ZAGREB, 23 Dec 2021 - The president of the Bridge party, Božo Petrov, said on Thursday that the party had collected a sufficient number of signatures for their referendum petition against COVID certificates.

When this Opposition party started collecting signatures, the Justice and Public Administration Ministry established that the minimum required number should be 368,446 valid signatures, that is 10% of voters in electoral rolls.

Petrov told a news conference that the party would deliver boxes with the signatures to the national parliament on 24 January.

We will deliver the valid and authentic signatures on 24 January, said Bridge's MP Marin Miletić.

MP Marija Selak Raspudić said that she expected the referendum to be called.

This opposition party started collecting signatures on 4  December at over 1,200 venues across Croatia, and the two-week deadline for the initiative expired at midnight on 18 December.

In the event that the referendum petition was supported by the required number of signatures, the questions proposed for the referendum could be assessed by the Constitutional Court.

The Bridge party collected signatures for their two referendum petitions: one of them being for the transfer of the powers of the national COVID-19 crisis management team to the parliament, where all the pertaining decisions on the COVID crisis management should be approved by two thirds, and the other one on the abolishment of COVID certificates.

ZAGREB, 23 Dec 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 11,232 coronavirus tests conducted in Croatia, 34% (3,831) have turned out to be positive, and another 53 COVID-19 patients have died, raising the COVID-related death toll to 12,179, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

There are currently 22,461 active cases, including 1,981 hospitalised COVID patients, and of them, 266 are placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the infection with the novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, 686,590 people have been diagnosed with this infectious disease, and of them 651,995 have recovered, including 3,102 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

In Croatia, 55.42% of the total population or 66.05% of adults have been given at least one shot of vaccine against this infection. As many as 62.21% of adults have fully been vaccinated.

ZAGREB, 22 December, 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 4,226 new coronavirus cases and another 36 infected people died as a consequence of this infectious disease, the national COVID response team reported on Wednesday.

There are currently 21,740 active cases in Croatia including 2,066 hospitalised COVID patients, with 266 of them placed on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020 when the first case of the infection with the novel virus was registered in Croatia, there have been 682,759 cases of the contagion registered and 12,126 infected people have died while a total of 648,893 have recovered including 1,927 in the past 24 hours.

Currently, 19,790 people are self-isolating.

A total of 3,669,665 tests have been conducted in Croatia since the outbreak of the pandemic, including 12,132 in the past 24 hours.

As of Tuesday, a total of 4,597,346 doses of vaccines had been administered with 55.37% of the population having received at least one dose or 65.66% of the total population.

A total of 2,246,948 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 2,104,673 are fully vaccinated, making up 61.98% of the adult population.

ZAGREB, 21 December, 2021 - Constitutional Court president Miroslav Šeparović said on Tuesday that in future the national COVID-19 crisis management team would have to explain its every decision in detail, and that the court's decisions applied to everyone, including the head of state.

Speaking to the press after the court ruled that the pandemic protocols are legitimate, Šeparović said the court delivered several decisions, primarily regarding the law protecting the population from infectious diseases.

He said the national crisis management team would have to explain its next decision already so that those to whom it applied and the public knew why it was made.

According to Šeparović, that will make it easier for the court to decide in future if the protocols are appropriate. "We have the authority to request that and that's not contentious." 

As for the constitutionality of COVID certificates, Šeparović said they were based on the law and aimed at protecting people's health, notably of those who are most vulnerable.

"The measure is reasonable, it's based on expert and scientific papers. Therefore there is no discrimination," said Šeparović.

The Constitutional Court found that mandatory vaccination can be introduced only by law in parliament, which the court would then assess.

Šeparović said that in making its latest decisions, the court referred to Council of Europe recommendations on banning vaccination-based discrimination. "We also relied on the decisions of the German Constitutional Court, the best constitutional court in the world, which decided that curfews are not good, nor are bans on attending school."

Responding to a question, he said the government had until 24 December to provide the court with its explanation on the testing mandate in the public sector.

As for President Zoran Milanović's accusations against the Constitutional Court and prejudging of its decision on a referendum against COVID certificates, Šeparović said he would rather not comment on statements from politicians and state officials.

"Such statements have no influence whatsoever on the decisions of the Constitutional Court, which is independent and whose decisions are mandatory for everyone, including President Milanović."

