ZAGREB, 23 Sept 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has conducted 10,106 coronavirus tests, and 13.6% of them, or 1,373, have turned out to be positive, and ten more COVID patients have died, raising the COVID-related death toll to 8,554, the country's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

There are now 8,615 active cases, and 694 of them are receiving hospital treatment, including 89 placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the infection with the novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, the country has conducted over 2.76 million tests which have shown that 396,470 people have caught the virus, and of them, 379,301 have recovered, including 1,132 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,388,015 vaccines have been administered. As many as 1,793,806 people have received at least one shot, and of them, 1,682,093 have fully been vaccinated (49.82% 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.

ZAGREB, 22 Sept, 2021 - In the last 24 hours 1,812 coronavirus cases and 13 related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Wednesday.

There are 8,389 active case, including 706 hospitalised patients, 87 of whom are on ventilators, while 22,363 persons are self-isolating.

Croatia has registered 395,097 coronavirus cases to date, 8,539 deaths and 378,169 recoveries, including 874 in the last 24 hours.

To date 2,751,748 persons have been tested for the virus, including 10,978 in the last 24 hours, and 44.10% of the population has been vaccinated, including 52.93% of adults, of whom 49.70% fully.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 21 Sept, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, 9,777 coronavirus tests have been conducted in Croatia, and of them, 10.6%, or 1,037, have returned positive, and there have been 12 more deaths raising the COVID-related death toll to 8,526, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Tuesday.

There are now 7,464 active cases and of them, 689 are hospitalised patients including 88 placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the infection with the novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, the country has conducted over 2.74 million tests, and 383,285 have turned out to be positive. So far, 377,295 registered patients have recovered, including 1,079 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Since the start of the vaccine rollout, 3,374,095 vaccine doses have been administered. Every second adult has been fully vaccinated.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

September 21, 2021 - Covid certificates in Croatian hospitals will be needed for all employees in the health system and those who are not hospital employees but work within the hospital. They will also be required for employees in homes for the elderly and infirm. But how will it work?

In ten days, all employees in the health system and those who are not hospital employees but work within the hospital, and employees in homes for the elderly and infirm will be able to work only by presenting a Covid certificate. In particular, they will have to present a document proving that they have been vaccinated, have overcome COVID-19, or have been tested.

However, how this will be controlled is still unknown, as the legal services of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor and Pension System have not yet completed the instructions. Two questions are key: how will testing be organized and how will those who refuse to test be penalized?

As Jutarnji List unofficially finds out from several Zagreb hospitals, everything is ready as far as the organization is concerned.

Hospitals have testing points, and they have enough tests. Jutarnji also learned that the hospital plans to decentralize the verification of certificates, i.e., that the confirmation of the covid status of employees is not done in one place (hospital entrance) but at the entrances to individual departments, and the head nurses of the department will most likely be in charge. There are several reasons for that.

First of all, it would not create crowds in one place. In addition, the head nurse of the department knows all the employees and easily distinguishes them from the patients. Once they have checked the covid status of the employees, in the next few days, they will know which of them have been vaccinated and which needs to be tested, and the vaccinated will not have their certificates checked daily. The situation is also facilitated by the fact that hospital employees were among the first to be vaccinated in an organized manner in their institutions. It is more or less known who was vaccinated.

In the health care system, about 70 percent of the total number of employees have been vaccinated, and some have overcome COVID-19, so the organization itself should not be a problem. In addition, per department, there would be relatively few people to check daily.

And while hospitals are ready as far as internal organization is concerned, they have not yet received instructions from the authorities on what to do with employees without covid-confirmation if they refuse to test.

That is precisely what the lawyers are currently working on, and although the sanction will certainly not be a dismissal, the question of how to penalize it is still open. The same rules will apply to both health and social services, but when the document is ready is unknown, although it should take effect in ten days. According to the information Jutarnji has, it was said that it would be ready by yesterday. Still, the latest information says that the document with all the administration instructions should arrive today or tomorrow.

Another open issue is the expiration of covid certificates. As health and social workers were a priority, they were vaccinated first, in early January. However, their covid certificates begin to expire in mid-October, meaning that 15 days after introducing the certificate, 70 percent of those vaccinated in healthcare would be left without a certificate and would be required to be tested like the unvaccinated.

As a solution, Minister Vili Beroš last week announced possibly extending the validity of the certificates from the current nine to 12 months.

