March the 26th, 2021 - Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovic has confirmed that the government's support in the form of job preservation financial aid will continue to be paid out to companies which qualify for it during the month of April as the pandemic rages on.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, government measures to support the domestic economy due to the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on businesses will continue throughout the month of April.

On top of that, the reimbursement of electricity bills to all citizens affected by the Petrinja earthquake which struck back at the very end of 2020, as well as the suspension of HAC toll fee collections along the Zagreb-Sisak motorway will be extended. All of the above was announced by PM Andrej Plenkovic following a recently held cabinet meeting.

"The 4,000 kuna job preservation measure will continue throughout April for all Croatian economic entities that are able to request this type of support according to the set out criteria," PM Andrej Plenkovic confirmed, adding that the government would instruct the Croatian Employment Service (CES) to continue with paying out these government measures to preserve jobs.

For those who have been prevented from doing business due to the anti-epidemic restrictions in the fight against the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the state will continue to reimburse all fixed costs.

PM Andrej Plenkovic also recalled the fact that the measures had managed to preserve the employment of many people over the last, horrendously challenging year, adding that he believed that this would be confirmed by data on the total number of insured persons at the Croatian Employment Service at the end of March 2021.

"Through the measures in which we've invested more than 10 billion kuna so far, the government has preserved jobs and employment and enabled business entites and their owners to overcome this continuing crisis," he said.

In addition, the Croatian Government decided to extend the compensation of electricity costs in earthquake-stricken Banovina for April, all of which will be taken care of by HEP.

For current information on coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel and border rules, as well as testing centres up and down the country, bookmark this page.

March the 26th, 2021 - Could the Rijeka coronavirus vaccination centre ever become an actual reality? The question holds weight as the EU's vaccination rollout continues to be embarrassingly slow and complicated.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, knowledge and the proper technological platform in the production of sterile pharmaceutical forms are a key prerequisite when attempting to embark on the adventure of vaccine production, as is fully securing reliable funding sources.

''Here at JGL we have knowledge and skills in the production of sterile pharmaceutical forms, as well as a strong technological platform, and we could start producing a vaccine, either vector or mRNA type, but only if we get a license from a strategic partner to transfer the finished technology for vaccine production,'' the Chairman of the Board of JGL, Ivo Usmiani, said recently.

When speaking about the complex issue of obtaining a license in order for the Rijeka coronavirus vaccination centre to ever become a reality, Usmiani stressed that Rijeka also has a Centre of Excellence for Viral Immunology and Vaccines with a dozen top quality virologists, viral immunologists and molecular biotechnologists at its disposal (more can be read in the link provided just above).

The head of the Centre of Excellence for Viral Immunology and Vaccines, Prof. Dr. Stipan Jonjic from the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka, says that it would be fantastic if the production of vaccines against COVID-19 in Rijeka really materialises, Novi list writes.

''As you know, JGL has modern plants and basic working conditions that include the cultivation of cell cultures, purification and all other components of the sort of work that must take place in such sterile conditions. In addition, there are ambitions to develop molecular technologies that are key to vaccine development. As far as I know, they'd have to procure some of the infrastructure units, but that shouldn't present a big problem although there could be a problem in regard to time.

If JGL concludes a contract with a company that already produces an approved coronavirus vaccine and provided that all technological preconditions for production are met, and certain licenses, packaging and the proper storage of vaccines are required, then they could start, which would be fantastic for us in Croatia and for Europe and the region.

The EU should actually work on launching dozens of similar plants that would produce vaccines on technologies already available and accepted in Europe. Let's face it, this is a big challenge, but without ambition and challenge there can be no success. I'm personally very glad that JGL's leadership has such ambitions, no matter how things develop in the future. By adopting new technologies, they're given the opportunity to be involved in the production and development of other vaccines and biological drugs. Just how important such things would be for Rijeka and the region goes without saying,'' Jonjic concluded when discussing the prospects of the potential Rijeka coronavirus vaccination centre.

For more on coronavirus information specific to Croatia, including travel and border rules and testing centres, bookmark this page.

ZAGREB, 25 March, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has performed 8,396 tests for coronavirus and 1,673 of them, or 20%, have returned positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

Currently, there are 8,407 active cases in the country, and of them, 1,071  patients are receiving hospital treatment, including100 placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, the death toll related to COVID-19 has increased by 10 to 5,838.

Since the outbreak of this infectious disease in late February last year, over 1.5 million tests have been performed, and 262,309 people have turned out to be positive. Of them, 248,064 have recovered, including 856 in the last 24 hours.

