OSTZAGREB, 16 April, 2021 - Member of Parliament Zvonimir Troskot of the MOST party on Friday said that huge corruption risks and scandals are hiding under the guise of fight against COVID-19, warning of a new scandal regarding the Cijepise (Get vaccinated) application.

Yet another scandal is about to break regarding the Cijepise application whose design was awarded in a non-transparent way to a good friend of Health Minister Vili Beroš's, with details of the deal having been hidden for months, Troskot told a press conference in Parliament House.

"Huge corruption risks and scandals are being hidden under the guise of fighting against COVID," he said, recalling that MOST had requested that the procurement procedure for medical equipment should not be confidential.

There is an evident model where procurement is being segmented so it does not exceed the threshold of HRK 200,000 in order to avoid a public procurement procedure, said Troskot.

The Cijepise application is very important and should be helping citizens to get vaccinated yet instead people are being inoculated out of line, he said.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 16 April, 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 2,698 new coronavirus cases while 44 people have died as a consequence, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday.

There are 16,053 active cases in the country, including 2,003 hospitalised patients, of whom 186 are on ventilators.

There are currently 31,195 people in self-isolation.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of coronavirus was detected in Croatia, there have been a total of 303,598 people infected with the virus and 6,486 people have died as a consequence.

A total of 281,059 people have recovered from the disease, including 1,908 in the past 24 hours.

To date a total of 1,683,651 people have been tested for the virus, including 9,233 in the past 24 hours.

As of 15 April a total of 643,834 doses of vaccines have been administered, inoculating 519,375 people. Of that number, 393,002 people have received the first dose and 124,459 have received both doses. For 1,914 people there is no data on which dose they have received.

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

ZAGREB, 15 April, 2021 - The head of the national COVID response team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said on Thursday that the epidemiological measures in force until midnight tonight would be extended, underscoring that the restrictions would not be tightened at the national level, but as necessary from county to county.

Speaking to the press after a meeting of the government's Scientific Advisory Council, Božinović said that meeting mostly focused on the current situation with the spread of coronavirus.

County response teams, he added, will adopt stricter measures depending on the epidemiological situation which at the moment will not be ramped up at the national level.

He said that the situation varies from county to county, adding that currently Primorje-Gorski Kotar has the strictest measures.

Vaccines no longer doubtful in Croatia 

Božinović announced that an additional 50 million doses of vaccines were arriving in the EU in the second quarter and he expressed hope that the number of doses for Croatia would not be brought into question.

He added that the experts had different opinions regarding school lessons but there is no reason now to change the decision for schools to go online as the number of those infected is not falling but actually increasing.

Asked what number would be required to ramp up restrictions according to the experts, Božinović said that some countries that introduced so-called traffic lights had tied their own hands in some situations.

"We are referring to trends here. We are monitoring the situation on a daily basis and applying measures on a county to county basis. I think that we won't refrain from that approach as it has shown to be correct so far," he underscored.

Croatia has not registered the experiences with AstraZeneca's vaccination like in other countries

As far as mistrust towards the AstraZeneca vaccine is concerned, Božinović said that reports by the HALMED medical agency and the Croatian Institute for Public Health "have not had any experiences that are being referred to in other countries."

However, it will be necessary to improve the trust in that vaccine through communication with the public, recalling that government members, including the Prime Minister, were inoculated with that vaccine.

"It is important for the overall public to realise that the pandemic has affected all four corners of the earth and that we will come out of this situation when an adequate solution is applied in all the countries affected by COVID," Božinović underlined, adding that it was important for the vaccine to be available everywhere.

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

ZAGREB, 15 April, 2021 -  Of 10,876 tests performed for coronavirus in Croatia in the last 24 hours, 27%, that is 2,927, have turned out to be positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

The COVID-related death toll has risen by 43 to 6,442.

Currently, there are 15,307 active cases of the infection, including 1,988 patients in hospitals, of whom 179 are placed on ventilators.

A total of 29,551 people are self-isolating.

