ZAGREB, 5 Aug 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 247 new coronavirus cases and three related deaths, the national coronavirus crisis management team said on Thursday.

There are 154 hospitalized patients, including 14 who are on ventilators. The number of active cases today stands at 1,221, and 4,048 people are in self-isolation.

To date, Croatia has registered 364,491 coronavirus infections, including 8,270 deaths and 355,000 recoveries, of which 170 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 2,332,341 people have been tested to date, 8,044 of whom over the past 24 hours.

As of 4 August, 3,109,586 vaccine doses have been administered, with 40.8% of the total population and 49.1% of the adult population having been vaccinated.

A total of 1,656,936 persons have been vaccinated with at least one dose and 1,506,706 of them have been fully vaccinated, which represents 44.7% of the adult population.

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.

August the 5th, 2021 - Not even a brilliant summer season this year will automatically lead to Croatian tourist industry recovery, as the coronavirus pandemic has hit this sector with unimaginable strength, and it will take much more than tourists with deep pockets to fix things.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, even if the 2021 tourist season ends with the realisation of over 70 percent of the physical and financial results from back in pre-pandemic, record 2019, Croatian tourist industry recovery is far from set in stone. This hard-hit sector expects strong medium-term consequences of the coronavirus crisis.

The biggest challenges that companies operating within this sector are already facing are the decline in profitability and the severe personnel/staffing crisis, which will lead to a decline in the level of investment and a decline in added value and quality of the service.

This is the result of an incredible drop in income last year and a reduction in the number of workers in tourism, according to a financial analysis of the Croatian hospitality sector conducted by the 505 Consulting (Savjetovanje) company based on annual reports published by Fina.

Director Sanja Cizmar points out that these indicators must be taken into account in all further expectations of Croatian tourist industry recovery in the future, regardless of the possible good results this season.

"The analysis shows that in terms of financial effects, this is the strongest tourism crisis of the last century. Of particular concern are two indicators, the first is the rate of reduction of disposable earnings before interest, depreciation and taxes (EBITDA) of as much as 86 percent compared to the market norm from back in 2019, which jeopardises the investment potential of tourism in the medium term.

Another alarming figure is the reduction of the number of employees in the sector by 15 percent in just one single year, including permanent and seasonal workers, which is worrying due to the transfer of employees to other sectors, which also further complicates the already complex conditions for attracting employees,'' revealed a worried Cizmar.

Last year, the accommodation and catering/hospitality sector (with the exception of craft owners who don't have published reports from Fina) saw a 44 percent drop in revenue compared to 2019, operating profit fell by 86 percent and 89 percent in the hotel business, and labour costs fell by an average of 12 percent, with the largest taking place in the accommodation segment (hotels and campsites) - amounting to 14 percent.

At the same time, the accommodation segment fared significantly worse than cafes and restaurants did, where the number of employees per hour worked fell by 5 percent, compared to a high 26 percent in hotels and camps.

The drop in net profit margin in the accommodation business stood at a worrying 35 percent. It is interesting to note that micro and small enterprises have shown a higher degree of resilience to the coronavirus crisis when compared to medium and large companies, pointed out Cizmar.

In addition to that, micro and small enterprises operating in tourism (excluding craft/obrt owners) generate as much as 61 percent of the total income of the tourism sector in Croatia and employ 68 percent of the total average number of employees based on working hours alone.

“Micro and small companies have shown greater resilience to this crisis, given the lower rate of revenue decline and the lower share of revenue loss. This is partly due to the pronounced seasonal concentration of tourist demand in 2020. Medium-sized and large enterprises generally have a more balanced business throughout the year, and last year they had an extremely high seasonality due to the pandemic and population mobility,'' explained Cizmar.

In any given normal market period, tourism directly and indirectly employs 23 percent of all workers in the country, and generates 11 percent of total investments. The dramatic negative impact of the coronavirus crisis will therefore have far-reaching consequences, not only on employment and the financial accumulative power of the sector but also on the investment potential and operations of other, related segments of the economy, warned the author of the analysis.

The height of this tourist season is going well, and at the level of the year, depending on maintaining the stability of the epidemiological situation, we can expect over 70 percent of the physical and financial effects of tourism in normal market years, but again, this does not equal Croatian tourist industry recovery following such a blow.

''While last year the biggest challenges were in restructuring the business in terms of cost rationalisation for survival, this year the key challenges are operational in nature, how can we ensure the quality of services when burdened by a severely reduced number of employees?'' asked Cizmar rhetorically.

She pointed out that Croatia's focus when it comes to tourism should be on preserving its competitiveness in the Mediterranean, and that the issue of labour is crucial here. Therefore, we need to activate additional joint and coordinated activities of all stakeholders from the public and private sector to attract employees to the tourism sector.

