tourists staying here have become infected," said Bozinovic.

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ZAGREB, Aug 19, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Wednesday that Croatia's health system would be able to cope with a higher number of COVID-19 patients unless there was a "complete disaster" and that the number of tests carried out would increase in the coming period.

Commenting on today's daily high of 219 new COVID-19 cases, Beros said in an interview with N1 television that Croatia was increasing the number of tests because that was a good way to protect the health and social care systems.

We will definitely expand testing

"We will definitely increase the number of tests carried out in the coming period. Our strategy adapts to the moment. We are now slightly changing the strategy and it is definite that we will expand testing come autumn, which we are ready for," he said.

Health system needs to be more efficient

Beros noted that Croatia's health system needed to be more efficient and organised in a more rational way but that there would not be cuts in health care provision or testing.

Commenting on statements by Slovenian government spokesman Jelko Kacin that the situation in Croatia was dramatic, Beros said that Kacin was not familiar with the situation in Croatia's health system.

"It suffices to look at the total number of tourists who have been to Croatia this year and the number of infected persons and realise that the situation is far from alarming or dramatic," he said, adding that even now 80,000 Slovenian tourists feel safe in Croatia.

It is not good to portray the situation in Croatia as more dramatic than it is

It is legitimate to prevent the infection from spreading to your country, especially ahead of the start of the school year, but it is not good to portray the situation in Croatia as more dramatic than it really is, Beros underscored.

Up to Croatia to keep the situation under control, warn of high-risk situations

Asked whether it was possible that Germany would also put Croatia on its red list, he said that it was possible, but that it was up to Croatia to continue taking care of the number of cases of the infection, to warn about high-risk situations and detect hotspots.

It is important to stress that over a third of new cases are contacts of infected persons, the situation is under control, but it is not possible to say what will happen in the autumn, Beros said.

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ZAGREB, Aug 19, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Wednesday, in a comment on the tightening of measures by some countries towards their nationals returning from Croatia, that it was an act of political pressure to put the epidemiological situation under control, which, he said, was legitimate conduct.

"Based on my talks with fellow health ministers, I believe this is an act of political pressure by all those countries. The new school year is approaching, in some countries it will start sooner than in Croatia, and they want to put their epidemiological situation under control. That is fully legitimate and if you look back, we, too, acted that way towards our neighbours," Beros told reporters after a session of the inner Cabinet.

Experts to decide on masks in schools 

Beros said that he believed those countries would stick by their agenda despite Croatia's efforts.

We, too, are preparing for the school year, which begins somewhat later, as well as for the autumn, health-wise, he said.

As for the wearing of masks in schools, Beros repeated that experts would have a say on the matter and that the World Health Organisation (WHO), too, would present its position by the end of the month.

"I think that (masks) will not be necessary for the smallest children, but the solution for older children, notably in high schools, is yet to be defined. Experts should state their position, and the Science and Education Ministry task force has also been discussing the matter," he said.

Beros noted that the health system was preparing intensively for the autumn.

"The system has been operating in the conditions of the 'new normal', complying with certain epidemiological criteria, triage, and that slows down its work. But many institutions have been coping excellently and are making up for delays on waiting lists from before the coronavirus crisis, for example in Dubrovnik and Zagreb. I believe the system will continue to function appropriately and adapt to the epidemiological situation."

Apart from the fight against the coronavirus, Beros said other priorities for his department were the revitalisation of the Institute of Immunology, stepping up the project to build a national and university hospital for children's diseases, the establishment of an emergency medical helicopter service, preserving the functional efficiency of the health system and taking care of human potential, primarily in primary care.

Talks launched with the finance minister on the financial sustainability of the system

The minister said that talks had been launched with Finance Minister Zdravko Maric on the financial sustainability of the health system.

"Croatia sets aside 7.4% of its GDP for the health system. With €804 per capita annually it is very difficult to secure the existing level of healthcare, and the EU average is more than €3,000," said Beros.

In consultation with the Finance Ministry we are trying to find some elements that would enable the health system to be financially sustainable, Beros said, adding that increasing the price of supplementary health insurance was not an option at the moment.

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ZAGREB, Aug 19, 2020 - Croatia remains on Switzerland's list of countries safe to travel to, which is yet one more confirmation that countries consider Croatia to be a stable and safe tourist destination, Branimir Toncinic, an official of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ), said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the health ministry in Switzerland updated its list of high-risk countries which now include Albania, Andorra, Aruba, Belgium, Belize, Gibraltar, Guam, India, Malta, Monaco, Namibia and Spain.

Toncinic, who is the head of the HTZ Austria branch that also covers Switzerland, today provided information about the updated list, pointing out that Croatia was not demoted that list.

"Including Croatia on the list of safe countries to travel to on the Swiss market is an important confirmation that they consider us to be a stable and safe destination. However the final decision is not made only according to the epidemiological situation but also based on the economic interests of individual countries," HTZ director Kristjan Stanicic said. 