Since the confirmation of the first case of the infection with the novel virus on 25 February 2020, Croatia has performed 1 674 418 tests, and to date 300,900 people have tested positive. Of them, 279,151 have recovered from this disease, including 1,457 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

To date, under the Croatia's vaccine rollout plan, 617,516 doses have been administered. As many as 381,164 people have received the first shot of the two-dose vaccine, while 117,283 have been inoculated with both doses.

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

April the 15th, 2021 - The current Croatian measures are set to expire, but what is coming next? Whether or not there will be any significant relaxation depends on the epidemiological picture across the country at any given time. More power has now been given to local headquarters, so there could be some differences in approach.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, back on March the 31st this year, the National Civil Protection Headquarters issued three decisions which, with some minor changes, extended the current Croatian measures in the fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Indoor sports are prohibited, except for those played by top athletes, and the operation of children's playrooms and workshops for children was also prohibited. All other measures remained the same as they were before. Tomorrow, the National Civil Protection Headquarters must make some new decisions, ie extend or change the current Croatian measures that are in force.

No significant changes at the national level are expected

As Index has since found out, there should be no significant changes compared to the current Croatian measures we have at the national level.

At the moment, the headquarters isn't planning to close the terraces of cafes/restaurants or to put the keys back in the locks of gyms, nor does it plan any other significant tightening up of anti-epidemic measures throughout Croatia. There should be no changes in the decision on crossing the Croatian border either. It's worth nothing that two weeks ago, the decision Croatia implemented is what the European Union will soon adopt - crossing the border (in this case entering Croatia) will be permitted with proof of having two doses of the coronavirus vaccine, of proving that you've had coronavirus over the past six months (with a doctor's certificate) or with a negative PCR or antigen test result which is recognised in the EU.

The measures are set to remain primarily adopted at the local level

The final decision, however, hasn't yet been made as a session of the Scientific Council is expected on Wednesday, starting at 09:30. It is certain however that the strategy of the National Civil Protection Headquarters remains that the measures are to be primarily adopted at the local level.

“The local approach has proven to be effective and justified. We have a good example of the Dubrovnik area where stricter measures were in force and they've now begun to open up. It wouldn't make much sense to impose any new restrictions on them. The meeting of the Scientific Council is set for tomorrow, where we'll hear what the scientists have to say,'' said Index's interlocutor who is close to the National Civil Protection Headquarters.

Warnings about the potential tightening up of measures still remains

"Stricter measures at the national level are possible if we end up with dramatic figures. Then, the healthcare system should be taken into account,'' he added.

Unofficially, it can be heard from the headquarters that it is constantly encouraging smaller local headquarters to actively engage in proposing and implementing measures in their respective areas.

"Counties need to lower their incidence, they can certainly do it more efficiently than we could do at the national level. We understand that the elections are coming soon, but the matter is much broader. This is actually the beginning of a fight that will last all summer, so that we have a season, and it's a fight for the lowest possible incidence. This is something that other countries will follow, first of all Germany,'' emphasised Index's source.

Stricter measures were introduced this week in five Croatian counties

This week, new measures were adopted for Zagreb, Osijek-Baranja, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria counties. The strictest measures were introduced by Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, where a partial lockdown has been in force since Monday. In the coming days, the headquarters expects proposals for stricter measures from more counties.

Zagreb is proposing the easing of current Croatian measures?

It is interesting to note that the City of Zagreb, in which the numbers are also growing significantly, didn't propose any stricter measures after the fiasco with outdoor masks, although the neighbouring Zagreb County did.

The Zagreb City Headquarters, which is now headed by acting mayor Jelena Pavicic Vukicevic (who in the meantime ended up in self-isolation after contracting the disease), asked the National Headquarters to lift the ban on holding outdoor fairs as of Monday, Index has learned.

In its letter, the Zagreb Headquarters states that open-air fairs are a tradition of the City of Zagreb and that they consider it justified to allow them to work in compliance with the epidemiological measures implemented for markets. As an argument, they also stated that markets and shopping centres are open. It has since been unofficially learned from the National Staff that they don't intend to approve the proposal.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including border, travel and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of testing centres across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section.

April 14, 2021 - TCN contributor Kristian Divander shares his experience of COVID-19 in Sweden vs Croatia. 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, I have not been to Croatia since November 2019. In fact, I have been “trapped” in Sweden since then. While at home, I’ve had the opportunity to study the countries’ handling of the crisis. 