This will certainly not be helped by a drop in wages of an average of 9 percent in tourism, which is also a consequence of the pandemic-induced crisis, but this trend further highlights the gap between average wages in hospitality in Croatia and those abroad, and negatively affects the long-term competitiveness of this sector, the analysis explained.

For more on Croatian tourist industry recovery, follow our business section.

ZAGREB, 4 Aug, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 271 coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia and there have been no deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Wednesday.

The number of active cases is 1,147, including 153 hospitalised patients, 12 of whom are on ventilators, while 3,925 persons are self-isolating.

Croatia has registered 364,244 coronavirus cases to date, including 8,267 deaths and 354,830 recoveries, of which 135 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,324,297 persons have been tested for the virus, including 7,996 in the past 24 hours.

Croatia has vaccinated 40.7% of its population, including 49% of adults, 44.48% of whom have completed vaccination.

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

ZAGREB, 3 Aug, 2021 - Croatia has registered 186 new coronavirus cases and one COVID-19-related death in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Tuesday.

The number of active cases currently stands at 1011. Of them, 149 people are receiving hospital treatment, including 11 on ventilators.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic in the country in late February 2020, a total of 363,973 people have been registered as having contracted the virus, of whom 8,267 have died and 354,695 have recovered, including 127 in the last 24 hours.

Currently 4,114 people are self-isolating.

A total of 2,316,301 people have been tested to date, including 7,341 in the last 24 hours. 

By 2 August, 3,091,467 doses of vaccine had been administered, with 40.7 percent of the total population and 48.9 percent of the adult population having been vaccinated.

A total of 1,650,326 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose, while 1,493,859 people, or 44.33 percent of the adult population, have been fully vaccinated.

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

August the 3rd, 2021 - Croatian pharmacies would like to step in and ramp up the vaccination process, aiding all those who haven't yet managed to get to a mass vaccination point in getting their first and second doses, but there is of course, in typical Croatian fashion, an issue.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, numerous Croatian residents have readily taken the opportunity to get their digital COVID-certificates issued in Croatian pharmacies, but imagine how much better things might be if you could go there for vaccination, too?

To obtain a digital COVID certificate, you just need to show either your health insurance card or your identity card, on the basis of which the pharmacist enters you into the database of the Ministry of Health by entering your OIB and issuing you with your certificate. People can get it printed out in paper form if they so wish, or the pharmacist can send it to their e-mail address.

According to Ana Soldo, President of the Croatian Chamber of Pharmacists, despite the initial crowding, the issuance of COVID certificates went mostly smoothly, and people rarely waited for more than a few minutes to receive them. There were technical problems in some Croatian pharmacies, which is expected, and they were effectively eliminated.

It took a lot of time for pharmacists to be able to issue these certificates, but the Chamber expects that such a situation will not last long, reports Novi list.

''It has now become available to people, so people did start going to Croatian pharmacies to get them issued. I believe that then the interest will slowly subside,'' Soldo said.

Regarding the start of vaccination in Croatian pharmacies, which is expected in a few weeks, the pharmacy chamber says that there will be no more mass vaccination rollouts, but the vaccines will be introduced only where there's a need for them.

Coronavirus vaccination will not be performed by the pharmacists themselves, but by doctors who will visit various Croatian pharmacies in mobile teams.

''There aren't many doctors with the time to come out and do this, so this will take place only in those Croatian pharmacies in areas where there are no vaccination points, so that it will make it easier for people to come and get vaccinated. We're going to try to solve this problem by the end of the year by vaccinating people in Croatian pharmacies on our own, without a doctor coming to do it. All countries that have such a model also have much better vaccination coverage,'' added Soldo.

As an example, she pointed out the fantastic results of the United Kingdom, where people are regularly vaccinated by pharmacists, and the vaccination level against influenza in elderly people and those with chronic illnesses is higher than 70 percent, while in Croatia, it is rather shamefully under 20 percent.

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

ZAGREB, 2 Aug 2021 - Croatia has registered 29 new coronavirus cases and three COVID-19-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Monday.

The number of active cases currently stands at 953. Of them, 156 people are receiving hospital treatment, including 13 on ventilators.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic in the country in late February 2020, a total of 363,787 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 8,266 have died and 354,568 have recovered, including 175 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 4,326 people are self-isolating.

A total of 2,308,960 people have been tested to date, including 3,243 in the last 24 hours. 

By 1 August, 3,080,719 doses of vaccine had been administered, with 40.6 percent of the total population and 48.8 percent of the adult population having been vaccinated. A total of 1,647,156 people have been inoculated with at least one dose, while 1,485,510 people, or 44.08 percent of the adult population, have been fully inoculated.

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.

August the 2nd, 2021 - The Croatian summer tourist season is now in full swing, with many more tourists in the country than could even be thought of this time last year, the country has been managing to keep hold of its favourable epidemiological picture. The German coronavirus map, now updated with a few new rules, has showcased Croatia's safety for travellers.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Germany introduced new rules for its travellers returning from foreign holidays on the 1st of August. There are now some stricter rules for Germans returning to their country from being abroad and a new way of categorising risk areas on the German coronavirus map, writes Index.

