ZAGREB, 27 Nov, 2021 - In the last 24 hours 5,502 coronavirus cases and 51 COVID-19 deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national crisis management team said on Saturday.

There are 34,553 active cases, including 2,506 hospitalised patients, of whom 324 are on ventilators, while 28,272 persons are self-isolating.

To date 3,424,751 persons have been tested for the virus, including 13,372 in the last 24 hours.

Croatia has registered 599,977 coronavirus cases to date as well as 10,695 related deaths and 554,729 recoveries, of which 5,629 in the last 24 hours.

To date 53.43% of the total population has been vaccinated against COVID-19, including 63.77% of adults, 56.85% of whom have completed vaccination.

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ZAGREB, 27 Nov, 2021 - Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter on Saturday strongly condemned calls for violence that could be heard at a protest against the COVID-19 certificate mandate last weekend, stressing that citizens must not be enemies to one another because coronavirus and the pandemic are the enemy.

Speaking in an interview with Croatian Radio, Šimonović Einwalter said that violence  definitely must not be a way to deal with problems.

Citizens are tired, dissatisfied, frustrated and want this situation to be over as soon as possible and one should have understanding for that, she said, adding that the right to assembly was guaranteed by the Constitution, laws and international treaties but that gatherings must be peaceful and not violent.

"What we witnessed was an attack on reporters, calls for violence, war, formation of a military unit - those are extremely serious things that worry me," she said, stressing that one should most strongly condemn calls for violence.

"Citizens must not be enemies to one another in this situation, the virus and the pandemic are the enemy. More responsibility and more solidarity is needed in the fight against the pandemic," she said.

COVID-19 certificates are an instrument that is far from being perfect and citizens have the right to question and critically think about them just as they have the right to question any decision made by the government, she said.

Commenting on plans to collect signatures for a referendum on the abolishment of COVID-19 certificates and on the work of the national COVID-19 response team, Šimonović Einwalter said that the Constitutional Court should state its position on the constitutionality of referendum questions before the collection of signatures starts, to avoid polarisation in society.

"It would be much better to know in advance, before the entire referendum process is set in motion, if a referendum question is in line with the Constitution," she stressed, calling for making changes in that regard.

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ZAGREB, 27 Nov, 2021 - The deputy director of the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ), Ivana Pavić Šimetin, said on Friday it could be assumed that the new coronavirus variant, called Omicron, had still not arrived in Croatia, confirming that the COVID-19 vaccine for children would arrive on 20 December.

Croatian scientists, too, are taking samples to see if the new coronavirus variant is present, and their sequencing takes about ten days, she said in an interview with Nova TV.

She noted that one could assume that the new variant had still not reached Croatia.

Pavić Šimetin explained that mutations can always occur if a virus is very much present in the population, if a large number of people are infected or are susceptible to infection.

In order to prevent mutations, it is important for as many people as possible to get vaccinated, which reduces virus circulation as well as the possibility of new variants emerging, she said.

The HZJZ official also said that on 20 December Croatia would obtain the Pfizer vaccine for children from age 5-11. Its distribution will take a few days, after which the vaccination of children will begin, Pavić Šimetin said.

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ZAGREB, 27 Nov, 2021 - The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has called, in the context of detection of Omicron, a variant of coronavirus considered a variant of concern, for stepping up primary vaccination, applying a booster dose for people above 40 as well as for stepping up other hygiene measures.

Based on currently available genetic information, the risks of this variant of concern are high, according to preliminary data, the ECDC said on Friday evening.

The B.1.1.529 variant, first detected in southern Africa, is the most divergent variant that has been detected in significant numbers during the pandemic to date, raising serious concerns that it may significantly reduce the effectiveness of vaccines and increase the risk of reinfections.

