October 1, 2020 - New coronavirus measures were announced today for weddings and funerals in Sibenik-Knin County. A closer look.

Dalmatinski PortalDalmatinski Portal reports that at the proposal of the Civil Protection Headquarters of Sibenik-Knin County, the necessary epidemiological measures for this area are being introduced. Thus, a maximum of 50 people can be present at wedding ceremonies, and they can last up to 2 hours. Exceptionally, up to 100 people may be present at wedding ceremonies. Such ceremonies may be held only on premises that can regularly organize ceremonies for at least 3 times the number of people than will be present at the wedding ceremony.

Funerals may be attended by a maximum of 50 people, and condolences must not be expressed through close contact; in all enclosed spaces where public or economic activities are carried out, and events, cultural or other programs, religious or other social gatherings take place, the use of face masks or medical masks is mandatory.

Residents of homes for the elderly and infirm are prohibited from leaving unless it is conditioned by medical reasons, and visits to mobile users of homes for the elderly and infirm are allowed in the courtyards of the facilities for 30 minutes. Visits to immobile users of homes for the elderly and infirm are allowed in closed homes for 15 minutes, and only one person can visit the user at a time.

Visits are permitted in accordance with a plan established by the director or a person authorized by them, provided that visitors do not have a fever, wear protective masks or face masks and protective gloves, and do not come into direct contact with other users. 

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ZAGREB, Oct 1, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, of 5,322 tests performed for coronavirus in Croatia, 234 new cases and four more deaths are reported in Croatia. Currently, there are 1,325 active cases, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Thursday.

Hospitals are treating 297 COVID patients, including 26 on ventilators.

Over the past 24 hours,161 persons have recovered.

Also, 7,903 persons are self-isolating.

Since February 25, when the new virus was first registered in Croatia, 16,827 persons have been infected, including 284 who have died, and 15,218 have recovered.

To date, 312,406 persons have been tested for coronavirus.

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October 1, 2020 - People in Croatia live for an average of 78 years, and the average age of COVID-19 fatalities is 76 years old

The average age of COVID-19 fatalities or those dying as of consequence of Coronavirus is 76.3 years, according to the latest statistics from the Croatian Institute of Public Health. At the time of writing, a total of 280 Coronavirus-related fatalities have so far been recorded in Croatia.

The average age of COVID-19 fatalities has decreased slightly compared to figures released earlier. At the beginning of May 2020, Croatia's Minister of Health announced that the average age of COVID-19 fatalities was 79.2 years.

Most Coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded in the age group of 80 to 89 years. There have been 81 such deaths since the beginning of the epidemic. In the 70 to 79 age group, 71 people died, in the 90 to 99 age group, 34 people died, and in the 60 to 69 age group, 31 died.

In the age group of 50 to 59 years, 21 deaths occurred, and five deaths were recorded in the age group of 40 to 49 years. There have so far been no Coronavirus-related deaths among those under the age of 40 in Croatia. One person over the age of 100 has died from Coronavirus.

There is currently no accurate data on the average age of COVID-19 fatalities worldwide. The World Health Organization has previously said that of all Coronavirus-related deaths in Europe, more than 80 percent of the deceased had at least one pre-existing chronic disease, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease. Extremely serious, life-changing and even fatal cases of Coronavirus have been recorded in the under 40s in other countries.

The figures used in this news item were originally compiled by Index journalists Ilko Ćimić and Davor Tomšić. This news item is a direct translation of their original, which can be found in Index

Neither the author nor Total Croatia News draws any conclusion from this translation, the figures reported, or their comparison.

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ZAGREB, Sept 30, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Wednesday that the current hospitalization of 288 Covid-19 patients did not put the healthcare system under strain and added that patients were mostly the elderly with mild symptoms of that infectious disease.

Today 213 new cases were registered which is more than the daily numbers last week of about 204 however I am more interested in the number of patients in hospitals and today there are 14 more than yesterday, Beros told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting.

"Their clinical state is in line with their age. There are more elderly people among those infected and their state is a little more serious, however, we are still not seeing too great a burden on the health system," Beros said.

Asked about the introduction of e-referrals which was announced for October 1, Beros said that "e-referrals" will be up and running as soon as the IT system allows which could be tomorrow in fact.

With regard to setting self-isolation for Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic, Beros said that he had not spoken to Jandrokovic but that he had been informed that Jandrokovic was placed in self-isolation.

"The procedure is the same for everyone and anyone who was in contact with an infected person has to go into self-isolation. That is best for them and for everyone else," said Beros.

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ZAGREB, Sept 30, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours 213 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia, bringing the number of active cases to 1,256, and five persons have died, the national civil protection authority said on Wednesday.

Currently, 288 patients are hospitalized, including 23 on ventilators, and 8,155 persons are self-isolating

Over the past 24 hours, 6,592 samples have been tested for the virus and 110 persons have recovered.

Since February 25, when the new virus was first registered in Croatia, 16,593 persons have been infected, including 280 who have died and 15,057 who have recovered.

To date, 307,084 persons have been tested for coronavirus.

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ZAGREB, Sept 29, 2020 - In the last 24 hours, of 4,494 tests performed for coronavirus, 135 have returned positive, and currently, there are 1,158 active cases of this infection in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team stated on Tuesday.

The team confirmed three more COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours.

Currently, there are 274 patients being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals, and of them, 26 are placed on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 16,380 people have contracted the novel virus, of whom 275 have died and 14,947 have recovered. A total of  300,492 people have been tested to date.

According to the latest information, 8,744 persons are self-isolating.

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September 29, 2020 - The latest coronavirus news, as the Croatian National Institute of Public Health, also known as CNIPH updates recommendations for artistic performances, cultural programs, and events.