At the end of January 2020, the first coronavirus case was reported in Sweden. A young woman was diagnosed with the disease upon returning from China. At the time, the Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten) said that the risk of a major outbreak was ‘very low’. In mid-February, the virus exploded in northern Italy. Coincidentally, thousands of Swedes were on a ski vacation in the Italian Alps. At the end of February, the first wave reached Sweden. It was likely brought to Sweden by ski tourists returning from the Italian Alps. By mid-March, Sweden was the epicenter of the pandemic in Scandinavia. 

In early March, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. By that time, the virus arrived in Croatia. Shortly afterward, the country imposed a complete lockdown. My grandparents couldn’t leave their municipality without a valid coronavirus passport, propusnica. Non-citizens couldn’t enter the country without a negative coronavirus test. Meanwhile, in Sweden, it was pretty much business as usual. There were no major restrictions on freedom of movement, and restaurants, bars, cafés, etc kept open. The authorities issued recommendations, calling on folks to wash their hands, keep distance, avoid crowded spaces, cancel unnecessary trips, and so forth. 

The main difference lies in the role the national governments played. For months, Folkhälsomyndigheten stood at the forefront of the battle against the pandemic. For many Swedes, watching Folkhälsomyndigheten’s press conferences became a part of the daily routine. Anders Tegnell, the state epidemiologist, became a symbol for the Swedish model. Tegnell, not prime minister Stefan Löfven, was interviewed by The Daily Show of Trevor Noah. That says a lot! 

In Croatia, on the other hand, the government has taken an active role since day one. Prime minister Andrej Plenković, interior minister Davor Božinović, and health minister Vili Beroš led the decision-making and were automatically held responsible for all mistakes. 

There’s more than one reason for that. Sweden doesn’t have ministerial governance, which in this case means that decisions concerning the Public Health Agency are made by the government as a whole, and not by the Minister of Social Affairs. Also, Swedish politicians have traditionally avoided interfering in the work of the authorities, that is the government agencies. That’s the main reason why the opposition initially backed the ‘Swedish model’. 

As of April 2021, it’s hard to say whether the Swedish model or the Croatian model was the right one. However, it’s clear that the Swedish system wasn’t built to handle a crisis of this magnitude. Croatia, on the other hand, declared victory too early. Consequently, folks became more laid-back, causing a real backlash in the form of a stronger than expected second wave in September-October. 

Learn more about coronavirus news and travel in Croatia on our TC page.

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April 14, 2021 - With the season approaching, the question on everyone's mind is will traveling during the coronavirus pandemic to Croatia bring problems for tourism in the country?' A light at the end of the tunnel still might be possible.

While many high-reputation magazines regularly praise Croatia as a top destination, this summer, the season will be only as strong as the health situation regarding coronavirus – both in Croatia and abroad, from where the country welcomes as many tourists as possible. Sadly, as Croatian National Radiotelevision (HRT) reports, due to the bad pandemic situation, many European countries, including Croatia, are canceling the travel season.

While, as we reported on TCN, many flights are returning and coming to Croatia, the measures are possibly demotivating travelers.

HRT says Croatia is declared as a highly-risked country in Germany, and returning citizens need to show a negative test that is no older than 48 hours which is a change to previous arrangments when Germans could test after returning home.

„The English planned to allow traveling from May 17 but tour operators and others don't have a big number of reservations to make it profitable so everything is postponed until June 24“, said hotelier  Domagoj Tomasović to HRT. 

British tourists were indeed expected mid-May, but as Darija Reić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board in London, said on the "Good Morning Croatia show" on HRT, there are still fines for non-essential travel.

„Travelling outside of UK is still illegal if you don't travel for essential reasons which include traveling for business, education or medicinal purposes. Otherwise, it's possible to be fined 5000 pounds“, explained Reić, as noted by Turizmoteka.

Tonči Glavina, state secretary for Tourism ministry, said for HRT that the UK is not alone in sending a message to its citizens to not travel anywhere and went on to say that may not be bad for Croatia.

