ZAGREB, 4 Nov 2021 - This year, Croatia's tourist industry has achieved excellent results, however, the fact that Croatia is currently red on the ECDC map could adversely affect preparations for the next season, Tourism Ministry State Secretary Tonči Glavina told the parliament on Thursday.

"This year's tourist turnover has reached about 75% of the turnover in the record-high year 2019. We are preparing for the next tourist season, however, the fact that we are red on the ECDC epidemiological map causes concern," Glavina said during a discussion on amending legislation regulating the hospitality industry.

He explained that preparations and bookings for organized tourism are made in winter and that therefore all should do their best to improve Croatia's epidemiological situation.

Concerning the draft amendments, he said that they would extend the validity of temporary permits for the legalization of properties and premises for hospitality businesses until 31 December 2024.

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ZAGREB, 4 Nov 2021 - There have been 6,310 new coronavirus infections in Croatia in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily number of new cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic, Croatian Television said on Thursday, citing unofficial reports.

On Wednesday Croatia logged 4,573 new infections and 41 related fatalities.

The number of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients has been increasing as well. On Thursday 1,643 patients needed hospital care, including 198 who were on ventilators.

Official data on the number of infections and deaths are expected to be released later in the day.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 3 November, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has conducted 13,031 coronavirus tests, and 35% of them, that is 4,573 have returned positive, while the COVID-related death toll has risen by 41 to 9,332, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Wednesday.

Currently, there are 22,700 active cases, and of them 1,634 are hospitalised patients including 198 COVID patients placed on ventilators.

As many as 23,416 people are self-isolating.

Since the first registered case of the infection with the novel virus on 25 February 2020, Croatia has conducted 3,126,230 tests, and of them, 476,832 have turned out to be positive. To date, 444,800 people have recovered from this infectious disease, including 2,394 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

During the vaccine rollout, over 3.6 million vaccine doses have been administered.

So far 1,916,565 people have received at least a shot, and of them over 1.8 million have fully been vaccinated, which is 53.30% of the adult population. 

ZAGREB, 3 November, 2021 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić told the parliament on Wednesday that the total cost of combatting the COVID pandemic has exceeded HRK 40 billion (€5.3 billion) from the state budget alone in just under two years, however, the effect of COVID is a one-off event, regardless of how strong it may be.

The majority of costs relate to job-keeping measures, directly or indirectly, then taxes, contributions, everything the state took upon itself, said Marić presenting this year's budget revision.

The revision envisages an increase in budget revenue of HRK 3.3 billion to HRK 153.6 billion and expenditure by HRK 6 billion to HRK 173.3 billion.

The budget gap is expected to amount to HRK 19.7 billion or 4.7% of GDP while the general government debt is expected at HRK 18.9 billion or 4.5% of GDP.

Marić confirmed that the revised estimates of GDP growth for this year from the initially planned 5.2% have been increased to about 9%.

When observing all GDP components, with the exception of investments and private investments, we have a significant increase in all categories, underscored Marić and added that with regard to investments, they will be the main drivers of overall economic growth in the years that are to follow.

Average annual inflation at 2.4%

Marić presented data related to price trends and inflation. Regardless of the past few months and accelerated and visible inflation, the projected average inflation rate for this year is 2.4%, he said.

The minister underscored that the plan is to reduce the public debt to GDP ratio to 83.1%.

"Even though we have revised the deficit upward from 3.8% to 4.5%, this year we expect a greater-than-expected growth rate and as a result, the public debt to GDP ratio will be set again at 83.1%," he told the parliament.

The minister recalled that the public debt was slashed for four years in a row by almost 12 percentage points of GDP cumulatively.

The pandemic and the 2020 devastating earthquakes to some extent have as one-off events increased the public debt to GDP ratio to 87.3% and erased the effect of four years, said Marić and underscored that "had we not done what we did in those four years, our public debt would have exceeded 100% of GDP."

"Those 4.2 percentage points, compared to other countries have ranked us in the top 3," boasted Marić.

That result, he added, needs to be highlighted not just in numbers but in the fact that we have done and are doing everything to improve the finances and  the growth rate and decrease in the public debt to GDP ratio indicate that the effect of COVID is a one-off event, regardless how strong it may have been, he concluded.