The Croatian National Institute of Public Health (CNIPH), in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Media, has developed updated recommendations for holding professional art performances, cultural programs, and events, which relate to ensuring adequate physical distance during the coronavirus epidemic.

Thus, a distance of two meters between performers of singing parts and musicians with wind instruments and a distance of four meters between visitors and performers on stage is recommended.

When arriving and leaving the space, it is recommended to keep the physical distance of visitors, contractors, and staff of 1.5 meters. The physical distance during the program must be provided by the organizer with seats 1.5 meters apart, and exceptionally, during cultural programs and low-risk events, the physical distance between visitors from one seat is allowed, with the mandatory wearing of masks during the program.

Low-risk programs are programs with exclusively seated audiences and active audience engagement, such as singing.

Indoors and outdoors, only seating areas are recommended, which should be marked and at least 1.5 meters apart. The allowed number of visitors indoors is 500 and outdoors 1000 people.

Also, CNIPH states that a dance floor in the function of a dance space is not allowed.

The recommendations also define the required distance between bar tables, their arrangement, method of numbering, and the setting of physical barriers that will create rows of visitors 1.5 meters wide.

In the event you must deviate from the recommendations, the organizer is obliged to request the approval of the competent civil protection service, which will coordinate the final decision with the competent county headquarters.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 28th of September, 2020, the Croatian tourism sector is very satisfied with the Slovenian travel decision which will see all of the Croatian counties located along the border with Slovenia placed on the orange list, which means that from these areas, people can enter Slovenia with a negative test and without having to go into self-isolation/quarantine.

Brod-Posavina, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Lika-Senj, Požega-Slavonia, Sibenik-Knin, Split-Dalmatia, Virovitica-Podravina and Zadar counties have all remained on the Slovenian Government's red list.

"I'm pleased that the Slovenian Government has recognised the efforts that Croatia is making to remain an epidemiologically safe destination, and has removed some Croatian counties from the red list for Slovenia. Slovenes are our dear and faithful guests, a large number of tourists from Slovenia visit Croatia on weekends, come here on day trips, and also visit throughout the year, so I think this Slovenian travel decision will contribute to the continuation of the tourist year,'' said the Minister of Tourism, Nikolina Brnjac. In addition to Slovenian guests visiting Croatia for a holiday, a significant number of businessmen travel from Slovenia to Croatia, which is excellent news for Zagreb's hotels.

The Croatian Tourism Association (HUT) also welcomes the decision to introduce a regional approach to Croatia, which is crucial for enabling the normalisation of the travel regime between Croatia and Slovenia. HUT is convinced that this is only the first in a series of similar decisions, which is in line with the proposal of Germany, which demands that such a travel regime be accepted by all members of the European Union (EU).

''We can see that the epidemiological situation can vary considerably from region to region within a country, so a regional approach to travel restrictions is the only way to simultaneously maintain a level of activity between two member states while maintaining effectiveness in fighting the spread of the pandemic. HUT supports the definition of a common travel regime based on a regional approach, with clearly defined epidemiological criteria that will be valid at the level of the entire EU,'' said Veljko Ostojic, the director of HUT.

HUT believes that such an approach will be adopted as soon as possible by countries such as Austria, Italy and others that are important emitting tourist markets for Croatia.

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ZAGREB, Sept 28, 2020 - Forty-eight new coronavirus cases and no related deaths have been confirmed in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Monday.

The number of active cases is 1,180, of whom 291 are receiving hospital treatment, including 24 who are on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, 3,029 samples have been tested, and 184 infected people have recovered. Currently, 9,057 people are in self-isolation.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 16,245 people have contracted the novel virus, of whom 272 have died and 14,793 have recovered. A total of 295,998 people have been tested to date. 

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September 28, 2020 - Music in restaurants, bars and cafes could soon be quieter in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The latest, as the Croatian Headquarters will discuss lowering music in catering establishments.

Namely, as various Croatian media learned on Monday morning and as Jutarnji List reported, the National Civil Protection Headquarters will soon begin talks with representatives of caterers in which they will try to agree on reducing noise in restaurants, bars, and cafes, i.e., reducing decibels from speakers, which would 'lower' the tone of visitors' conversations.  

Colder weather will certainly increase the number of those sitting in cafes and restaurants indoors where there is usually loud music, resulting in guests amplifying their speech. Since the coronavirus spreads mainly by droplets, in part by aerosol, any increase in speech or shouting helps it spread.

According to Croatian laws, catering establishments in which music is not provided as an obligation in the minimum conditions can have noise only up to 65 decibels, which would be the strength of the average conversation. However, it is almost certain that music in cafes is sometimes much louder. These are all reasons why the Headquarters intends to reach an agreement with the caterers, because, in the end, it is to their advantage, given that if a cafe is registered as a hotspot, it will face temporary closure.

The Headquarters' views are also supported by the research of scientists from the University of California who said that, for example, reducing the volume by only six decibels in average speech can have the same effect on preventing the spread of the coronavirus as doubling room ventilation.

Increasing the volume by 35 decibels, which is the difference between whispering and shouting, emits 50 times more particles. Namely, whispering creates a noise of 35 decibels, ordinary conversation of 65, loud speech 75, and shouting 100 decibels, which is 30 more than the noise generated by city traffic. Noise of 100 decibels is mostly allowed in nightclubs under Croatian law.

Experts warn that during the corona period, due to the excessive spread of the virus, singing in choirs should also be limited, and they also recommend 'quiet zones' in all high-risk enclosures like hospital waiting rooms.

In the past 24 hours, 48 new cases were recorded, so the number of active cases in Croatia today is 1,180. Among them, 291 patients are in hospital, of which 24 are on a ventilator. In the past 24 hours, 3,029 people were tested.

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