ZAGREB, 21 December, 2021 - The Croatian Medical Chamber (HLK) leader, Krešimir Luetić, said on Tuesday that Ronapreve, a medicine used for treating COVID-19 in adults, had arrived in Croatia on Monday, and that the drug would be used in acute cases.

It will certainly help some people diagnosed with this infectious disease, however, it will not heal everyone who is infected, the doctor warned.

"Medication against COVID is for acute patients and we have a relatively small amount of the medicine in Croatia," Luetić told reporters after the first 1,800 doses of Ronapreve were shipped to Croatia.

Speaking at the opening of a post-COVID clinic in east Zagreb, Luetić said that the medication is intended for patients who could develop severe symptoms of the COVID infection.

"The medicine will certainly help some patients but it won't heal everyone who is infected," said Luetić urging citizens to get vaccinated.

The European Medicines Agency approved Ronapreve in November. The medicine can only be obtained with a prescription and should be given in healthcare facilities where patients can be adequately monitored and managed in case they develop severe allergic reactions.

The lower vaccination rate, the higher mortality rate

Luetić commented on the high COVID-19 fatality rate in Croatia, which has one of the highest COVID-related mortality rates among European countries.

"One of the reasons is a relatively low level of vaccination and relatively mild measures over the past year in Croatia," he said, elaborating that a level of inoculation in a country has direct impact on a share of patients in serious conditions and on death outcome.

ZAGREB, 21 December, 2021 - The Constitutional Court decided on Tuesday the pandemic protocols are legitimate, rejecting motions to assess the constitutionality of the powers of the national COVID-19 crisis management team, the COVID certificate mandate, and the testing mandate for healthcare and social welfare staff.

The decisions were made by a majority vote, with three dissenting opinions.

The court once again gave legitimacy to all COVID protocols and said that the crisis management team has the duty, based on available scientific information at the time it makes or amends regulations, to adopt a protocol which it assesses is the least restrictive one the one hand, while effectively protecting public health from COVID on the other.

The court said that in future it expects the team to explain the protocols so that those to whom they apply know the reasons for their adoption and that the protocols meet the constitutional principle of proportionality.

Regarding the supervision of the crisis management team, the court reiterated that the team acts under direct supervision of the government which, under the constitution, answers to parliament, and that it is up to parliament to decide to which extent it will use its authority to oversee the work of the government.

The court said it rejected a motion to assess if the government's decision to establish a national system for the issue of EU digital COVID certificates was in line with the constitution and the law because the appellant contested only the part of the decision which envisages that, at national level, they can be used also for other purposes in line with crisis management team decisions based on the law protecting the population from infectious diseases.

The court said this does not mean that the government overstepped its powers and obligations in applying the relevant EU regulation, and found that the crisis management team has envisaged the use of the certificates in a number of its decisions.

Testing mandate in healthcare and social welfare legitimate 

Rejecting a motion concerning the mandatory testing of all healthcare and social welfare staff at least twice a week, the court said the goal is to protect the health and lives of patients and care home residents by minimising the risk of infecting them as well as the health and lives of the staff.

The Constitutional Court said scientific research and the experience gained during the epidemic show that the likelihood of infection and spread of coronavirus among people who have been vaccinated or have recovered is markedly lower than among the unvaccinated.

Therefore, the court said, the testing mandate for healthcare and social welfare staff is not arbitrary but based on scientific and expert papers.

Testing quick and painless

The court said the crisis management team adopted a protocol which is appropriate, necessary and proportionate to the goal and which is not an excessive burden on those to whom it applies.

It added that testing is suitable for early detection of the virus, that the procedure is quick and painless, while the results are known quickly, and that employees can choose between free vaccination and testing at the employer's expense.

The court evidently dismissed as unfounded complaints stating that the state has the duty to inform citizens that vaccination is voluntary and that no one can be exposed to political, social or other pressure to be vaccinated if they don't want to, as well as a complaint stating that the contested decisions actually make vaccination mandatory.

The court said the appellants did not show that individuals are treated differently based on their vaccination status or that those unvaccinated are in an unfavourable position in relation to those who have been. COVID certificates can be obtained also based on testing or recovery from the disease, the court added.

The court said vaccination could be made mandatory only by law, not by crisis management team decisions.

It found that the demand for the obligatory testing of people who have not been vaccinated or recovered from COVID is objective and reasonable, that it has a legitimate goal and is proportionate given that there is a just balance between the interests of the community and respect for individual rights and liberties.

As for complaints that banning employees from staying on their employer's premises restricts their right to work if they refuse testing or producing a COVID certificate, the court said this is regulated by labour law and regulations on public and government service.