He added that it is still important to continue implementing epidemiological measures so that September and the post-season can generate tourism turnover from abroad.

HTZ informed that so far in August, tourists from Switzerland generated almost 140,000 bed nights, which is 82% of last year's turnover on the corresponding period in 2019, and since the beginning of the year there have been 510,000 bed nights generated by Swiss guests or 55% of last year's turnover.

Swiss tourists on the most part spend their vacation in Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, and Split-Dalmatia counties.

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ZAGREB, Aug 19, 2020 - In the last 24 hours, of 1,653 tests performed for coronavirus, 219 have returned positive, and currently Croatia has 1,520 active cases, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Wednesday.

Of those active cases, 122 are receiving hospital treatment, including 11 placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, there have been two more COVID-related deaths, bringing the death toll to 168.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the infection was confirmed in the country, a total of 7,074 people have contracted the disease, and of the 5,386 have recovered.

To date, 142,124 people have been tested for the virus.

Currently, 5,459 people are self-isolating.

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Updated on August 20, after the official decision by the Slovenian government was made public: in order to make things easier for their nationals currently vacationing in Croatia, Slovenia has decided to extend the deadline for the return to Slovenia until Monday. Slovenians who own real-estate and boats in Croatia are given an extra 48 hours, so they can take care of their property before leaving Croatia without self-isolating upon return. 

Brdo pri Kranju, 19 August, 2020 - Slovenia plans to put Croatia on red list of countries from which travellers must undergo a 14-day quarantine, reports STA, the Slovenian Press Agency.

Those already in Croatia have until the end of the week to avoid quarantine, those travelling there as of Friday will have to quarantine, government spokesman Jelko Kacin said on Wednesday.

The decision to red-list Croatia will formally be made at Thursday's cabinet session and published in the Official Gazette the same day.

"Fact is that the situation in Croatia is deteriorating dramatically. Data on infections show that the situation is really bad," Kacin said after the government meet epidemiologists to discuss the way forward.

He said Croatia was likely to today exceed 40 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in over a 14-day period, the threshold in Slovenia for putting countries on the red list.

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August 19, 2020 - After Austria and Italy put Croatia on the "red list", i.e., introduced mandatory COVID-19 testing for anyone returning from Croatia, Falkensteiner reacted proactively and introduced a free coronavirus test (PCR test) for guests inside its facilities two days ago. 

HRTurizam reports that this is a great move that especially benefits foreign tourists, who can now be tested in the safety of their accommodation. This avoids many questions, especially for families with children, such as: Where can I find a testing clinic? How do I get there? Is it safe? Is it crowded?, which is further emphasized in a crisis situation.

“In order to facilitate the return of our guests from those two countries, we decided to donate COVID-19 tests, and in cooperation with the Institute of Public Health, organized daily visits to the resort to take samples on the spot, so guests do not have to go to the Zadar Institute," Falkensteiner pointed out.

For those guests who do not want to be tested in the hotel, i.e., in Croatia, Falkensteiner has provided a discount of 50 EUR per person, so that guests can be tested in their countries, and thus covers the cost of testing. 

Measures in Falkensteiner hotels in four languages

Falkensteiner's reaction to the COVID crisis and the preparations before the hotel opened should also be highlighted. For the needs of the guests, through a video and website (in four languages: Croatian, German, English and Italian), they explained all the procedures, gave answers to key questions and epidemiological measures they took to make guests feel safe. All information can be found HERE.

Falkensteiner should be used as an example for all as an excellent case study of crisis communication, i.e., making crisis decisions in hotel management. If Falkensteiner only looked at the profit, because the cost of testing is certainly an unplanned cost, they might have earned a few thousand euros more this season. However, with this decision, they have definitely profited in the long run. This is not a cost, but an investment and, logically, a human reaction. 

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August 19, 2020 - Dinamo Zagreb released a statement Wednesday morning that one player tested positive for coronavirus, but did not reveal the identity of the player.

We have transmitted the club's press release in its entirety below:

"We hereby inform the public that one player from the GNK Dinamo system is positive for COVID-19. Pursuant to the Personal Data Protection Act (GDPR), we cannot disclose the identity of a person positive for the coronavirus.

The player who had symptoms immediately informed the GNK Dinamo medical service about his condition, which informed the competent epidemiological service about the situation in accordance with all prescribed measures. Today, the player received a positive result and was given a measure of strict self-isolation, in accordance with the recommendations of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia and the working group of the Croatian Football Federation.

According to the assessment of the medical service of the club and the epidemiological service at this time, there is no need for self-isolation of other players or members of the professional staff, given that the infected player was not in close contact with other people indoors, within the confines of the stadium.

Clubs participating in the UEFA competition are required to perform COVID-19 tests before each match in accordance with all prescribed measures, twice before the match. All members of the first team will be tested on COVID-19 on Thursday, August 20, and a few days later, the second test will be done.

GNK Dinamo will carry out intensified supervision in the coming days and will closely monitor the situation within the club in order to protect the players, the professional staff and all employees."

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