As for the revaccination, it seems that for now, there will be none of that. Namely, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given guidelines that only those over 65 and immunocompromised should be vaccinated with the third dose. On the other hand, the European Agency (EMA) has not yet made a decision. Allegedly, the Croatian Institute of Public Health has already decided to extend the duration, and it should come into force this week.

What do we know so far?
1. What will happen to health care workers who have not been vaccinated or have had COVID-19?

- They'll have to be tested every three days. Initially, the system will pay for their expensive PCR tests, but, according to the announcements, they will have to bear those costs themselves after a while.

2. How will employees without a covid-certificate who refuse to be tested be punished?

- The competent Ministry has not yet agreed on possible penalties. However, it has been confirmed so far that the dismissal will not be among them. In neighboring countries, such employees are suspended and do not receive a salary for the days of suspension.

3. Will the same rules apply to other public sector systems as for healthcare employees?

- For now, it is confident that the same rules will apply to social welfare employees, probably as early as October 1, as well as to the health care system. Education was also mentioned, but it is not planned yet.

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, 20 Sept 2021 - In the past 24 hours 264 coronavirus cases and 14 deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

There are 7,518 active cases and 695 hospitalized patients, including 85 on ventilators.

Croatia has registered 392,248 coronavirus cases to date, including 8,514 deaths and 376,216 recoveries, of which 1,018 in the past 24 hours.

A total of 20,966 persons are self-isolating.

To date, 2,730,993 persons have been tested for the virus, including 3,863 in the past 24 hours, and 43.93% of the population has been vaccinated, including 52.73% of adults, of whom 49.50% fully.

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

ZAGREB, 19 Sept, 2021 - In the past 24 hours 875 coronavirus cases and seven deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Sunday.

There are 8,286 active cases and 683 hospitalised patients, including 81 on ventilators, while 21,151 persons are self-isolating.

Croatia has registered 391,984 coronavirus cases to date, including 8,500 deaths and 375,198 recoveries, of which 1,028 in the past 24 hours.

To date 2,72,130 persons have been tested for the virus, including 9,621 in the past 24 hours, and 43.92% of the population has been vaccinated, including 52.72% of adults, of whom 49.48% fully.

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

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ZAGREB, 18 Sept, 2021 - Commenting on the Freedom Festival rally, held in downtown Zagreb on Saturday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković described as unserious the emotionalism regarding freedoms in Croatia in the context of the country's COVID-19 death toll and restrictions in other countries.

"I find the emotionalism regarding freedoms, after so many COVID-19 deaths and the cost for the health system, unserious," Plenković told reporters during a visit to Vukovar.

The organisers of Freedom Festival 2.0 have said that "most people now realise that COVID-19 has been misused for political ends that include the introduction of an entire set of measures and decisions that cause unprecedented damage to humans and benefit only smaller groups in positions of immense power."

"COVID-19 has been here for more than 20 months, and if there are people who are still not aware of the reality, they should check media reports and credible information to see how many people have died so far around the world, including Croatia," the PM said in a comment on the Zagreb rally.

He noted that in the past 24 hours 12 people died of COVID-19 and that only two had been vaccinated, one being a 95-year-old woman and the other a person with a serious illness.

"I call on all citizens to be reasonable, responsible, there is protection and I don't see why they would not follow the example of the 52% of Croatians who have already been vaccinated," he said.

He said that Croatia had less restrictive anti-epidemic rules than some other countries and that the education system, transport, economy, production and social life had been functioning.

People in Croatia have been able to go to the cinema, theatre, to museums and restaurants, he noted, adding that that was why he considered the emotionalism regarding freedoms unserious.

I don't see reason for protests in Croatia

Even though mass protests are taking place across Europe, including France, Slovenia and Greece, Plenković said that he did not see any reason for protests in Croatia.

"The regime here has not been strict... people have been able to go to school, travel by bus, train, go to the cinema, theatre... What is missing? Discos? I think we can survive without discos for one season, hopefully the last one," he said, noting that the topic had been exaggerated as there was no reason for criticism about restriction of freedoms in Croatia

Noting that he was not imposing his opinion on anyone, Plenković said that as a responsible prime minister, trusting science, he wanted to repeat that COVID-19 was spread easily, that more than 8,300 Croatians had died of it and that the costs related to the disease amounted to HRK 36 billion.

For more on Croatia, CLICK HERE.

