As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of August, 2020, all major portals carried the news that nightclubs in Croatia are sources of the spread of the new coronavirus, as well as infection, although a lot of the data appears contradictory and in fact there is no absolute way in which to determine where the virus is coming from.

Deutsche Welle journalist Srecko Matic said that according to the Robert Koch Institute from Berlin, Germany, which monitors the coronavirus pandemic across Germany, 66 cases of infection with the new coronavirus have been imported from Croatia in the last month, N1 television reports.

"In recent days, the danger and fear of importing the new coronavirus has been growing, not only because many Germans have gone away on holiday, but also because certain workers are returning from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey. According to the Robert Koch Institute, most cases were imported from Kosovo, 608, followed by Turkey, 227, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia with 66.

However, Matic believes that there will be no change given the recommendations for travel and stay in Croatia from the German authorities.

"Croatia is doing well, better than in some German provinces where the number of cases has greatly increased. I doubt that stricter measures will be introduced, such as those for parts of Spain or the Bulgarian coast that are marked as risky areas to travel to,'' he stated

He added that all major portals have spread the news that nightclubs in Croatia are sources of infection, although a lot of the information, as stated, is contradictory at best and it remains impossible to determine the sources of outbreaks of this nature.

"It's not a good advertisement, but it won't affect anything. The Germans don't even have an alternative. Air traffic has collapsed, Spain and Turkey are too far away, and going to Croatia with fast highways is the simplest choice for them,'' he concluded.

For more on travel to, from and within Croatia during the coronavirus era, follow our dedicated section.

August 11, 2020 - COVID-19 in Croatia: Instructions for the operation of multiplex cinemas in shopping malls have been published on the Croatian National Institute of Public Health website. 

Index.hr reports that multiplexes in shopping malls can finally open their doors, five months after closing.

Cinestar announced that it would start operating on August 20.

There should be hand sanitizers at the entrance to the cinema and inside and a notice that hand sanitization is mandatory.

When it comes to cinema staff, they must measure their temperature every day before coming to work, and if it is higher than 37.2 degrees, they must not come to work. It is also recommended that visitors measure their temperature before arriving at the cinema.

The Croatian Institute of Public Health points out that the screening of films is possible only in halls that can meet conditions, such as maintaining a physical distance. Also, the number of people who can be in the room at the same time must be limited, and the organizer determines this number according to the size of the space and the type of event.

"In case of need for additional clarifications, the participants will request approval from the ministry in charge of culture, which will, if necessary, consult the Croatian Institute of Public Health. All events, as well as the planned number of participants, will depend on the current epidemiological situation," reads the recommendations of the CNIPH.

It is recommended that the distance between visitors is at least 1.5 meters between each seat, but also when entering, moving, and exiting. The exit of visitors should be organized so that they go out one by one, and those who are closest to the door come out first.

Organizers must keep records of visitors, and ticket sales are encouraged online to avoid physical contact.

Detailed recommendations of the CNIPH can be read in the document below.

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

ZAGREB, Aug 11, 2020 - There have been 91 new coronavirus cases in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the number of active cases stands at 619 and two more patients have died, the national COVID-19 response team said on Tuesday.

Among the active cases, 115 are hospitalised, including five who are on ventilators.

Since the start of the epidemic in Croatia in late February, 5,740 people have contracted the disease, and of that number 160 have died and 4,962 have recovered.

A total of 2,111 people are in self-isolation. To date, 130,688 people have been tested, including 1,309 in the last 24 hours.

August 10, 2020 - The HNS Executive Board has decided that the matches of the Croatian First League, the Second HNL, the Croatian Football Cup, and the youth competition will be played without the presence of spectators.

HNS announced on its website:

"At the proposal of the Competition Commission of the HNS and the Working Group for the Return of Football, the Executive Board of the Croatian Football Federation decided that the matches of the Croatian Telecom First League, Croatian Football Cup, Second Croatian Football League, First Croatian Junior Football League and First Croatian Football league for pioneers and cadets in the competition year 2020/21, will be played without spectators until further notice.