Who should have a negative test when returning to Germany?

According to the new rules, all passengers entering Germany who haven't yet been vaccinated, as well as those who cannot prove they have contracted and since recovered from the disease must have a negative coronavirus test (and it has been that way since yesterday).

This has so far only applied to air passengers, and has now been extended to all others.

The measure took effect yesterday and will remain in force until the end of the year, with the exception of children under the age of 12 and those who need to cross the German border every day due to work. Road traffic controls will not be carried out systematically, but sporadically, German officials added.

"All unvaccinated people entering Germany will have to show proof of a negative test, whether they come by air, road or rail," said German Health Minister Jens Spahn.

"In this way, we'll manage to reduce the risk of additional imports of the infection," he added.

Currently, just over 50 percent of German citizens are fully vaccinated and the government is appeals daily for people to be immunised.

On Friday, the State Epidemiological Institute Robert Koch published a list of countries from which most newly infected people bringing coronavirus into Germany arrive, on which Croatia is behind Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands.

The new German coronavirus map

At midnight on the first of August, the change related to the marking of risk areas took full effect. There will be classifications into only two categories, and not three as it was before. The category of a epidemiologically low-risk area, in which Zadar County was, is no being longer used. This doesn't mean, according to the Robert Koch Institute, that there is no risk in the areas that did belong to that now shelved German coronavirus map category.

They added that the risk areas will be classified into high-risk areas and areas with virus variants. Croatia isn't in any of the categories, but both Portugal and Spain are in the high risk category.

A high-risk area is an area that has a seven-day incidence greater than 100. People who come from such areas must enter into a ten-day quarantine if they haven't yet been vaccinated, or if they can't show proof of their recovery from the infection. They can exit quarantine after five days, if they take and produce another negative test.

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

ZAGREB, 31 July, 2021 - Croatia has registered 218 new coronavirus cases and five COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Saturday.

The number of active cases currently stands at 1,118. This includes 150 people who are receiving hospital treatment, 11 of whom are on ventilators. A total of 3,920 people are in self-isolation.

Since late February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 363,615 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 8,259 have died and 354,238 have recovered, including 183 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 2,299,700 people have been tested for coronavirus to date, including 6,881 in the last 24 hours.

By 30 July, 3,068,657 doses of vaccine against COVID-19 had been administered, with 40.5 percent of the total population and 48.7 percent of the adult population having been vaccinated. A total of 1,643,402 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose and 1,476,402 of them have been fully vaccinated, which makes up 43.81 percent of the adult population. 

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

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 30 July 2021 - Croatia has registered 170 new coronavirus cases and four COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, and currently there are 1,088 active cases in the country, Health Minister Vili Beroš said at a press conference of the national coronavirus response team on Friday.

This is a slight decrease in the number of new cases compared with 176 cases registered seven days ago. "What the future trends will be like depends on ourselves alone," Beroš said.

In the last 14 days, 2,009 new cases have been recorded, which puts the 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population at 49.1.

A total of 5,397 persons have been tested for coronavirus in the last 24 hours and 3.15 percent of the tests have returned positive.

Currently, 154 people are receiving hospital treatment, five more than on Thursday, and 12 of them are on ventilators. In the last 24 hours, 25 new COVID patients have been admitted to hospitals and 15 have been discharged.

The four persons who have died were at an advanced age and were not vaccinated, Beroš warned.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic in Croatia in late February last year, 8,254 people have died from COVID-19.

By 29 July, 3,057,321 doses of vaccine against COVID-19 had been administered, with 1,639,095 people having been vaccinated, which is 40.4 percent of the total population and 48.6 percent of the adult population. 36.18 percent of the total population and 43.57 percent of the adult population have been fully inoculated.

Follow the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

ZAGREB, 28 July, 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 198 new cases of coronavirus and two people have died as a consequence amid 1,042 active cases, the national COVID response team reported on Wednesday.

There are currently 143 hospitalised patients and 11 of them are on ventilators.

A total of 146 people have recovered over the past 24 hours and 3,267 people are currently self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the contagion was identified in Croatia, there have been a total of 363,039 people infected with the novel coronavirus, of whom 8,249 people have died and 353,748 have recovered, 125 of them in the past 24 hours.

To date, a total of 2,281,574 tests have been conducted, including 6,141 taken in the past 24 hours.

By 27 July, a total of 3,031,563  doses of vaccines had been administered, with 40.1% of the total population or 48.2% of the adult population having been inoculated.

Altogether, 1,628,084 people have received at least one vaccine dose, of whom 1,450,537 have been fully inoculated (1,403,476 persons have received two doses and 47,058 have received the single-dose Jannsen vaccine), which makes up 43.05% of the adult population.

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