August the 27th, 2021 - The Croatian Health Ministry has, in principle, expressed its support for the idea of unvaccinated healthcare workers employed in Croatian hospitals paying monetary compensation to patients who become infected with the novel coronavirus while in hospital.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian Health Ministry recently welcomed the move of the management of KBC Osijek, which warned its unvaccinated employees in a letter about the possibility of paying compensation to patients who become infected during their hospital stay.

The letter warns the employees of KBC Osijek about the possibility of paying compensation if a patient becomes infected in the hospital and decides to sue the institution. In the letter, the management states the possibility that, if this happens, the hospital will be able to seek compensation from unvaccinated staff members.

The Croatian Health Ministry estimates that the management of KBC Osijek, as part of its competencies and responsibilities for the work of the hospital, "timely and properly informed its employees about the need to raise the level of individual and collective protection against coronavirus'' and accordingly increase overall patient safety.

“It's clear from the letter that the management of KBC Osijek is transmitting information to all of its employees about the existence of civil lawsuits of persons alleging that their family members were infected with coronavirus when they were receiving hospital treatment (such as in the KBC Zagreb case) and that they consider the hospital responsible for the contaction of the infection, and as such the employees of the institution as a source, ie vectors of the infection,'' stated the Croatian Health Ministry.

It referred to a claim for compensation, more precisely a settlement with the hospital due to the death of an 84-year-old woman from the novel coronavirus, who the family believes was infected while being treated in a medical institution. According to Jutarnji list, the family demanded compensation of 632,000 kuna from KBC Zagreb.

The Croatian Health Ministry considers that lawsuits with high compensation claims, based on the argument that the hospital, ie its employees, didn't take all available measures to protect patients from contracting the infection, prompted the management of KBC Osijek to remind its employees that timely vaccination means taking the available protection from infection and the transmission of that same infection to patients, including adherence to all of the prescribed epidemiological measures.

Over recent days, KBC Osijek has stated that they aren't forcing any of their employees to be vaccinated, emphasising that it is still their duty to warn their employees about responsible behaviour and what may happen should they choose to refuse the vaccine.

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ZAGREB, 26 Aug 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Thursday that the current anti-epidemic rules had no sense any more, and that Croatia should follow the example of Sweden rather than France and Germany considering measures taken to combat the COVID pandemic.

Milanović said this did not mean that Croatia should not copy others, however, he admitted that the country was also a part of a wider community and "it cannot always be the way we believe is the smartest."

"I think now that it would be more prudent to do something different than France and Germany or some other countries are doing," Milanović told the press in the Dalmatian town of Kijevo near Knin where he attended ceremonies commemorating civilian victims of the war who died 30 years ago. "I would follow the suit of Sweden. Sweden can afford it for itself, however it pays a political price, we obviously cannot do that," the president said.

The president explained that many people had got vaccinated against coronavirus which now made the anti-epidemic rules unnecessary unless the healthcare system and intensive care wards were exposed to strain.

 He again called on the Croatians to get vaccinated.

 "Get vaccinated. Trust science, be pragmatic, take care of yourselves," Milanović said.

Commenting on the forthcoming population census, Milanović said that the findings of the census would probably show that the population in Croatia alone was downsized by 10% compared to the situation 10 years ago, and he ascribed that to the emigration of Croatians to Ireland, Great Britain, and other western countries.

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ZAGREB, 26 Aug 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 638 coronavirus cases and six COVID-related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Thursday.

The number of active cases is 3,253 and there are 358 hospitalized patients, including 43 on ventilators, while 7,058 persons are self-isolating.

To date, 2,501,327 tests for the virus have been conducted, including 10,428 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,236,170 vaccine doses have been administered, with 42.09% of the population having been vaccinated, including 50.57% of adults.

One dose has been administered to 1,708,154 persons while 1,594,019 persons have been fully vaccinated -- 1,528,016 have received both doses and 66,003 have received the single-dose Janssen vaccine -- which is 47.25% of the adult population.

To date, Croatia has registered 371,623 coronavirus cases and 8,316 deaths, while 360,054 persons have recovered from COVID-19, including 330 in the past 24 hours.

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August 26, 2021 - Good news - Croatia remains orange on the latest ECDC corona map on August 26, 2021. 

The latest European Center for Disease Prevention and Control corona map, which has been published around noon in recent weeks, was finally released on Thursday at 3:30 pm. The map revealed that Croatia remains orange, even though many media reports worried the country would turn red with the recent jump in cases. 

Health Minister Vili Beroš said at a press conference today before the map was released that Croatia remained orange and that there were no red zones.

"We contacted our sources in Stockholm and they had some difficulties in publishing the map, and those same sources told us that the whole of Croatia is still orange. So there are no red zones," Beroš said.