This decision builds on the decision made by the Executive Board on July 20, 2020, which determined that the end of the 2019/20 competition year will take place without the presence of spectators in stadiums, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The new season of the Croatian First League will be opened by Varazdin and Gorica, who will meet on August 14 at the NK Varazdin stadium."

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

ZAGREB, Aug 10, 2020 - In the last 24 hours, there have been 45 newly diagnosed coronavirus cases in Croatia, and currently, there are 585 active cases, the national COVID-19 crisis response team stated on Monday.

There are now 124 COVID patients in hospitals, including eight ones placed on ventilators. In the last 24 hours, one more patient, diagnosed with this disease, has died.

Since the first confirmed case of the infection on 25 February in Croatia, 5,649 persons have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and of the 158 have died, while 4,906 have recovered.

Currently, there are 2,057 people in self-isolation.

Since the outbreak of the infection, 129,379 tests have been performed for this disease, including 1,247 in the last 24 hours.

August 10, 2020 - Atletico Madrid has confirmed that one of the two players positive for coronavirus is Croatia national team player Sime Vrsaljko.

The other is Argentine Angel Correa, and both have no symptoms, reports Index.hr.

Atletico conducted regular testing of players and members of the professional staff on Saturday, and announced on Sunday that the two players were positive, but did not want to reveal their identities, which they did today. Tests were repeated yesterday and no other club member tested positive for coronavirus.

"The club doctors allowed the identities of the players to be revealed in order to break the speculations and it is about Angela Correa and Sime Vrsaljko. Correa is at home in self-isolation, as is Vrsaljko, who does not train with the first team anyway because he is recovering from an injury. We will monitor his condition especially since he developed antibodies a few months ago," the club said in an official statement.

Atletico was due to travel to Lisbon today, where they will play the Champions League quarterfinals against Leipzig on Thursday. However, the trip has been postponed until tomorrow, when the entire delegation of 93 members will leave for Portugal. Atletico's appearance in the quarterfinals is not in question yet.

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

Some very encouraging data indeed for the Croatian tourism sector, as almost 70 percent of the traffic achieved in the first nine days of August 2019 is achieved in the first nine days of this month. In August so far, there has been growth in arrivals from the markets of Germany, Croatia, Slovenia and Poland, reports the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ).

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 10th of August, 2020, according to the eVisitor system, in the first nine days of August 2020, a total of more than one million arrivals and 7.2 million overnight stays were realised in Croatia, which is about 70 percent of last year's result achieved in the same period. The highest number of overnight stays in the same period was also realised in Istria (1.7 million overnight stays), Kvarner (1.4 million overnight stays), Split-Dalmatia County (1.3 million overnight stays), Zadar (1.3 million overnight stays), Sibenik-Knin County (578,000 overnight stays), Dubrovnik-Neretva County (392,000 overnight stays) and Lika-Senj County (271,000 overnight stays).

"After an excellent July in which we achieved about 60 percent of last year's result, in August we're recording even better tourist trends and we're currently at about 70 percent of last year's result. The markets that reacted best are territorially closer markets for which Croatian destinations are easily accessible by road, such as Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. We've directed our promotional and information campaigns towards these markets throughout this time, communicating that Croatia is a safe and well-prepared tourist destination. In addition, with the increase in the number of airlines, tourist traffic in the southern parts of Dalmatia has intensified,'' said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Stanicic, adding that, for example, Dubrovnik and London are currently connected with 44 flights per week.

In the previous part of August, the highest number of tourist arrivals came from the German market, around 225,000 of them in total, which is an increase of 6 percent when compared to the same period last year. This is followed by the domestic market with 178,000 arrivals, marking an increase of 18 percent, the Slovenian market with 133,000 arrivals, an increase of 10 percent, and the Polish market, with 109,000 arrivals, an increase of 16 percent when compared to the same period last year.