"Today we are releasing a threat assessment on the emergence of a new Sars-COV-2 variant of concern. There is still considerable uncertainty related to the transmissibility, vaccine effectiveness, risk for reinfections and other properties of this variant. At this stage, based on our experience with previous variants we must be proactive and implement measures as a precaution to buy time until we gain more knowledge. Therefore, I would like to reiterate the three key recommendations from our rapid risk assessment from the 24th of November. Firstly, it is imperative we close the immunisation gap. Secondly, booster doses should be considered for all adult individuals, prioritising persons above 40 years of age. Finally, due to the uncertainties involved with this situation, the timely reinforced implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions is now more important than ever," said ECDC director Andrea Ammon.

The non-pharmaceutical interventions include the appropriate use of face masks, teleworking, operational modifications that reduce crowding on public transport, ensuring adequate ventilation in closed spaces and maintenance of hygiene measures that can be implemented immediately. Setting limits for the number of participants in social and public events during end-of-year celebrations will support physical distancing efforts.

Ammon said countries are again urged to give utmost priority to individuals initially targeted by COVID-19 vaccination programmes that remain unvaccinated or not yet fully vaccinated. Increasing COVID-19 vaccination coverage in all eligible age groups, but particularly in the elderly, in the vulnerable, and healthcare workers should remain the priority for public health authorities.

Public health authorities should identify those with an epidemiological link to cases with the new variant or travel history to areas known to be affected to control or delay the spread of the new variant, she said.

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November 26, 2021 - In addition to the extension of the validity time of digital COVID certificates, the European Commission is proposing to EU member countries a ban on unvaccinated travelers in case they wish to enter the European Union, in addition to other possible measures to guarantee safe freedom of movement in the territory.

Yesterday, the European Commission announced a proposal according to which all members of the European Union would allow only vaccinated, recovered, or necessary travelers to enter, reports HrTurizam. In light of the expected progress in vaccination campaigns around the world, the Commission, from 1 March 2022, proposes a simplified approach, which depends entirely on the status of the passenger and not on the country of departure.

In addition, visitors entering one of the EU countries will have to prove that they were vaccinated no more than nine months ago. Namely, the Commission proposes a standard acceptance period of nine months for vaccination certificates issued after the end of the primary vaccination series. The nine-month period takes into account the guidelines of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on the use of six-month doses and provides for an additional period of three months.

Those who have recovered from COVID-19 within 180 days before the trip and have either an EU digital COVID certificate or a certificate considered equivalent, should also be able to travel to the European Union from 10 January 2022.

The revised rules clarify that children between the ages of 6 and 17 should be able to travel to the EU with a negative PCR test done before departure even if they have not been vaccinated. Member States could require additional post-arrival testing, quarantine, or self-isolation. Test and vaccination are not required for children under 6 years of age.

The Council's recommendation covers all Member States (except Ireland), as well as the four non-EU countries that have acceded to the Schengen area: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

Coordinated approach for safer travel

“Based on our common tool, the EU digital COVID certification, which has become a true standard, we are moving to a person-based approach. Our main goal is to avoid different measures throughout the EU. This also applies to the issue of boosters, which will be essential to fight the virus. Among other measures, we propose that the Council harmonize the standard validity period of vaccination certificates issued after the primary batch,” said Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.

“EU digital COVID certification and our coordinated approach to travel measures have greatly contributed to safe free movement, with the protection of public health as our priority. We have vaccinated over 65% of the total EU population, but that is not enough. There are still too many people who are not protected. In order for everyone to travel and live as safely as possible, we urgently need to achieve significantly higher vaccination rates,” added Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.

What the European Commission proposes:

