August the 25th, 2022 - Could Croatia reintroduce measures against the spread of coronavirus? Croatian Public Health Institute director Krunoslav Capak believes so, although with the much more extensive understanding of the virus we now have, those measures would be very mild.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Krunoslav Capak has stated that given the fact that we're now far better acquainted with the novel coronavirus, we know a little more about it and how it functions, although it always surprises us in some way, we can say that strict epidemiological measures such as lockdowns, closures, bans on gatherings etc, will probably no longer exist.''

He added that classic epidemiological measures are still being recommended, such as keeping a certain level of physical distance from others, wearing masks in places where there are more people, for example, when using public transport or going to concerts.

"The possibility of some measures coming back, however mild, exists", Capak said, before adding that is is what we have at our disposal - that is, social distancing and wearing a mask. If necessary, if the Croatian epidemiological situation worsens and if this measure proves to be effective, the Civil Protection Directorate will certainly resort to such a measure.

Capak also said that "we do now have quite a large number of patients" - for the last week, the average has been 790 per day among those who are confirmed to be positive for COVID-19 following a PCR test, and there are still about the same number of those who are positive for the virus on rapid antigen tests which can be done at home.

"Given that this is a mild variant of the disease, Omicron, and now we also have Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, which is an even milder but more contagious variant, we probably also have a lot of asymptomatic cases that we don't even know about,'' said Capak for HRT.

"If we judge ourselves by these PCR-positives, that is, those we report as sick, then we can say that this number is no longer growing, but stagnating, varying a little from day to day, but stagnating so that we think that we're only now at the peak of that BA.4-BA.5 wave," he said.

Low vaccination rate

Capak added that we are threatened with a new wave if a new mutation does develop.

Referring to the comment about the large number of deaths from or with the coronavirus even during this time in which a far milder variant is dominant, Capak said that with Omicron, we have about 700 PCR-positive and an average of 12 deaths per day, while at the peak of the Delta variant back in November of last year we had five to six thousand PCR-positive and an average of 52 deaths per day.

"This is a somewhat milder form of the disease," he said.

He pointed out that the Croatian population older than 60 years is much less vaccinated than in many other European countries, where the rate stands at more than 90 percent for people over 60 and 80 years old, while in this country it is between 70 and 80 percent for the same population.

The lack of reliability of tests performed at home

Answering a question about the reliability of antigen tests which can be performed at home, Krunoslav Capak said that the technique of taking the swab is very important, such as whether the swab is pushed deep enough into the nose to wipe the mucous membrane on which the virus is located.

“The home tests and the rapid antigen tests that we have now are also used in laboratories, so they are quite reliable, but they can't match PCR testing, which is 99 percent sensitive and reliable. So, PCR testing is still the golden rule and the gold standard in coronavirus diagnostics," said Capak.

Capak also said that at the moment, very few people in this country have been vaccinated with a fourth dose, while we have almost a million people who have been vaccinated with three doses, expressing the hope that they will also be vaccinated with the fourth.

For more on coronavirus in Croatia, make sure to check out our dedicated section.

ZAGREB, 24 August, 2022 - Croatia has registered 1,176 new cases of coronavirus infection and 17 related deaths in the past 24 hours, the national COVID response team said on Wednesday.

There are 6,335 active cases in the country, including 584 hospitalised patients, 20 of whom are on ventilators.

A total of 3,749 people are self-isolating.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Croatia on 25 February 2020, 1,208,529 cases of the infection have been registered, and 16,612 people have died as a consequence.

To date, 59.59% of the total population, or 70.86% of the adult population, have been vaccinated.

ZAGREB, 23 August, 2022 - Croatia has registered 720 new cases of coronavirus infection in the past 24 hours and 16 related deaths, the national COVID response team reported on Tuesday.

There are 5,515 active cases in the country, including 601 hospitalised patients, 20 of whom are on ventilators.

Since the outbreak of COVID in Croatia on 25 February 2020 to date, a total of 1,207,353 cases of the novel coronavirus have been registered, and 16,595 people have died as a consequence, while 1,185,243 people have recovered., including 726 recoveries in the past 24 hours.

There are currently 3,595 people self-isolating.

To date, 59.59% of the total population, or 70.86% of the adult population, have been vaccinated.

ZAGREB, 22 August, 2022 - Croatia has registered 46 new cases of coronavirus infection in the past 24 hours and eight related deaths, the national COVID response team reported on Monday.

There are 5,537 active cases in the country, including 603 hospitalised patients, 22 of whom are on ventilators.

Since the outbreak of COVID in Croatia on 25 February 2020 to date, a total of 1,206,633 cases of the novel coronavirus have been registered, and 16,579 people have died as a consequence, while 1,184,517 people have recovered., including 1,030 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 3,454 people in self-isolation.

