ZAGREB, Dec 7, 2020 - A total of 1,886 new coronavirus cases and 59 infection-related deaths have been confirmed in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Monday.

A total of 2,629 patients are receiving treatment in hospitals, including 277 who are on ventilators, which is 40 more than on Sunday.

In the past 24 hours, 254 people have been hospitalised and 133 have been released.

Currently 52,764 people are self-isolating.

So far 816,241 people have been tested for the novel virus, of whom 5,356 have been tested in the last 24 hours.

Since February 25, when the first case of the infection was confirmed in the country, 152,239 people have been infected with the virus, of whom 127,882 have recovered, including 3,443 in the last 24 hours.

The number of active cases stands at 22,124.

December the 7th, 2020 - The latest anti-epidemic restrictions introduced by the National Civil Protection Headquarters have dealt another unwelcome blow to the economy, with certain sectors being hit harder than others. The government has, as such, made some alterations to this new round of Croatian economic measures.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, Croatian enterprises who use the measures to preserve jobs within their companies during this difficult economic period will be able to apply for new criteria as of this Friday. The new options are in line with last week's decision taken by the Croatian Government to expand the coverage available for those in catering and hospitality, gyms and more who have had to put the keys in the lock until the 21st of this month as a result of the National Civil Protection Headquarters' decision.

The Governing Board of the Croatian Employment Service (CES) has approved that this measure can be used by all those affected by the decision recently taken by the Headquarters, as can the publishers of books and occasional publications, and the novelty is that this new payment which covers up to four thousand kuna net in wage payments will provide an increase in allowances for directors and procurators in companies with less than ten employees.

The CES is leaving the possibility open for the assessment of which conditions are more favourable for employers who have already submitted their applications for support for the month of November. Employers whose application for November was rejected before this correction of the criteria also have the right to submit a new application or supplement their previous application in accordance with these new provisions.

The biggest novelty in this round of Croatian economic measures is the covering of part of or indeed all of the fixed costs of employers which have been hit by the latest decision made by the Headquarters. The ins and outs are still being determined by the Ministry of Finance, so details on what will be possible to be reimbursed by the state and in what percentage it will all be charged will be known in the days to come.

Last week, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric announced that the refund would cover the lease of business premises, electricity, water, gas and heating bills, fees for HRT and ZAMP and possibly even more than that.

As announced after the session of the Management Board, the CES will formally make these payments as it has done in the past, but the cost declarations will be submitted and approved by the Tax Administration of the Ministry of Finance. The competent ministry will publish all instructions to employers who are interested in the new round of Croatian economic measures on its website.

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ZAGREB, December 6, 2020 - Concerned by the second wave of the pandemic spreading in Croatia and the high death toll, 26 prominent Croatian doctors and scientists from the country and abroad launched a public appeal on Sunday and made recommendations for overcoming the severe public health and social crisis in Croatia.

They said that only with great solidarity and commitment of the entire society can we resist this great challenge.

"We would like to distance ourselves from all the statements that based on incorrect data assured the public in November that the epidemic in Croatia would stagnate or wane and that we did not need stricter measures or that they were not effective. We also distance ourselves from estimates that the virus had weakened in any way, because they are not in line with scientific knowledge," they said in the appeal.

Strictest anti-epidemic measures should be adopted

When it is established that the spread of the infection has gone out of control, it is necessary, it was underscored, to activate preventively and without delay the strictest measures for curbing the epidemic that are politically and economically possible in Croatia. This respects the principle of prevention and prevents the occurence of a high number of infections, instead of having to treat them, with hospitals being overloaded with infected persons.

It is necessary to ensure quality and transparent information on the spread of the infection.

The communication on the pandemic needs to be improved to restore the trust in people managing the crisis, they said.

The signatories of the appeal call for a register, that is a publicly accessible tally, which will count the number of the persons infected with coronavirus, the number of persons in self-isolation, and provide information about hospitalisation numbers and the hospitals giving treatment to those persons. Such tally should give information about available capacities in COVID hospitals, with the exact number of beds for patients who need intensive care treatment.

The signatories say that the daily statistics about the COVID-fatalities in hospitals should also include the data on persons who die from COVID complications outside hospitals.