Looking at the destinations, so far in August, most arrivals were realised in Rovinj, Porec, Medulin, Crikvenica, Umag, Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Pula and Novalja. They also say that during the last weekend (from August the 7th to the 9th), there were more than 323,000 arrivals and 2.3 million overnight stays recorded in Croatia, providing a much needed spring in the step of the Croatian tourism sector during these trying times.

For more on Croatian tourism in the coronavirus age, follow our dedicated travel section.

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ZAGREB, Aug 9, 2020 - In the past 24 hours there have been 61 new coronavirus cases in Croatia, bringing the total number of active cases to 586, the national coronavirus crisis response team said on Sunday.

Among the active cases are 121 hospitalised patients, including eight patients on ventilators. There have been no new deaths.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia reported its first case of the coronavirus infection, there have 5,604 cases of the infection, with 157 fatalities and 4,861 recoveries.

Currently, 2,008 people are in self-isolation. To date, a total of 128,132 people have been tested, including 727 in the past 24 hours, the response team said in a press release.

August the 9th, 2020 - The US Embassy in Croatia has stated that the advise now being given to American tourists is to ''reconsider travel to Croatia'' amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

As the US Embassy in Croatia has stated, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice to American citizens hoping to travel to the Republic of Croatia.

There have been numerous items added to the ''checklist'' for travel for US citizens for Croatia, which can be read by clicking the above link and by following the links provided within the US Embassy's webpage. A country information page is also available.

For more on travel to, from and within Croatia during the coronavirus era, follow our dedicated travel page.

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

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August 9, 2020 - Last year, there were 272 cruisers in Croatia - and thanks to COVID-19, only 15 have been recorded in the country in 2020. 

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that this time of year, our coastal cities typically feature swarms of tourists, and monster cruisers are parked in and around our ports, adding to the crowds and pushing the city's capacity to the brim.

However, it only took one coronavirus pandemic to change it all; and while there are tourists today, there are no cruisers in sight. 

There have been no cruise ship tourists in Croatia for months, as cruisers came to a halt in March. The Central Bureau of Statistics on Friday published data on foreign cruise ships in the first half of the year, stating that there have been no cruisers on the Croatian coast for months because the COVID-19 pandemic introduced measures to ban the entry of international cruises, which directly affected the number of foreign cruise ships in Croatian seaports in March and their absence in April, May and June 2020.

From January to June, six foreign cruisers sailed into Croatian seaports, making 15 trips  - five in January, seven in February and three in March. Last year, in the first half of the year, there were 54 cruisers in Croatian waters, which made 272 trips. There were 3737 passengers on cruisers in Croatian ports this year, and most of them, 2809, was in January. In total, these cruisers were in Croatia for 47 days. In the first half of last year, there were a total of 409,238 passengers on cruise ships, making 554 trip days, and most passengers were counted in June, or 162,000 of them.

The CBS states that due to the pandemic, from January to June this year, the number of foreign cruise ships in Croatian seaports decreased by 88.9 percent compared to the same period last year. In the first six months of this year, foreign cruise ships decreased by 94.5 percent, and the number of days spent on the Croatian Adriatic decreased by 91.5 percent compared to the same period in 2019. The number of passengers on these ships compared to in 2019 was lower by 99.1 percent.

Of the 15 cruises of foreign ships this year, 12 flew the flag of Malta, while the largest number of passengers, 2,690, arrived on ships flying the flag of Italy. The majority of these cruises this year, 73 percent of them, were realized in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, while the rest were in Istria County.

Some believe that Venice and Dubrovnik will not see a quick return of cruisers, as cruise companies suffer huge losses.

In the first quarter of this year alone, Carnival, the largest cruise company, had more than $4 billion in losses due to an 85 percent drop in revenue over the same period last year. Carnival has already borrowed more than six billion dollars and announced that it would sell four cruisers to cover its minuses and costs, which exceed $600 million a month.

The second quarter will not be easier for Carnival and other companies in the business. Some companies have announced they could re-arrange travel in mid-September, others cite November, though everything is still uncertain, as the coronavirus continues to spread. 

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

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