• Focus on the “person-based approach”: a person holding a valid EU digital COVID certificate should in principle not be subject to additional restrictions, such as tests or quarantine, regardless of where you leave the EU. Persons without an EU digital COVID certificate could be required to undergo testing before or after arrival.
• Standard validity of vaccination certificates: to avoid different approaches. The Commission proposes a standard acceptance period of nine months for vaccination certificates issued after the end of the primary vaccination series.
• Additional (booster) vaccination: for now there are no studies that specifically dealt with the efficiency boosters to transfer COVID-19 and is therefore not possible to determine the period of acceptance for them. However, given the new data, it can be expected that protection against supplementary vaccination may last longer than that resulting from the primary vaccination series.
• The EU traffic-light map has been adapted: combining new cases with the use of vaccines in the region. The map would mainly serve for information purposes, but would also serve to coordinate measures for areas with particularly low, green, or particularly high, dark red levels of virus circulation. Special rules would apply to these areas, derogating from the "person-based approach". No restrictions should apply to travelers from "green" areas.
• Exemptions from certain travel measures should apply to cross-border travelers, children under the age of 12, and emergency travelers. The list of necessary passengers should be reduced as many who were included in the current list have meanwhile had the opportunity to be vaccinated.
• Simplified “emergency braking” procedure: an urgent procedure designed to delay the spread of possible new variants of COVID-19 or to address particularly serious situations should be simplified and more operational.

In order to allow sufficient time for the implementation of the coordinated approach, the Commission proposes that the innovations be applied from 10 January 2022.

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ZAGREB, 26 Nov 2021 - Croatia has registered 5,460 new coronavirus cases and 75 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Friday, noting that 60 of the people who died were not vaccinated.

The number of deaths in the last 24 hours is the highest in the fourth wave of the epidemic, while since the start of the epidemic the largest number of deaths in a single day was recorded on 16 December 2020, when 92 people died.

Currently, there are 34,731 active cases in the country. Of these, 2,496 infected people are being treated in hospitals, including 325 who are on ventilators. A total of 27,732 persons are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 594,475 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 10,644 have died and 549,100 have recovered, including 5,607 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,411,379 people have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including 13,771 in the last 24 hours.

As of Thursday, 4,073,744 doses of vaccine have been administered, with 53.26 percent of the total population, or 63.57 percent of the adult population, having been vaccinated.

To date, 2,161,370 people have received at least one dose of vaccine, of whom 1,918,691 have been fully vaccinated, which is 56.68 percent of the adult population.

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November 26, 2021 - Today, the National Civil Protection offered a coronavirus update through a press conference in which they commented on the latest related to COVID-19 in the country, from the number of infected in the last 24 hours, the COVID certificates, the tests, and the variant discovered in South Africa.

As reported by Telegram.hr, the National Civil Protection Headquarters held a press conference at which new data on the situation with coronavirus in Croatia and the world were presented. The conference was delayed by about 15 minutes. First, data on newly infected people were presented, so it was said that today we have 5,460 new cases, and 75 people have died. "Among the dead are 14 vaccinated, one with three doses and one partially," it was said.

Krunoslav Capak presented data on those infected on this day two weeks ago. "We have 10 percent more new cases this week than last. The incidence average is 1619.17. The share of positives in those tested today is 39.6%. In the last seven days, 40.1% and since the beginning 17.4%", he said.

Speaking about the dead, Capak said that out of 75 dead, 60 were not vaccinated with any dose, and 61 did not complete the vaccination in total. “Of the 37 deceased, over the age of 80, 34 were not vaccinated, or 92 percent. In the last 24 hours, 34 people were put on a respirator, 26 of whom were not vaccinated,", he added.

Božinović talks about COVID recommendations

Davor Božinović announced a special decision on border restrictions with regard to the new variant of the virus, as well as that a recommendation from the level of the European Commission will follow. “This applies to people coming from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, and Hong Kong,” he said. He said that entering Croatia from those countries would either be banned or that our people coming from them would have to be quarantined for 14 days, and stressed that the new detected strain has the potential to be more contagious than the delta.

Božinović continued to talk about COVID certificates. Yesterday, the European Commission proposed that certificates after vaccination should last for nine months, and Božinović said that we currently apply 12 months after the booster dose because it is not known how long the immunity will last. The ECDC also announced yesterday that new guidelines are being worked on for COVID certificates, which would also look at the percentage of those vaccinated with regard to those infected.

What about those who got over it and got vaccinated

Journalists asked when it would be decided on the COVID certificates, to which he said it would likely be mid-December. He also confirmed that for all those who have COVID certificates valid for one year, there will be a period for receiving a booster dose.