In the past 24 hours, 638 new cases were recorded, bringing the number of active cases in Croatia today to 3253, the Headquarters reported.

Among them, 358 patients are in hospital, of which 43 patients are on respirators. Six people died.

To date, a total of 371,623 people have been reported to be infected with the coronavirus, of whom 8,316 have died and 360,054 have recovered (330 in the past 24 hours).

There are currently 7058 people in self-isolation. To date, a total of 2,501,327 people have been tested, of which 10,428 in the last 24 hours.

The ECDC Epidemiological Map for Europe is published each week based on the 14-day incidence and the share of positive tests in the total number tested.

Green on the ECDC map are regions where the 14-day COVID-19 infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants is less than 50, and the share of COVID-19 positives tested is less than four percent, or the 14-day incidence was less than 75 percent, and the share of positives was less than one percent.

Orange means that the incidence of confirmed COVID-19 cases is less than 50, but the share of positives is more than 4 percent, or the 14-day rate is between 75 and 200, and the share of positives among those tested is less than four percent.

Red means a 14-day incidence rate of 75-200, with a COVID-19 positive rate greater than 4 percent and a 14-day incidence rate of 200 to 500, and dark red encompasses areas where the 14-day rate is greater than 500.

ECDC assesses the COVID-19 risk by major statistical regions within the country (NUTS 2). NUTS 2 statistical regions must have a minimum population of 800 thousand and a maximum of three million. There are only four NUTS 2 regions in Croatia - Pannonian Croatia, Adriatic Croatia, Northern Croatia, and the City of Zagreb.

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ZAGREB, 25 Aug, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 677 coronavirus cases and four COVID-related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Wednesday.

The number of active cases is 2,951 and there are 356 hospitalised patients, including 46 on ventilators, while 6,858 persons are self-isolating.

To date, 2,490,899 tests for the virus have been conducted, including 10,453 in the last 24 hours when the share of positive tests was 6.5%.

To date, 3,227,814 vaccine doses have been administered, with 41.99% of the population having been vaccinated, including 50.45% of adults.

One dose has been administered to 1,703,929 persons while 1,589,077 persons have been fully vaccinated -- 1,523,885 have received both doses and 65,192 have received the single-dose Janssen vaccine -- which is 47.1% of the adult population.

To date, Croatia has registered 370,985 coronavirus cases and 8,310 deaths, while 359,724 persons have recovered from COVID-19, including 282 in the past 24 hours.

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ZAGREB, 24 Aug, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 470 coronavirus cases and three related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Tuesday.

The number of active cases is 2,560 and there are 330 hospitalised patients, including 44 on ventilators, while 6,961 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 370,308 coronavirus cases and 8,306 deaths, while 359,442 persons have recovered from COVID-19, including 343 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,480,446 persons have been tested for the virus, including 9,989 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,219,595 vaccine doses have been administered, with 41.9% of the population having been vaccinated, including 50.35% of adults.

One dose has been administered to 1,700,378 persons while 1,583,703 persons have been fully vaccinated -- 1,519,217 have received both doses and 64,486 have received the single-dose Janssen vaccine -- which is 46.95% of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 23 Aug 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 73 coronavirus cases and two COVID-related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

The number of active cases is 2,436 and there are 307 hospitalized patients, including 42 on ventilators, while 6,992 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 369,838 coronavirus cases and 8,303 deaths, while 359,099 persons have recovered from COVID-19, including 330 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,470,457 persons have been tested for the virus, including 3,884 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,212,783 vaccine doses have been administered, with 41.83% of the population vaccinated, including 50.26% of adults.

One dose has been administered to 41.83% of the total population or to 50.26% of the adult population while 1,579,035 persons have been fully vaccinated, which is 46.81% of the adult population.

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August the 22nd, 2021 - Will powerful European countries such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom be the ones to decide the fate of the rest of the Croatian tourist season, which has been going remarkably well so far? Maybe, but with people far more relaxed now than last year - maybe not.

With the memory of the dire 2020 Croatian tourist season still fresh in the memories of many, especially those who work within the sector, few could have imagined that the Croatian tourist season of 2021 would yield such impressive numbers of arrivals and overnight stays realised primarily by foreign tourists. Still leaning on the various coronavirus maps and traffic light systems of European countries, things could still take a turn yet.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, might we expect the mass exodus of tourists and serial accommodation reservation cancellations, like we did last year? Do guests rely on these measurements at all, and do they also surf the ECDC website as often as their hopeful Croatian hosts do?

The methodology itself has been the subject of serious debate for weeks now, but with the vaccination rollout across the continent going more or less well, European tourists seem much more relaxed than they were last year, when there was no such vaccine to speak of.