(€1= HRK 7.5)

ZAGREB, 2 November, 2021 - Forty people have died in Croatia in the past 24 hours as a consequence of COVID-19 and 785 new cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed, the national COVID response team reported on Tuesday.

There are currently 20,562 active cases in the country and 1,543 hospitalised patients, with 185 of them on ventilators.

In addition, 23,291 people are currently self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020 when the first case of contagion was identified in Croatia, there have been a total of 472,259 positive cases and the death toll now stands at 9,291.

A total of 442,406 people have recovered from the infection, including 3,067 in the past 24 hours.

To date a total of 3,113,199 people have been tested for the virus, with 2,887 tested in the past 24 hours.

As of Monday 3,617,177 doses of vaccines have been administered, with 47.11% of the total population or 56.43% of the adult population vaccinated. Of that number 1,911,771 people have received at least one dose and 1,798,141 people are fully vaccinated, which accounts for 53.18% of the adult population.

November the 2nd, 2021 - Here is a definitive and current list of all Zagreb coronavirus vaccination points across the city, as well as any appropriate remarks and instructions related to them.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, since February the 25th, 2020, when the first case of a person infected with the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was recorded in the Republic of Croatia, according to the latest data, over 460,000 people have been infected.

You can get vaccinated against coronavirus in all counties across Croatia, but if you live in or are soon going to be here in Zagreb, here's a list of Zagreb coronavirus vaccination points currently in operation. Since each location may have different vaccination conditions and dates, we advise you to visit their official website(s), while general information can always be found here.

Vaccination can be carried out following a public invitation without the need for a referral from a doctor or the like, as has been and continues to be the case at the Zagreb Fair, (Zagrebacki Velesajam) but it's important that you check the conditions for your desired location as they can change and in most cases it is necessary to come with a scheduled appointment or announcement.

More information for all Zagreb coronavirus vaccination points can be found here.

Please note that for the above two links, you may need to use automatic translation via Google to read the content if you don't speak Croatian. Some of koronavirus.hr's content has been translated and made available in English already, but not all of it.

Central Zagreb
Vaccination can be sought at Zagreb Health Centres at the following addresses:

Runjaninova 4

Avenija Veceslava Holjevca 22

Marticeva 63 a

Lucko 2a

Kauzlaricev prilaz 7

Zagreb East (Istok)
Vaccination can be sought at the following Zagreb (East) Health Centres at the following addresses:

Hirceva 1

Grizanska 4

Ivanicgradska 38

Ninska 10

Zagreb West (Zapad)
Vaccination can be sought at the following Zagreb (West) Health Centres at the following addresses:

Prilaz Baruna Filipovica 11

Nova Cesta 85 a

Park stara Tresnjevka 3

Precko 2

Anina 96

Vrabecak 4

Matije Ilirika Vlacica 2

Albaharijeva 4

Hrvoje Macanovica 2 a

Vaccination can be sought at the Dr. Andrija Stampar Teaching Institute for Public Health at

Mirogojska cesta 16

Mass vaccination points in the City of Zagreb

Dom Sportova - Trg Kresimira Cosica 11

The sports hall at Lucijana Vranjina High School - Trg hrvatskih pavlina 1

Jelkovec Technical High School - Vladimira Strahuljaka 1, 10 360, Sesvete

Zagreb Fair (Zagrebacki Velesajam) - Avenija Dubrovnik 15 (Pavilion 9)

You can find more about the dates at the Zagreb Fair by clicking here.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language.

November the 2nd, 2021 - The epidemiological controls in Croatian shopping centres, cafes and bars have been ramped up as infections climb and hospitals begin to face the same situation they did last year.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, despite the daily number of new cases of coronavirus infection approaching the five thousand mark, there are no vaccinations being carried out until Tuesday under the explanation that the interest is still weak, so mass vaccination points aren't going to be in operation on weekends. At the same time, there is now an intensified monitoring of the implementation of epidemiological measures in force.

Donna Diana Prcic from RTL has found out how many fines and warnings have been issued since Monday across Croatian shopping centres, bars and cafes.

"The inspectors came to visit us once and everything we were doing was in accordance with the provisions, our tables were separated from each other, people were wearing their masks when indoors and so far there have been no problems," said Ivan Udovic, the owner of a restaurant in Pula.

The epidemiological controls carried out by inspectors don't appear to bother residents or tourists visiting various cities and controls have also been stepped up here in the capital. One of the Croatian shopping centres was recently paid a visit by inspectors.