Some new decisions for Advent are not currently being considered, he confirmed, because it is an outdoor event after all. The journalists also asked what happened to the people who got sick and got vaccinated, what happened to their confirmations. "If someone is vaccinated with two doses after recovering, it is counted as if he received three doses and he is issued aCOVID certificate for one year. "I don't know what the EU practice will be, but we will, if it is mandatory, harmonize with the EU," he said.

Markotić explained the new strain

Alemka Markotić answered questions about the new strain, according to which it is a danger considering the measures that are being introduced and how it affects the vaccine. "Several cases have occurred in several countries, it is known that there are more than thirty different mutations at the spike protein level and that is why all countries are concerned, and the WHO is preparing certain meetings to discuss what this could mean. This large number of mutations, especially on the spike protein, can affect its binding to receptors or the effectiveness of the vaccine'', she said.

Markotić indicated that everything should be examined quickly. "All measures will certainly be taken to obtain results, at least in laboratory conditions. It is good that there are not many cases outside Africa or in Africa itself,” concluding that she hoped to learn more about the virus in the coming weeks.

Capak: 'We only had seven cases of delta plus'

Capak first said that so far we have had only seven cases of delta plus variants and that it does not have a great potential for spread, and for the latest strain he said they could mean that it could have a much higher potential for spread.

"The question is how it will spread from South Africa to countries with more vaccination, the fact that it broke into Hong Kong does not mean that it will be the same in other countries," he said, adding that the best protection is entry bans for foreign nationals from those countries and 14 days of quarantine for our citizens with testing prior departure.

Long debate on amendments to the Act

The journalists also asked about the amendments to the Law, which is in public consultation, and which contains an article according to which the sanitary inspector could order vaccination of persons exposed to the virus. They asked how it was, and they did not receive a concrete answer from the Headquarters, Božinović only said that the law was in consultation and that everything would be analyzed.

When asked to further clarify this, he replied: "We are dealing with other, more urgent aspects, I did not participate in the amendments to the law." Asked if it is not unbelievable that they do not know what is written in the amendments to the Law, Božinović said that he would get an answer to that question during the day. “We can’t give you an answer to that question,” he said, adding that he would clarify that later.

Božinović and Beroš managed to clarify everything

Somewhat later, Božinović returned to this issue, saying that the issue was not clearly formulated, so he explains that two points were added to the Law. "My colleague received an answer in the meantime, it says that I can order the implementation of the security measure of the obligation to present evidence, which means that you have to show COVID confirmation that you have been tested, vaccinated, or recovered. We can also order the removal of people who have entered certain areas", he said.

“If you had seen what I read now, you would have seen that it relates to the obligation to present evidence,” he said. The floor is taken by Minister Vili Beroš, who says that the journalist is commenting on an earlier article that already exists in the Law. "It is not at all a tendency for a sanitary inspector to order someone to be vaccinated. This article exists when a sanitary inspector can order it for hepatitis for example. But, as there is no obligation to vaccinate, no one will be able to order compulsory vaccination to anyone", said Beroš, adding that he thinks that everything has been explained.

Božinović concluded that no one plans to introduce a coronavirus vaccination obligation. The journalists were also interested in whether they were considering changing the recommendations with regard to the new strain of the virus and self-isolation, to which Capak said that he was not thinking about it yet.

Beroš: 'We support testing but it is not the best'

Beroš was asked if there were any plans to expand testing in the health system, to which he said that all the circumstances were taken into account and that the third dose was therefore emphasized. "We support testing, but it is not the best. Only through a combination of recovery, vaccination, and testing can we give a guarantee, but even that is not absolute", he said and added that COVID certificates protect those who fight against them, the unvaccinated.

Capak also referred to the theses that appear in public, especially among the protesters, that the vaccinated and the unvaccinated transmit the virus equally. "It's not true, we need to be aware of that," he said. He added that scientific papers if read should be cited and said that vaccinated people did not transmit the virus during the alpha variant, in the delta they can carry the virus on the mucosa but they are not contagious.