September 17, 2021 - A new protein-based vaccine in Croatia will soon be put into use, produced by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi.

The director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, announced at a press conference on Friday that Croatia has purchased a new protein-based vaccine produced by the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi, reports Index.hr.

Beroš: It is a different type of vaccine

"The experts have articulated more clearly that we need to expand the range. It is a different type of vaccine. The question is what the practice will show; these are protein vaccines," Health Minister Vili Beroš said at the press conference.

"It's a lot cheaper than an mRNA vaccine."

"We have ordered about 300,000 doses of the innovative vaccine. So far, we have had vector (AstraZeneca) and mRNA (Pfizer and Moderna). This is protein; it is announced that it will be very effective. It is much cheaper than the mRNA vaccine. When EMA evaluates it, we will know more," Capak said.

"Germany ordered the most, so we ordered a smaller quantity."

"We will see how things go and how they react to viruses. Other countries have ordered the same, and Germany ordered the largest quantities. We assume they have more information. When they took so many vaccines, we also ordered some smaller quantities," Capak added. 

Vaccination was completed for 49.29% of the adult population.

"Today's share of positive cases is 12.5%, in the last seven days we had 11.3%, in the past 14 days 10%, and the total since the beginning of the pandemic 14.4%. Of today's 1394 cases, 1164, or 83% have not been vaccinated. 195 or 14% have been vaccinated. We have nine deaths today, of which one person has not been vaccinated, and only one person with severe comorbidity has been vaccinated," said Capak, adding: "We are in 23rd place in the EU countries in terms of incidence rate. Poland is the lowest."

"Most of the hospitalized, seriously ill were not vaccinated and wished they were, that they were braver and wiser to get vaccinated. It will be good for everyone that has recovered and for those who do not have serious consequences. Our post covid clinic is full in recent months," said Alemka Markotić about the situation in the Clinic for Infectious Diseases.

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, 17 Sept 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has conducted 11,159 coronavirus tests, of which 1,394, or 12.5%, have returned positive, and nine patients have died, raising the COVID-related death toll to 8,481, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Friday.

There are currently 7,991 active cases, including 651 hospitalised patients, 77 of whom are placed on ventilators. Also, 18,710 people are self-isolating.

Since the first registered case of the infection with this novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, over 2.7 million tests have been conducted, showing that 389,654 people have caught the virus, and  of them 373,182 have recovered, including 1.037 in the last 24 hours.

Since the start of the vaccine rollout in the country, 43.76% of the total population, or 52.52% of the adult population, have been vaccinated. The statistics show that 49.29% of the adult population have been fully vaccinated.

September the 17th, 2021 - The situation with the pandemic in Croatia has been much more favourable, but a recent rise in infections has prompted some new measures, six to be exact, which Minister Bozinovic explained in further detail.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said during a recently held Government session that the National Civil Protection Directorate had made six new decisions at the national level which will last until September the 30th, 24sata reports.

''In addition to three decisions extending the measures related to the mandatory use of face masks, the working hours of shops and the organisation of public transport, the Civil Protection Directorate also decided on the mandatory possession of EU digital covid certificates for enumerators and controllers due to the recent implementation of the second phase of the 2021 census,'' said Minister Bozinovic at the aforementioned Government session.

''Following on from that, the amendment of the Decision on restricting gatherings which prescribes a new measure allowing the holding of fairs and other economic and tourist events, and events where products are sold, exhibited or displayed indoors, provided that the organiser ensures that only persons holding an EU digital covid certificate, meaning both exhibitors and visitors, can attend.

And thirdly, we've made an amendment to the Decision on temporary prohibition and temporary restriction of crossing the Croatian border. What we've introduced means third country nationals who are coming into the Republic of Croatia for tourist reasons and who have a confirmation of payment of accommodation can now present that confirmation of accommodation reservation and their entry into the Republic of Croatia will be granted. The negative result of their PCR tests must still not be older than 72 hours,'' said Minister Bozinovic about the new decisions.

Please note, that while Minister Bozinovic didn't specifically mention other tests accepted for entry, rapid antigen tests (RAT) are still accepted for entry into Croatia as long as their negative results more than 48 hours old at the time of crossing the border. You can find more about who needs one here.

For now, people coming in from the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Russian Federation (regardless of their citizenship or residence status in Croatia) still need to have a negative PCR test or a negative RAT to enter, regardless of their vaccination status.

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.