They call for resolute action in testing and for conducting a higher number of tests in the conditions of the intensive spread of the infection and "the lost control over the epidemic", so that the percentage of positive tests could drop from 30%, as it is currently the case, to below 5%.

The appeal urges the authorities to specify key epidemiological parameters for imposing or lifting of certain anti-epidemic measures so as "to lessen the uncertainties in the society."

The signatories say that in their capacities as experts they do not recommend any decisions which would not be applied to everybody and in this context they criticise any politicisation of measures and their adjustment to some of the social groups.

This (epidemic) is a problem concerning the whole Croatian society and we all are affected, and therefore only solidarity and concerted action of the whole society can help us to manage this huge challenge.

The appeal was sent by researcher Ivica Djikic on behalf of another 25 signatories.

The other signatories are Andreja Ambriovic Ristov, Nenad Ban, Ilija Brizic, Luka Cicicn-Sain, Stipan Jonjic,  doc.dr.sc. Vanda Juranic Lisnic, Petra Klepac, Vanja Klepac-Ceraj, Branko Kolaric, Vladimir Krajinovic, Marko Kutlesa, Pero Lucin, Kresimir Luetic, Igor Mezic, Bojan Polic, Kristijan Ramadan,  Igor Rudan, Marija Santini, Mihaela Skobe, Sasa Srica, Igor Stagljar, Goran Tesovic, Andrej Trampuz, Boris Ujevic and Domagoj Vucic.

ZAGREB, December 6, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 2,899 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 72 related deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Sunday.

The number of active cases in Croatia stands at 23,740. There are 2,543 COVID patients in hospitals, including 264 on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, a total of 150,353 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 2,174 of them have died, and 124,439 have recovered, including 3,582 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 57,295 people in self-isolation.

To date, 810,885 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 9,340 in the last 24 hours.

December 6, 2020 - A plan for easing COVID-19 measures in Croatia should be introduced by the National Civil Protection Headquarters, stating concrete, measurable numerical parameters for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Index.hr reports that according to the announcements of the Chief State Epidemiologist Krunoslav Capak, the National Civil Protection Headquarters should present to the public a document in which, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, it states concrete, measurable numerical parameters according to which the current strict measures will be eased.

According to the rather strict proposal of the epidemiologist, easing measures would take place in three rounds and will depend on the average number of those infected during the last 14 days and the share of those infected among all those tested.

The first round involves opening restaurants and increasing the number of people allowed at gatherings from 25 to 30. But for that to happen, it is necessary that the 14-day incidence per 100,000 inhabitants does not exceed 300, and that the share of positives among all daily tested is less than ten percent over a period of seven days.

In the second round, cafes would open and 50 people would be allowed to gather. This step can be taken when the 14-day incidence will not exceed 200.

The third round implies permission to increase the occupancy of public transport and gatherings of up to 100 people, but only when the 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants does not exceed 100, and the share of positive cases in relation to the tested does not exceed 5 percent. 

Croatia currently has a 14-day incidence rate of 1141.6 COVID-19 cases per 100 000, and a 14-day incidence rate of nineteen COVID-19 deaths per 100,000.

On Saturday, the National Civil Protection Headquarters issued a statement with the latest data on the state of the coronavirus epidemic in Croatia.

"In the last 24 hours, 4,084 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus were recorded, and the number of active cases in Croatia today is a total of 24,495.

Among them, 2,514 patients are in hospital, of which 259 are on respirators.

70 people died."

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December the 6th, 2020 - The ongoing coronavirus crisis has made just about everything ten times more difficult than it should be. While the horrific stories from hospitals circulate and the worrisome financial issues being faced by companies only add to what is a very bitter tasting broth, one Rijeka pastor has thought up a plan of sorts.

Many Croatian companies have rather successfully managed to turn to online sales in order to make ends meet as facilities close down, but could we have ever imagined that the church might do the same? This Rijeka pastor has let everyone who might need to know that although he can't come and bless anyone's home personally because of the risk of contagion, they're free to ''do the blessing'' themselves, as long as they send their payments.

As Index writes, due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Catholic Church in Croatia, more precisely its parishes throughout Croatia, could lose significant funds they regularly receive from the blessing of houses.