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While the UK stands better in the percentage of vaccinated people than Croatia, Croatians are focusing on reaching the green zone by the end of May. Seventy thousand vaccinated workers in the tourist sector are the goal for the country.

„If that doesn't happen until the start of the season, then we need tests and it would be good if tourist board make testing zones and if we co-finance the expenses of testing to our guests“, concluded Tomasović.

The Ministry of Tourism already secured 20 million kuna to co-finance testing for tourists if Croatia doesn't reach the green zone.

PCR tests currently cost 500 kuna; quick antigen test is 150 kuna, and the translations of the results to English is 125 kuna. Twenty tourists were already tested in Zagreb on Tuesday. 

Learn more about coronavirus: news and travel in Croatia on our TC page.

For more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 14 April, 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 3,099 new coronavirus cases while 41 people have died as a consequence, the national COVID response team reported on Wednesday.

That is a significantly higher number of infections and deaths compared to Tuesday when 1,936 new cases and 25 deaths were registered.

There are 13,880 active cases in the country, including 1,955 hospitalised patients, of whom 185 are on ventilators. There are currently 27,528 people in self-isolation.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of coronavirus was detected in Croatia, there have been a total of 297,973 people infected with the virus and 6,399 people have died as a consequence. A total of 277,694 have recovered from the disease, including 1,274 in the past 24 hours.

To date a total of 1,663,542 have been tested for the virus, including 11,017 in the past 24 hours.

As of 13 April a total of 605,423 doses of vaccines have been administered, inoculating 491,601 people. Of that number, 375,993 people have received the first dose and 113,822 have received both doses. For 1,786 people there was no data on which dose they received.

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

ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - Foreign tourists who generate at least one bed night in Zagreb can be tested for COVID-19 at 50% of the price and about 20 have already been tested over the weekend, the director of the Zagreb Tourist Board (TZGZ), Martina Bienenfeld, said on Tuesday.

TZGZ is the first regional tourist board in Croatia that has opened a testing station for foreign tourists as had previously been proposed by Tourism and Sports Minister Nikolina Brnjac.

Testing to be co-financed

In addition to opening the testing station, TZGZ has decided to cofinance testing that is conducted during weekends and public holidays, Bienenfeld told Hina.

TZGZ will cover half the cost of testing for tourists, she said, estimating that the greatest demand will be in the coming period and that that will depend on the percentage of inoculated tourists from the countries they are coming from, but also of employees in tourism and citizens themselves, and finally on the introduction of Digital Green Certificates at the EU level.

Testing during weekdays will be at the normal price and already about ten Zagreb hotels are providing testing services. Testing can also be conducted at Zagreb's airport.

Providing opportunity for tourists to extend their stay

"One of the important reasons why we decided to co-finance testing in the days noted is that this provides the opportunity for tourists to extend their stay in Zagreb, because they do not have to worry where and when they can be tested when returning to their countries and they can avoid quarantine," said Bienefeld.

All the necessary information regarding testing is available at www.infozagreb.hr/korona-virus in various languages, she said and added that the first tourists tested this way last weekend (10 and 11 April) were from Italy, Denmark, Germany and Albania.

Bienefeld said that since the beginning of the year until 11 April, almost 65,000 tourists had visited Zagreb and they generated 177,500 bed nights, which is about 47% of arrivals and 58% of bed nights generated in the comparable period in 2020.

Compared to the record 2019 year, that is about 27% and 37% of arrivals and bed nights respectively. 

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

ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, 1,936 new cases of the coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Croatia, and there have been 25 related deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Tuesday.

Since the start of the epidemic in February 2020, 1,652,525 people have been tested for the virus, including 10,214 in the past 24 hours.

The number of active cases in Croatia stands at 12,096, including 1,948 people who are hospitalised, of whom 192 are on ventilators.

Currently 26,192 people are in self-isolation.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, 294,874 people have contracted the novel coronavirus and 6,358 of them have died. A total of 276,420 people have recovered, including 1,659 in the last 24 hours.

As of 12 April, 595,369 doses of vaccine have been used, and 483,825 people have been vaccinated.

Of them, 370,544 people have received the first dose, and 111,544 have received both doses. For 1,737 people, there is no data on which dose they have received.

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