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

March the 25th, 2021 - Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic has spoken out about the new measures set to be introduced as the current ones are due to expire at the end of this month. As we look towards the tourist season, it seems that negative antigen test results will be enough to enter the country.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the current anti-epidemic measures are set to expire at the end of the month. ''At the beginning of April, we will adopt new measures,'' said Minister Davor Bozinovic at today's press conference of the National Civil Protection Headquarters. It all depends on us as to whether it will be just an extension, whether there will be some more restrictive solutions introduced or whether we'll be more liberal,'' Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic stressed.

Bozinovic confirmed that those who violate the measures will no longer be entitled to financial aid from the state.

"It's important to look at whether someone is violating the measures and whether or not they're registered. It doesn't matter if they only get a warning, which is also a form of sanction, or a misdemeanor warrant has been issued, the National Civil Protection Headquarters will send out a list of all these legal entities and they will no longer be entitled to any support grants," Minister Davor Bozinovic warned.

As part of the preparations for the upcoming tourist season, he said that tourists who have been vaccinated, who have overcome the disease (and can prove it with a doctor's certificate of recovery) or have a negative antigen test result will be able to enter the Republic of Croatia.

He also assessed that the regional approach to tightening the current measures is justified due to the preparations for the tourist season because "the EU will assess the incidence in our counties and make decisions for citizens who plan to travel there."

For more current information on coronavirus specific to Croatia, bookmark this page.

March the 25th, 2021 - The EU digital green certificate proposal has piqued the interest of most people, be that for good or bad reasons, but the idea which has conveniently made sure the controversial ''covid passport'' term isn't in its name still has a lot of question marks above its head.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the EU green digital certificate won't solve all of the now highly specific problems that are set to arise around the freedom of travel and protection against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but it will provide a model that will ensure the mobility of EU citizens and eliminate the current discrimination which goes against EU rules. 

The above was the main conclusion drawn from the online conference "Digital Certificates and the COVID-19 virus" which was organised by the Office of the European Parliament in Croatia back at the end of last week.

Croatian MEP Valter Flego pointed out that last year showed us the chaos that can quite easily arise and this year we all need to try our best to avoid it happening again at all costs.

"It's obvious that this Easter is also going to be a failure in terms of any sort of tourist season, and it's certain that the opening up of the country will not take place even during the pre-season. We should already be engulfed in some serious preparations for the upcoming season, everything should be ready for the pre-season, including the hiring of seasonal workers.

Tourist staff would now be at various fairs and finishing off everything for this season and starting preparations for the next one. But there's been none of that. Last week, the European Commission (EC) adopted a proposal for the introduction of the EU digital green certificate, but the fact is that due to bureaucratic and technical reasons, the move will only come to life in two to three months from now,'' Flego warned.

He explained the importance of the EU digital green certificate through one simple example - if a family of four now wants to go from Germany on holiday to Croatia and return home, then they need to set aside 600 euros for testing, which is ridiculous and enough to put anyone off bothering going anywhere at all.

Analyses show, according to Flego, that the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will be 10-12 times longer and more expensive than the situation following the 2009 economic crisis was.

"If coronavirus just disappeared right now at this moment, the question is how successful our recovery of the economy, and especially tourism, would be this year. Some people in Croatia say that this year we will be at 60 percent of the turnover of 2019. Personally, I'm not convinced of that and I really don't know what such estimates are based on,'' concluded Flego.

MEP Tomislav Sokol emphasised that this model of the EU digital green certificate, although compromises must still be reached and there will still be harmonisation to come in the Council and the Parliament, is certainly a great achievement in many fields. It will end discrimination against EU citizens with regard to which member states they come from and simplify and reduce the cost of their travel.

"The EC has given member states the right to decide on the details, from how and which tests they will accept, to the fact that each country can decide which vaccine to recognise as being valid - including those which aren't registered in the EU, such as the Russian and Chinese vaccines.

However, it's already a great achievement in itself that the certificates will be bilingual and machine-readable, which means that there will be no procedures and costs for translating and establishing their authenticity,'' said Sokol.

He also pointed out that it is important that there will be no first or second class citizens and that there will be no restrictions on movement for any EU citizens. Sokol also referred to the issue that many EU member states are already looking at, or even seriously considering, using both Russian and Chinese vaccines, which haven't been approved by the EU itself.

"The EC regulation on digital certificates states that each country can decide whether and under what conditions to accept those certificates and vaccines that have not received EU approval. In this particular case, this means that Croatia can accept certificates for, for example, Hungarian residents/citizens who have been vaccinated with the Russian or Chinese vaccine,'' explained Sokol.

What about those who don’t want to be vaccinated?

Professor Iris Goldner Lang from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb pointed out that so far, we've had to get used to researching every day on how to enter and return from countries, because there were, and still are, vastly different measures which are changing almost daily. This new EU model solves all this through a "green certificate".