To date, 59.59% of the total population, or 70.86% of the adult population, have been vaccinated.

August the 22nd, 2022 - The Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) has announced some changes regarding the coronavirus booster vaccine, dropping the age at which individuals can come and get another booster dose of the vaccine.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, on Friday last week, the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) lowered the age limit for people wanting to come and get a second booster dose against COVID-19, which is now being recommended for everyone over the age of sixty and especially in the case of immunocompromised or adults with other sorts of health issues.

In the amended Croatian Public Health Institute recommendations, the age limit for the second booster dose has been significantly lowered. In the previous recommendations from back in April, a second booster vaccination was advised only for those over 80 years old and those over 65 years old who are living in care homes. It's worth noting that the Croatian Public Health Institute says that the second booster dose is recommended at least four months after a person receives their first booster dose.

The Croatian Public Health Institute has emphasised that vaccination with a fourth coronavirus booster doesn't differ in any way from any of the earlier vaccinations against the novel coronavirus. For this purpose, an mRNA vaccine (Comirnaty or Spikevax) is being used, and additional/booster vaccination can be carried out at all locations and points where normal (first and second dose) vaccinations are being carried out.

In addition to all of the above, a second booster vaccination against COVID-19 is being recommended for people who have an increased risk of developing severe clinical pictures should they contract the virus, who were primarily vaccinated with the Janssen vaccine.

The Croatian Public Health Institute also noted that other people can also be vaccinated with a second booster dose should they so wish, especially if they have chronic diseases and an increased risk of developing severe clinical pictures, or if they need it for all sorts of administrative reasons.

For more on coronavirus in Croatia, make sure to check out our dedicated section.

ZAGREB, 21 August, 2022 -  In the last 24 hours, Croatia has conducted 2,384 coronavirus tests, and 27% of them, that is 639, have turned out to be positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Sunday.

There are currently 6,529 active cases, and of them, 587 are hospitalised patients, including 22 patients placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, 12 patients have succumbed to COVID-19, and Croatia's COVID-related death toll now stands at 16,571.

Since the first registered case of this infectious disease on 25 February 2020 in the country, the health authorities have diagnosed 1,206,587 cases while performing over 5.1 million tests.

So far, 1,183,487 have recovered, including 1,005 in the last 24 hours.

To date,  2,317,041 persons have received at least one shot against this infectious disease, and nearly 69% of adults have fully been vaccinated.

ZAGREB, 20 August, 2022 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has conducted 3,735 coronavirus tests, and 35% of them, that is 1,306, have turned out to be positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Saturday.

There are currently 6,907 active cases, and of them, 571 are hospitalised including 24 patients placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, seven patients have succumbed to COVID-19, and Croatia's COVID-related death toll now stands at 16,559.

Since the first registered case of this infectious disease in late February 2020 in the country, the health authorities have diagnosed 1,205, 948 cases while performing over 5.1 million tests.

So far,  2,317,041 persons have received at least a shot against this infectious disease, and nearly 69% of adults have fully been vaccinated.

ZAGREB, 19 Aug (Hina) - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has registered 1,025 cases of infection with coronavirus, and the disease has taken another seven lives, bringing the COVID-related death toll to 16,552, according to information provided by the national COVID-19 crisis management team on Friday.

There are currently 6,826  active cases, including 610 hospitalised patients, and of them, 28 are placed on ventilators.

So far, Croatia's health authorities have detected over 1.2 million cases of this infectious disease, and over 5.1 million tests have been performed, including 3,380 in the last 24 hours.

Regarding vaccination, 70.86% of adults in the country have been inoculated against coronavirus.

ZAGREB, 18 August, 2022 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has registered 1,874 cases of infection with coronavirus, and this disease has taken another 17 lives, bringing the COVID-related death toll to 16,545, according to information provided by the national COVID-19 crisis management team on Thursday.

There are currently 7,277 active cases, including 636 hospitalised patients, and of them, 31 are placed on ventilators.

So far, Croatia's health authorities have detected over 1.2 million cases of this infectious disease.

In the last 24 hours, 1,007 patients have recovered, and so far 1,179,795 recoveries have been registered.

When it comes to vaccination, 70.86% of adults in the country have been inoculated against coronavirus.

ZAGREB, 18 August, 2022 - The new school year starts on 5 September, and according to information Jutarnji List obtained from the education ministry, no COVID-19 protocols will be in place at the beginning of the school year.

At the beginning of the previous school year, students were required to measure their body temperature, and protective masks were obligatory. Such rules will not be applied at the start of the  2022-2023 school year, the JL newspaper wrote on Thursday.

However, some of the recommendations, which were complied with last April, will continue to be in effect. For instance, cleaning and airing of classrooms and other school facilities should be more frequent than usual.

When a student tests positive for coronavirus, they must isolate, while all other children, who are their close contacts, can go to school.