The public is beginning to realise that the mere addition of positive test results may not be the best criterion for introducing new anti-epidemic measures, especially now the vaccine is here and hospitalisations and deaths can be greatly reduced despite positive tests being returned. Dissonant tones can even be heard among country leaders.

When it comes to the tone being set by Croatian leaders, if we put President Zoran Milanovic and PM Andrej Plenkovic in that category, they managed to agree in principle that ''after the summer'', epidemiological measures can be abolished freely, according to a report from tportal.

The situation in family accommodation for tportal was described by the president of the Family Tourism Association at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Martina Nimac Kalcina.

"The potential transition of Croatia in the red zone would definitely affect the course of the Croatian tourist season, but it wouldn't be as drastic as last year. Most of our guests are vaccinated, and there are a number of countries that aren't guided solely by ECDC data, but have their own criteria, such as Norway, the Netherlands or Denmark. On their maps, Croatia is generally in a much better position,'' stated Nimac Kalcina.

"This year, we have an extremely large number of younger guests, and they're completely relaxed and simply want a more chilled atmosphere. The fact that Croatia had milder measures than most of Europe definitely influenced their decision and is definitely responsible for the success of the Croatian tourist season. But now the reversal follows: middle-aged and elderly guests keep their eye on the situation with the pandemic much more closely, they're much more cautious and are obviously less inclined to come. And they're the key for the post-season, meaning September and possibly October,'' explained Nimac Kalcina.

The president of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, Josko Stella, says that the reaction of tourists to a possible change in the colour of Croatia on the ECDC map, which is realistic to expect next Thursday, is actually the question mark above all other question marks.

"It's possible that they'll just completely ignore this information and just go on the holiday they booked, but there's also a chance that they'll urgently pick up their belongings and leave Croatia, while those who intended to come will give up on taking the trip. The truth seems to be somewhere in the middle, and I'm optimistic,'' said Stella.

"The answer isn't unequivocal - in the end, European countries like the Czech Republic, Poland and the United Kingdom have their own criteria. The most important thing is certainly the behaviour of large countries and the Croatian tourist season could be abruptly interrupted only if some of them decide to impose isolation upon return, even for vaccinated people, which in my opinion is unlikely,'' added the president of this Tourist Board.

He warned that the German Robert Koch Institute is preparing for a strategically important move, on the basis of which the largest European economy defines its epidemic measures, including the conditions for the return of its residents from their summer holidays.

"Over recent days, new criteria has been being proposed that will no longer take into account only the number of cases and the percentage of positive tests, but also parameters such as the number of critically unwell patients, the percentage of occupied respirators or the emergence of new strains of the virus. The incidence of coronavirus itself may have been relevant half a year ago, but that will hardly be the case for a long time to come,'' added Stella.

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ZAGREB, 21 Aug, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 505 coronavirus cases and three COVID-related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Saturday

The number of active cases is 2,644 and there are 258 hospitalised patients, including 34 on ventilators, while 6,810 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 369,392 coronavirus cases and 8,298 deaths, while 358,430 persons have recovered from COVID-19, including 347 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,457,176 persons have been tested for the virus.

3,208,101 vaccine doses administered so far

To date, 3,208,101 vaccine doses have been administered, with 41.76% of the population vaccinated, including 50.19% of adults.

One dose has been administered to 1,694,827 persons, while 1,576,504 persons have been fully vaccinated - 1,513,274 who have received both doses and 63,230 who have received a single-dose of the Janssen vaccine -- which is 46.74% of the adult population.

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August the 21st, 2021 - More than 50 percent of the Croatian adult population is now finally vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which is a target the country had hoped in vain to reach before the tourist season began. Still, it's better late than never.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian Institute of Public Health director Krunoslav Capak stated that every second adult living in Croatia has made a positive step forward and been vaccinated against the virus. The fact that more than 50 percent of the Croatian adult population is now vaccinated is cause for celebration in the eyes of Capak.

''In order to preserve their personal health and life as well as the health and lives of their fellow citizens, every second adult in Croatia has now received at least one dose of vaccine. Everyone who was vaccinated, with this selfless gesture, has contributed to health, safety, preservation of life, the preservation of the hospital system, and the preservation of jobs as well as the tourist season.

I'd like to thank everyone who responded to the vaccination invitation as well as the healthcare professionals who did a great job. We're moving on,'' said the director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, epidemiologist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Krunoslav Capak.

The highest coverage of vaccinated with the first dose was achieved in the City of Zagreb (48.0 percent of the total population, ie 58.0 percent of the adult population), and the best level of those fully vaccinated was also achieved in the City of Zagreb (44.2 percent of the total population, ie 53.5 percent of the capital's adult population).

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