"This sort of digital confirmation will take some time yet because today we have a situation where relatively few citizens have been vaccinated. In some cases, people refuse to be vaccinated for whatever reason, but more importantly, there are a large number of countries where vaccine distribution is still in its infancy.

From the perception of the EU legal system, the EU digital green certificate would be unacceptable at this point as it would lead to discrimination because very few people are currently vaccinated, for one reason or another. That's why it's still going to take some time for it to come to life,'' said Goldner Lang. She added that even after vaccination is at a high level, there will be people who aren't allowed or who don't want to be vaccinated, and the way in which they can travel will have to be regulated.

The legal expert recalled that there have been certain vaccination rules and obligations in the world for many years to enter some countries - mostly African countries that insist on vaccination against, for example, yellow fever and some other infectious diseases.

For more on travel, borders rules, testing centres and other information on coronavirus specific to Croatia, bookmark this page.

ZAGREB, 24 March (Hina) - Andreja Marić of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Rada Borić of the New Left party on Wednesday critcised the Croatian government as well as the European Commission over procrastination in administering COVID-19 vaccines.

Addressing the national parliament, Andreja Marić said that the Croatian government failed this test.

Until three days ago, a mere 470,000 doses of all vaccine producers were delivered to Croatia, which is only 14 doses per 100 inhabitants, Marić said.

To date, 358,000 doses have been administered, and 8.9% of citizens have received one shot so far of the two-dose vaccine and 2.2% have been inoculated with both doses. Only Bulgaria and Latvia have fared worse than Croatia in the European Union, she said.

Marić insists that delays in coronavirus vaccine deliveries are not the result of the unjust distribution inside the European Union but a consequence of Croatia's wrong decision to rely on AstraZeneca vaccines at the beginning.

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

March 24, 2021 - The Croatian government and National Headquarters are placing more responsibility on the county headquarters for 2021 Croatian tourist season preparations and believe they must coordinate with the tourism sector.

HRTurizam reports that the Chief of the National Civil Protection Headquarters, Davor Božinović, published a new instruction to the local Civil Protection Headquarters, specially made to prepare the tourist season. Božinović pointed out that all Civil Protection Headquarters are obliged to coordinate with the tourist boards operating in their area and, in cooperation with them, consider what measures and activities need to be taken to make their area epidemiologically safe for their citizens and tourists.

Božinović stressed that they want to ensure that everyone in the health and tourism system coordinates, considers the current situation, and either independently or through a proposal of measures to the national headquarters, tries to stop the spread of the virus from entering the new season. He believes it is not time to adopt horizontal measures, especially in those counties that have a favorable epidemiological situation.

"When we talk about the regional approach, I'm pretty sure it's justified. We have entered this phase of the epidemic with minimal numbers in some counties. We know how important tourism is to us. Countries will assess the situation in all our counties. Therefore they will make travel decisions in them. This is a job that the profession will do all summer, so we need the awareness of all institutions and citizens," said Božinović, adding that Croatia will implement some things regarding Covid passports before the EU. "Those who have either recovered or been vaccinated or have an EU-approved test will be able to enter Croatia," Božinović said at the news conference today.

"The headquarters are invited to propose measures because they know best where the focus is. It is also preparing for what will be an integral part of European policy related to the tourist season, and that is the regional approach," said Božinović, adding that last year they fought not to see Croatia as a whole.

Looking at the Re-open.eu platform, Croatia is still divided into two regions, not by counties, which does not give an accurate picture. The platform serves as the main reference point for anyone traveling to the EU because it provides centralized and up-to-date information.

On the other hand, there is an initiative to divide Croatia into four regions instead of counties, as was done on the HUT Corona Region Tracker (North Coast - Istria and Kvarner), South Coast (Dalmatia), Central Croatia (Zagreb and surroundings), and Eastern Croatia.

However, without entering into the discussion of which model is better - by counties or four regions, the most important thing is that someone from Croatia reacts to the Re-open.eu platform so that the country is not divided into only two regions. 

There are currently 28 test centers in the Republic of Croatia that perform RT-PCR tests for COVID-19. All processed samples are entered into the national platform at the Croatian Health Insurance Institute, available to all county public health institutes.

In some cities and counties in Croatia, an epidemiological measure of testing using rapid antigen tests is being implemented.

At the recently held 6th Split-Dalmatia County Family Accommodation Forum, it was pointed out that there will be eight testing points in the County.

Director of the Teaching Institute for Public Health of the Split-Dalmatia County Željka Karin appealed for respect and adherence to all epidemiological measures.