As such, one Rijeka pastor with a clearly keen entrepreneurial eye sent a letter out to the faithful, inviting them to bless their own homes, while the money that is donated to the Church during the blessing of the house can be paid by the faithful into a bank account. This was stated in a letter sent by a Rijeka priest from Skurinje, Novi list writes.

"I hope you're well. We're living in uncertain and difficult times, times that aren't easy at all, so, we really need God's blessing to protect us from the coronavirus pandemic now. Unfortunately, due to the epidemiological situation, this year I decided not to to visit families to provide that blessing, so that I wouldn't end up being a potential carrier of the coronavirus infection and disease. I want to protect both you and myself,'' writes the Rijeka pastor from Skurinje.

Furthermore, the letter lists the work that the parish from Skurinje has completed and all that it continues to plan to do.

"It's customary for families to give the priest their annual financial contribution for the needs of the parish during the blessing of the family. If you feel that need and if you want to donate your contribution to the parish this year, you can do so by bringing it to the parish office, sacristy or by sending it to the parish's bank account,'' writes the Rijeka pastor from Skurinje, thanking (from the bottom of his heart) those who choose to do so for their generosity.

"Prepare some holy water, a Bible, a cross and a candle on the table for the blessing of the family. If you don't have holy water in your families, you can come to church with a bottle and take some," the Rijeka pastor said before congratulating all believers on the upcoming Christmas period.

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December the 6th, 2020 - Croatian tourism recovery, and a recovery that comes as quickly as possible for this most important segment of the domestic economy, is necessary. The ongoing pandemic has dealt the sector, which makes up 20 percent of the country's GDP, an extremely heavy blow. Owing to that, a council to work on rapid Croatian tourism recovery has been formed.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Minister of Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac, made a decision recently on the establishment of the Council for Recovery and Development of Tourism, the implementation of tourism in 2021 and improving the tourism offer that brings together all relevant stakeholders in the tourism sector to better prepare Croatian tourism for the upcoming period.

The main tasks of the council will be to consider the most important issues related to the tourism sector, such as the implementation of tourism in 2021 under the circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, the most effective promotion of Croatian tourism, providing tourism and hospitality services in accordance with all epidemiological measures and strategic planning, programmes and operational plans for Croatian tourism recovery. 

On top if that, attention will need to be paid to investments and reforms related to the Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy for the period until 2030, the National Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development from 2021 to 2027, the National Reform Programme, the Operational Plan for Recovery and Resilience and the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027.

"Joint cooperation is extremely important for us to find the best solutions to ensure Croatian tourism recovery. In addition to the financial support we provide with the aim of preserving jobs, the Programme for the allocation of state aid to the tourism and sport sector is also being prepared. We have important years ahead of us in which we'll need to create new foundations for tourism development with new strategic frameworks for tourism. The work of the Council will be aimed at finding answers to the questions of adapting Croatian tourism to the consequences of the crisis caused by the pandemic and the most successful way out of this difficult situation,'' said Minister Brnjac, who is also the President of the Council consisting of 31 members.

The Council consists of a representative of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, a representative of the Croatian Tourist Board, then as representatives of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, a representative of the Association of Hoteliers, the Association of Marinas, the Association of Charter Accommodation Providers, the Association of Travel Agencies, the Association of Catering Activities luxury hotels, Hostel Association, Tourist Shipping Association, Cultural Tourism Association, Business Tourism Association, River Tourism Association, Adventure Tourism Association, Diving Tourism Association and Health Tourism Association, and a representative of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts - Guild of Tourist Workers, Croatian Employers' Association, Trade Union of Tourism and Services of Croatia and members of the Social Council for Tourism, Croatian Tourism Association, Croatian Hotel Employers Association, Croatian Camping Association, National Association of Family and Small Hotels, Association of Croatian Travel Agencies a, the Association of Croatian Tourist Guides, the Croatian Rural Tourism Association, the Voice of Entrepreneurs Association, the National Association of Caterers, the Croatian Association for Tourism and Rural Development "Village Members Club" and the Croatian Holiday and Hostel Association.