However, he added that they can get sick and transmit the virus or have a virus on the mucous membrane that increases and can be transmitted, and stressed that it is all far less than in the unvaccinated. "People who are vaccinated transmit the virus less, the number of virus particles on their mucous membranes drops very quickly, and thus the contagion. This is scientifically proven," he said, adding that no country in the world tests all health workers on admission to hospitals. In the end, Božinović called on everyone to adhere to basic measures, wearing a mask, distance, ventilation, and maintaining personal hygiene.

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ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - The opposition Croatian Sovereignists want the Civil Protection System Act to be amended so that parliament could approve decisions made by the national COVID-19 crisis management team, and began on Thursday to collect signatures to table the motion.

The party wants the decisions the team makes to protect people from infectious diseases to enter into force only after being approved by parliament.

The crisis management team is an artificially created body with artificial powers which, by its decisions, restricts citizens' liberties, and only parliament should decide on that, MP Marijan Pavliček told the press.

MP Vesna Vučemilović said parliament should take a more active part in decision-making on COVID rules, adding that a more active engagement by all political actors would defuse the tensions in society.

Members of parliament should say what they think of any measure proposed by the crisis management team, said MP Hrvoje Zekanović, adding that "decisions should be made in parliament, not by some para-body."

MP Marko Milanović Litre said the government must take responsibility for the team's decisions.

Asked about Austria's initiative to ban the Bleiburg commemoration, Pavliček said Croatia's diplomacy must fight for the commemoration to continue to take place, adding that "in the past few years, that gathering was dignified, without any World War II insignia."

The gathering is held annually in Loibach Field near Bleiburg, Austria to commemorate soldiers of the Nazi-allied Croatian Ustasha regime and civilians killed there at the end of WWII.

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ZAGREB, 25 Nov 2021 - Croatia has registered 6,246 new coronavirus cases and 64 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national COVID-19 response team reported on Thursday.

Currently, there are 34,953 active cases and 2,529 patients are receiving hospital treatment, including 316 who are placed on ventilators. 29,853 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 589,015 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 10,569 have died and 543,493 have recovered, including 4,792 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 3,396,608 people have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to date, including 15,526 in the last 24 hours.

As of Wednesday, 4,047,302 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with 53.02 percent of the total population, or 63.28 percent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. 2,151,481 people have received at least one dose and 1,912,240 have been fully vaccinated, which is 56.50 percent of the adult population.

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November the 25th, 2021 - With stories now becoming more and more common in which people are dismissed or suspended without payment due to not presenting a valid covid certificate or refusing to regularly test, are covid certificate related dismissals set to come to the Croatian education system as well? It seems so.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, at the beginning of December this year, the first extraordinary dismissals can be expected in the Croatian education system for those employees who haven't been vaccinated and are refusing coronavirus testing, announced the president of the union Zeljko Stipic, emphasising that this week, the first warnings were handed out to teachers without covid certificates.

"The first warnings have been issued. There haven't been too many of them, and we'll know how many exactly there have been when we collect all the data. What we currently know is that there are about fifty of our members who didn't want to be vaccinated or get tested, but this doesn't represent the number of those people who received warnings, because in the meantime there were those who changed their minds. Either they got vaccinated, or they agreed to be tested,'' Stipic said.

There are also those, he added, who asked for unpaid leave due to their decision not to be tested or vaccinated, and the school principals approved it, there are also those who decided to use their sick leave.

"According to the proposal of the competent Ministry, an employee who doesn't present the a covid certificate is issued with a warning first, and then comes the second warning. The second warning comes after an employee fails to present a covid certificate or test result within a period of seven days, and if they've failed to justify their absence from the classroom in another acceptable way. In that same second warning, the school principal issues a warning before initiating the procedure of extraordinary termination of that person's employment contract,'' explained Stipic.

The fact that the first warnings began to be handed out to those working within the Croatian education system has also been confirmed by the president of the Association of High School Principals, Suzana Hitrec, as Novi list reported.

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