"Testing points will be on Brač, Hvar, Vis, Makarska, Imotski, Trogir, Sinj and Split. The Teaching Institute for Public Health's testing point is always open in Split; in a month, we will have to relocate the checkpoint that is now in the ferry port because of cruisers, and we are also talking about a testing point at Split Airport," said Karin. 

For the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia, CLICK HERE.

March 24, 2021 - What has life been like for Asians living in Croatia during the pandemic. A look at the realities of pandemic racism.

I remember in the early day of the pandemic, around a year ago, reading of the experiences of a Chinese lady living in Croatia, and the pandemic racism she suffered on the streets of the Croatian city she now called home. The pandemic came from China, and so it was her fault. Or so seemed the logic. 

I have been meaning to catch up with a couple of Chinese friends here in the last weeks to hear about their experiences. Has that pandemic racism gone away? And how has being Chinese in a modern European city been as an experience, with so many conspiracy theories about the origins of COVID-19. 

And then I saw this on a social media post from a Chinese lady living with her Croatian partner here. A report in full with her permission.  

Having been through a crazy year in 2020 and now living a semi-normal life here, I was almost over the phase of being alert of the existence of anti-Asian/ coronavirus hatred in Zagreb (Not in Atlanta and New York, though). 

Today as I was walking alone in the cold on Ilica St., along with many other people, a woman who just came from the small path of Uspinjača stopped me and said, “You should wear a mask.” I took off my earplugs, "Excuse me?" I said. "You should wear a mask." She said it again with an angry tone of voice.  I asked her, "Why?" "Because it is the LAW!" She said. What a stupid question.

Do I need to explain to her that I do wear a mask in shops, on the tram, in a taxi, at a restaurant, at school and library - INDOORS. I also have a dozen of new masks at home, now I have 2 in my pocket. I cut off the two strings on my used masks so they would not entangle and kill small sea animals and seagulls when this garbage is dumped into the sea and bla bla bla... So she should just mind her own business and not worry about me? I thought to myself. Or maybe I just do what she told me to and put the mask on and she'd be satisfied? 

So I looked at her, and then quickly looked at all the people around us, but nobody wore any mask, either... I then asked her, "But why don't you tell them to wear the mask? Tell'em now, too!" my hand pointing at the people as I just blurted out these words. I turned to the bunch of passers-by, raised my voice and said "Hey people, this lady has something to tell you guys. She wants you to wear a mask..." 

As I was saying this, this woman quietly walked away and disappeared into the crowd.  She seemed embarrassed. I decided not to say "Hey lady, please don't go. Come on..."

Of course, she would not target me in the crowd and specifically ask me to wear a mask, if I was not Asian. But seriously, whenever you see an Asian-looking person in town, this person has a mask on it, even when nobody else does. I have never been "anti-mask", not even a little. But unfortunately, I didn't wear one at this moment outdoors. 

Having this story said, and I just remembered the hate comments on a recent news about a newly-opened Chinese restaurant in Croatia. Some people say they cook and sell cats, dogs and rats meat, they bring the disease. I rarely fight back against internet trolls. But I never want to give in when these kind of scenarios happen in reality, especially being Asian and female, which means we could be easily taken as a target by the anti-Asian haters. 

Be a woman, be smart and brave, be physically and mentally strong, and always be ready to fight back. Fight back against any racism, the dictatorial government, any unfair things in life, and fight for your own rights. As a teacher I am, I constantly tell my young female students this.

What is It Like for Black People Living in Croatia?

ZAGREB, 24 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and Health Minister Vili Beroš were vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine at Government House on Tuesday, and Beroš said that they had sent a message of confidence in medical science and the medical profession.

"Today we have sent a strong message of confidence in medical science, the medical profession, primarily because we were vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. We will continue to work diligently on vaccinating Croatian citizens so that they could continue living and working with as little risk of infection as possible. Every vaccinated individual contributes to the protection of the population and is definitely a step towards our old normal, and a step closer to a successful tourist season," Beroš told reporters after the vaccination.

He added that there were still many challenges ahead and that it was important to think about future challenges such as new variants of the virus.

"I believe that with this message we have encouraged citizens to follow us on that path, to curb the epidemic and return to our normal life," Beroš said.

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

ZAGREB, 24 March, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 1,891 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 20 deaths, while the number of active cases currently stands at 7,600, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Wednesday.

There are 1,038 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, 99 of whom are on ventilators.

At the moment, there are 23,766 people in self-isolation.

Since 25 February 2020, a total of 260,636 people have contracted coronavirus, 5,828 of them have died, and 247,208 have recovered, including 665 in the last 24 hours.

As of Wednesday, a total of 1,495,041 people have been tested, 9,327 of whom over the past 24 hours.

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