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ZAGREB, December 5, 2020 - The head of the COVID-19 crisis management team in the northern city of Varazdin said on Saturday that the spread of coronavirus could not be stopped in Varazdin County until the hotspots in industrial plants were dealt with.

After the Varazdin City Council's special session on the occasion of the City Day, observed on 6 December in memory of the city's patron saint, St. Nicholas, the COVID-19 crisis management team's head  Zlatan Avar said that the hotspots of the infection had occurred in industrial plants and added that in some factories between 30% and 40% people had contracted the virus.

Avar called on the city's authorities to finance rapid antigen tests in the area and in this context he praised the example set by the City of Zagreb.

You can see incidence rates for the municipality of Kneginec, Trnovec Bartolovecki and Varazdin where there are industrial plants, and the situation in those places is worse than elsewhere in the county, Avar said.On Saturday, the local authorities confirmed 319 new infections with coronavirus and nine deaths linked to this disease in the last 24 hours.

In the last seven days, the coronavirus incidence rate in the county was 1,170 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The city's hospital is currently treating 262 COVID-19 patients, of whom 21 are in intensive care wards.

Since the onset of the epidemic, 132 people in the county have died of the complications linked to the COVID-19 disease.

County crisis response team head refutes claims about hotspots in factories

The head of the COVID-19 crisis management team for Varazdin County, Robert Vugrin, said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon that more stringent restriction imposed in the county two weeks ago had led to the stagnation of new cases. 

He refuted Avar's claims about hotpsots in the industrial plants and said that local transmissions had led to a surge in the number of new infections.

The director of the Varazdin hospital, Nenad Kudelic said that today the hospital registered 10 fewer COVID patients than yesterday and that this decrease had occurred after a streak of many days with a rise in hospitalisation numbers.

ZAGREB, December 5, 2020 -  A total of 4,084 new coronavirus cases and 70 infection-related deaths have been confirmed in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Saturday.

The number of active cases currently stands at 24,495. It includes 2,514 patients receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19, of whom 259 are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case of the infection was confirmed in the country, 147,454 people have been infected with the novel virus, of whom 2,102 have died and 120,857 have recovered, including 3,709 in the last 24 hours.

Currently 60,581 people are in self-isolation. A total of 801,545 people have been tested to date, including 10,662 in the last 24 hours.

December the 5th, 2020 - A KB Dubrava doctor, Bruno Barsic, has described the ongoing situation at KB Dubrava, now known rather ominously as Zagreb's COVID hospital, and how those working there have never seen a disease take such a course before.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Bruno Barsic, a KB Dubrava doctor, spoke for RTL Direkt about why healthy, young non-smokers are ending up in hospital needing oxygen and about other topics related to the spread of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

When asked what was happening on the tenth, eleventh or fourteenth day of this particular illness and why people's condition was deteriorating so abruptly, he said:

''Because this is the natural course the disease takes in what is, fortunately, a small percentage of patients. There are a lot of infected people, so then that percentage of course becomes higher. The course of the disease goes so that it begins as a flu-like stage. After about 5-6 days, you see the first stage of the worsening of the condition, and then it becomes pneumonia, oxygen is then required. For those who need 14, 15 litres of oxygen from the beginning, it's impossible for oxygen to enter the blood. The next stage of it growing yet worse in some patients is lung damage. The blood vessels dilate, then people's lung function worsens," he said.

He said the disease leaves long-lasting changes in the lungs. When asked if we are smarter now and if we know why young people get sick, he says:

"We aren't smarter now to know why this happens to young people. Maybe it's the amount of virus they've taken in. If you receive a smaller amount of the virus, you'll probably have a milder clinical picture. That's why there are masks to protect us. We haven't seen a disease take this sort of course before. We saw swine flu, that was also a new disease for us. But we haven't seen such long-term changes occur in the lungs, nor have we seen these consequences with which we don't know how long-term they're going to be,'' he says.

To the conclusion that treatment for SARS-CoV-2 lasts a very long time, he said:

''That all depends on the patient. Some people can go home in a couple of days, some need over 20 days. When it comes to drugs, we’re not much smarter. The drug we're talking about isn't particularly effective. Now there's a growing need for inhibitors," the KB Dubrava doctor concluded.

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