Regarding complaints that healthcare and social welfare workers are in an unequal position in relation to other workers because the testing mandate applies to them only, the Constitutional Court found that, given the deterioration of the epidemiological situation, it was necessary to establish a protocol to reduce the risk of healthcare and social welfare workers infecting people whose lives and health are fragile.

It is therefore legitimate to require testing or proof of vaccination or recovery because that impacts the sustainability of the healthcare and social welfare systems, the court added.

Decision on testing in public sector to be made later

The court said it will decide on the constitutionality of mandatory testing in the public and government sectors later on after receiving the government's position on the matter.

ZAGREB, 21 Dec 2021 - Croatia has registered 2,803 new coronavirus cases and 47 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Tuesday.

Currently, there are 19,477 active cases in the country. Among them are 2,148 infected persons receiving hospital treatment and 263 of them are on ventilators.

A total of 18,665 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first infection with the SARS CoV-2 virus was confirmed in the country, 678,533 people have been registered as having contracted the new virus, of whom 12,090 have died.

A total of 646,966 people have recovered, including 2,849 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 3,657,533 persons have been tested to date, including 9,771 in the last 24 hours.

As of Monday, 4,570,488 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 55.31 per cent of the total population, or 65.93 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,244,758 people have received at least one dose and 2,097,112 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 61.77 per cent of the adult population.

December 21, 2021 - Mayor Tomislav Tomašević and his associates opened a separate post-COVID polyclinic of the Special Hospital for Lung Diseases in front of the Health Center Zagreb - East. He also referred to the new cable car and epidemiological measures for the New Year celebrations in a subsequent press conference.

Announced a few months ago and finally opened today by Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević, the new polyclinic will focus on providing treatment to patients who have recovered from COVID and have physiological sequelae from contracting the virus, Večernji List reports.

''As more than a few hundred thousand people in Croatia have already contracted COVID, there is a need to treat people who feel the consequences of this infection. Most people in Zagreb had COVID, so I welcome the City's move and the efforts to open this clinic'', says Krešimir Luetić, President of the Croatian Medical Chamber. ''Not only is Zagreb struggling with treatment, but also with the rehabilitation of people facing the infection'', Tomislav Tomašević said.

''This is just one of the steps we will take to take care of these patients. The facility has handled more than 2,500 post COVID patients, an incredible number. I thank all the health workers who made superhuman efforts and I hope that we will finally welcome the end of this pandemic'', said the mayor. ''The polyclinic has already started working and treats about ten patients a day, and specialist diagnostics will soon start, which will treat about twenty patients a day'', added Luetić.

"These are mostly patients with lung problems, but there are also those with cardiovascular problems," he said. Asked why Croatia is at the top of the list of seriously ill and mortal, Luetić said that the most likely reason was the low vaccination rate. He also called on the citizens to get vaccinated and receive a booster dose.

''The medicine we are talking about is intended for the acutely ill. He will certainly help some of the sick, but it is not the way we will be able to cure all the infected'', says Luetić. A regular press conference followed. Asked about putting the cable car into operation, Tomašević said the legal framework was changing to obtain the necessary permits.

''If it's January, it'll be fine. The sooner it opens, the better for the City’s revenue. As far as ticket prices are concerned, we have elected a new president of the ZET board, and we will inform the public about the prices and the system soon'', he stated. Tomislav Tomašević was also asked about New Year's Eve as it will be, probably on Jelačić Square, where he will be able to do a certain part with COVID certificates. The program is nearing completion, and will soon be released.

''It will be, I believe, extended shortly after midnight. It depends on the measures of the Headquarters'', he said.

For more on politics, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more on COVID-19, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 21 December, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that he wanted signatures for a referendum on COVID passes to be checked transparently.

Plenković said this in response to the statement by President Zoran Milanović that the government would most likely try to declare some of the signatures invalid and thus rob the MOST party, which initiated signature collection.

Commenting on Milanović's statement after a ceremony marking the 145th anniversary of the existence of the Croatian Fire Service, Plenković wondered how Milanović knew whether MOST had collected enough signatures for a referendum, ironically adding that the President must be "a clairvoyant".

Plenković called on the MOST party to present the signatures and show whether they had collected enough of them. He said he wanted the signatures to be checked "in the most transparent way possible."

MOST MP Nikola Grmoja announced on Sunday that the party had collected enough signatures, saying that the results of the signature collection campaign would be presented on Wednesday.