“We went through everything point by point for four hours. They were interested in when the ventilation system in the centre was last cleaned. They were interested in whether all entrances have mandatory notices on the doors about the obligatory wearing of masks, whether we have disinfectants at each entrance, whether employees wear masks, how the covid police service is organised and so on,'' said Marko Zupa, the communications manager of the shopping centre in question.

Just this week, the police had more work on their hands...

The Croatian police had to warn 147 individuals about not wearing masks, almost five times more than was the case last week. They also issued multiple fines, seven of them to be precise, and five others last week. Regarding violations of the decisions enforced by the Civil Protection Directorate, there were 7304 inspections and 16 violations were recorded. Civil Protection inspectors are also out in the field, and of the 1702 inspections they carried out, nine irregularities were found.

For more on coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 1 Nov 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 1,126 new cases of coronavirus infection and 31 related deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

The number of active cases today stands at 22,884, including 1,496 COVID patients in hospitals, 183 of whom are on ventilators.

There are currently 29,240 people in self-isolation.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, a total of 471,474 people have been registered as having contracted the novel coronavirus, 9,251 of them have died, while 439,339 have recovered, including 3,349 who have recovered in the past 24 hours.

To date, a total of 3,110,312 people have been tested, 3,567 of whom over the past 24 hours.

As of 31 October, a total of 3,616,491 vaccine doses have been administered, and 47.11% of the total population, that is 56.42% of the adult population, has been vaccinated.

A total of 1,911,657 people have received at least one shot, while 1,798,069 people have been fully vaccinated, which is 53.18% of the adult population.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

November the 1st, 2021 - If you want to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus at the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebacki Velesajam), which is something that has been on offer since the beginning of the Croatian vaccine rollout, the City of Zagreb has some important news for you.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Zagreb City Administration announced on Friday that mass vaccination against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, at the Zagreb Fair will be transferred to the other two pavilions from Tuesday the 2nd of November.

"Vaccination against coronavirus with some of the available and approved vaccines from November the 2nd, 2021, will be possible at the vaccination point at the Zagreb Fair in Pavilions 8a and 9, instead of the current Pavilion 6," reads the notice issued by the city administration.

The Zagreb Fair can be visited for those wishing to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 08:00 to 12:00, and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 14:30 pm to 19:00.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the first dose of vaccination and the second dose of vaccination with all available types of vaccines and will be normally continued, and on Mondays and Wednesdays, the third dose will be being administered to immunocompromised persons and those with underlying chronic diseases which make them more vulnerable to a worse clinical picture should they contract the disease.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including border and travel rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centres, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 31 Oct. 2021 - The Croatian Association of Hospital Doctors (HUBOL) warned on Sunday that the situation in hospitals treating COVID-19 patients was difficult as more and more arrive every day because, it said, the virus is allowed to spread and those in charge are doing nothing about it, shirking responsibility.

The healthcare system is disappearing, HUBOL said in a press release.

The system does not exist when COVID-19 patients wait for hours to be admitted because there is no room, it does not exist when we don't have enough anesthesiologists, infectious disease specialists and internists who know how to treat people with destroyed lungs, it does not exist when you need a connection to get a bed supplied with oxygen as soon as possible, HUBOL said.

The system does not exist when patients will be treated for complications by a surgeon, gynecologist or other such doctor, and when those who decide if the system is overloaded get services with one call to the hospital administration, HUBOL said. "They and their relatives, friends and acquaintances don't wait in lines."

While those in charge "are doing nothing... the increasingly tired people who make up the healthcare system will soon have to stop with operations and examinations for other diseases because they are on COVID wards," HUBOL said.

They are there "because the virus is being allowed to spread," and in those wards "one will soon have to decide which patient to put in a bed with oxygen or a ventilator."

"The virus is spreading as much as we allow it to, the president of the epidemiological society said recently. Those whose responsibility it is to stop the virus from spreading among the population, with all the procedures and measures necessary (as in Denmark, for instance), inform us every day in a sedating voice about the increasing numbers of hospitalisations and deaths, washing their hands of their responsibility and reason for existing," HUBOL said.

"After all, only people in the Balkans, not some 'stupid' Danes, can allow such spreading of the virus and numbers of hospitalisations and deaths."

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