Grmoja, however, stopped short of specifying the number of collected signatures, and in his statement to Hina on Sunday evening, he said that they were still gathering data and information from local teams that had collected signatures in the last 14 days. For a referendum campaign to be successful, its organisers must collect the signatures of 10% of the electorate, or 368,446 signatures.

If the referendum petition is supported by the required number of signatures, the proposed referendum questions may also be tested by the Constitutional Court.

Raspudić and Milanović are twins

Asked to comment on the statement by MOST MP Nino Raspudić that the timing of the Constitutional Court session was connected with the information that they had collected a sufficient number of signatures for the referendum, Plenković said he did not know what Raspudić was talking about.

"Raspudić and Milanović are twins. I guess anyone who hasn't realised that before can see it now. This is a case of symbiosis. We can hardly speak about two persons here, they are one person. Does the Constitutional Court schedule its sessions taking into account other events? I doubt it," the prime minister said.

He said that the government would submit its opinion on the mandatory use of COVID passes to the Constitutional Court as soon as it was prepared.

Two-frame operation

Asked to comment on Milanović's claims that regardless of the Constitutional Court's ruling on digital COVID passes, Plenković wondered how the president could have attended the ceremony marking the 145th anniversary of the Croatian Fire Service if he had not produced the certificate.

In his ironic comment, Plenković went on to say that "we as thieves and traitors abide by regulations and show certificates on our full vaccination, and he does not."

He added that Milanović's accusations against the best Croatian diplomats, his baffling statements about the euro adoption and his accusations against the government and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) only exposed problems with "south winds, common sense and the contribution to the Croatian general public and interests".

 "It is only a parasitic activity," said Plenković.

That activity consists of two frames, and in one of them political actors keep claiming that the HDZ is a thieving, corrupt and criminal organisation, which is the basic claim of all who have the problem with the HDZ approval ratings, and in the other frame, profiteers and parasites on the deaths of Croatian citizens are making a charade of COVID certificates, said the PM.

Those claims are perpetuated by their mouthpieces in the media and they try to push that on the front burner, Plenković said.

As for the opposition to COVID passes, Plenković noted that in all EU member states, there are those who are making a charade of the topic of COVID certificates.

"Those profiteers now even claim that the government will be toppled. However, the government is in good shape and alive, and according to the Croatian National Bank's(HNB) forecasts, the Croatian economy will grow at a rate of 11%. Has the government been toppled? Of course not. Do they have enough signatures? I do not know. Is this a politically orchestrated charade with the sole purpose of destabilising the HDZ and the parliamentary majority? Yes, it is," Plenković said, adding that those who are making this charade do not care about other citizens.

As for Milanović's speech at the ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the Croatian National Bank, Plenković said that what the president had said there was "gibberish".

"He attended the ceremony, talking gibberish, so that no one can say whether he is in favour of or against the adoption of the euro... If you are in favour, say it clearly, if you are against, say it clearly, just be brave and say what you think," Plenković said referring to Milanović's speech.

ZAGREB, 21 December, 2021 - The head of Zagreb's "Dr Fran Mihaljević" hospital for infectious diseases, Alemka Markotić, said on Monday that the first SARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus had been isolated in Croatia, which would enable new neutralisation tests and was important for international cooperation.

"Dr Željka Mačak Šafranko has isolated the first Omicron virus in Croatia. That will enable new neutralisation tests and is exceptionally important for us and for international cooperation," Markotić said in an interview with the HRT public broadcaster.

She reported that the hospital was full of COVID patients and that the pressure on intensive care units was not abating either.

Commenting on the delivery of 1,800 doses of a COVID-19 medicine in Croatia, Markotić stressed that the medicine was a combination of two monoclonal antibodies that neutralise the spike protein, preventing the virus to multiply and spread. The medicine can be administered as a treatment drug, in a single dose, or preventively, to persons who do not require oxygen but are at high risk of severe COVID-19.

Markotić said the medicine was an expensive drug that had shown good results in the testing phase and that she believed it could be effective also in the case of infection with the Delta variant.

As for the Omicron variant, she said that unfortunately the medicine did not have a more significant effect and stressed that vaccination was still the best prevention.

"Preliminary findings show that a third, booster dose protects against the Omicron variant, almost the entire Western Europe has stepped up vaccination with the third dose. It seems that that could stop the virus," she said, noting that there was still no sufficient information on the new variant and calling against on citizens to get vaccinated.