ZAGREB, 17 Dec 2021 - It would be safer for everyone to attend outdoor New Year celebrations and for the faithful to follow Mass on TV, the head of the national COVID-19 response team, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, said on Friday, warning that the new, Omicron variant was much more infectious than the Delta variant.

"The Delta variant spreads much faster than the previous variants while Omicron spreads much faster than Delta. We have a mix of those two variants and we must bear that in mind," said Božinović.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the coastal city of Zadar, he said that the number of new infections was growing in all four Dalmatian counties, calling on citizens to spend as much time as possible outdoors.

"We are entering the winter, people will tend to spend more time indoors and it is tremendously important that everyone takes care of themselves and not underestimate the situation," he said.

No relaxation of restrictions considering situation in Europe

Božinović noted that the latest epidemiological rules were introduced because of the situation in Europe and that there could be no relaxation of the rules.

"If the figures do not grow and if their mild decline is maintained, we will talk. It would be irresponsible of me to say anything else now because nobody knows what will happen in the next few days. It is a fact that we have a certain number of cases of infection with the Omicron variant and it is realistic to expect more rather than fewer cases. We should wait and see if the large figures in Europe result in more hospitalisations," he said.

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ZAGREB, 10 Dec 2021 - Asked about working hours for hotels and the hospitality sector on New Year's Eve, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Friday that the decision on closing at midnight was still in force, however, he did not entirely rule out the possibility of that decision being amended.

"Decisions that are in force refer to working hours until midnight. It's only the 10th of December today... the response team is considering all the possibilities and we won't wait until the eleventh hour but at the moment I would not like to say anything that might be interpreted as a decision or stance," Božinović said after a cabinet meeting.

"You know the rules of the game - if the current decline in the number of infections continues, I do not see any reason why, with some possible recommendations, something could not be allowed for that evening," he added.

Božinović added that one could not forecast how much the Omicron variant, which spreads quickly, would spread.

"A lot is still unknown. Everyone is following the situation in South Africa (...)  the experts there are analysing that variant and we all depend on those results, from governments to vaccine producers," he said.

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ZAGREB, 24 Sept 2021 - Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Minister Josip Aladrović on Friday confirmed the possibility of a third call for the payment of the COVID-19 allowance for pensioners who meet the requirements and have not received the allowance so far.

Aladrović said the government was considering this move while speaking to reporters after a conference organised by the Pensioners' Convention of Croatia (MUH).

According to MUH data, 140,000 pensioners have not received the COVID-19 allowance even though they are entitled to it.

Profession should decide about institute of "parental alienation"

In a comment on a case involving the Zagreb Child and Youth Protection Centre, whose head Gordana Buljan Flander resigned on Thursday, Aladrović said that the City of Zagreb was the founder of the Centre and that its representatives made decisions on the Centre's Steering Board and, indirectly, on its head.

He would not comment on Buljan Flander's resignation, saying only that the interest of children comes first in the social welfare system.

Buljan Flander resigned following negative reactions to her demand for a court injunction to stop the H-alter website writing about her and the Centre.

The injunction by Zagreb Municipal Court judge Andrija Krivak came after the nonprofit website in the past few weeks ran a series of articles by reporter Jelena Jindra problematising the work of the Zagreb Child and Youth Protection Centre and its head.

Reporters inquired about the legal regulation of the institute of parental alienation, which has caused strong reactions in a part of the public which claims that children are being taken away from their mothers and given to abusive fathers to care for.

Aladrović said that this was not a matter of laws and regulations but of methodology.

A possible solution is for psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists to have a broad debate about the matter to determine if the institute is good, he said.

Whether a method is good should be determined by the profession, the minister added.

The social welfare system is very complex so occasional manipulation or insufficiently conscientious work cannot be ruled out, but the Ministry is trying to reduce such phenomena to the minimum, which is why it has stepped up controls, he said.

COVID-19 certificates

COVID-19 certificates will be introduced for employees in the social welfare system as of 1 October, and the minister said he did not see any rational reason for unvaccinated employees to refuse to get tested, with the cost being covered by the state.

"If there are employees who do not want to get vaccinated and refuse to get tested, employers will act in line with the Labour Act," he said, adding that such cases would not be tolerated, for the sake of responsibility towards other citizens.

ZAGREB, 11 Sept, 2021 - The Preporod union of school employees on Saturday condemned the anti-maskers who invaded the elementary school in Krapinske Toplice yesterday, saying it was not a protest but a threat to the safety and mental health of those who were present, which should be condemned and punished.

"The public condemnation of this violent incident should be prompt and total," the union said in a press release.

It added that the invasion of the 30 anti-maskers was also an organised disturbance of the peace, and that they and the organiser should be promptly and severely punished.

As for reports on police conduct, Preporod said the police should be punished too if their behaviour was indeed unprofessional and their response to the behaviour of the anti-maskers "late and mild."

Preporod said that as of Monday the education authorities should send experts to the school to provide psychological support to the pupils, and that Minister Radovan Fuchs and his associates should visit the school as soon as possible, thereby supporting the pupils, their parents and all of the school staff.

The union reiterated that security in schools was lacking and called on the education authorities to do more to create conditions preventing any kind of violent behaviour in schools.

County head: Security will watch school entrance

Krapina-Zagorje County prefect Željko Kolar told Hina on Friday that as of Monday morning security would watch the entrance to the Krapinske Toplice elementary school as well as the schoolyard, where parents protested against mask-wearing earlier in the day.

Kolar said he would do everything so that pupils could come to the school without fear and that the county would ensure that classes were held without disruption.

He said the protesters broke the law banning organised protesting or gathering near a school during classes. He added that the police did not do a good job because the protest should have been banned or broken up.

Kolar said 308 pupils went to that school and that the parents of only two were protesting against masks, whereas all other parents and their children complied with the COVID rules.

The protest was held because an eight-year-old pupil who refuses to wear a mask, Nikola Gaćina, has been banned from entering the school since Monday. It was organised by his father Kristijan, who says a mask makes it difficult for Nikola to breathe and that the school does not allow him to use common areas without it. Thereby, he said, his son is being denied the right to an education.

Headmaster: Children's health and safety come first

The school's headmaster, Samson Štibohar, said children's health and safety came first and that the protest was the result of one parent's refusal to comply with the measures, protocols and decisions under which headmasters had to create work guidelines for the new school year.

"The problem is that the pupil and his parent refuse that he wear a mask in the hall and the toilet and when entering and leaving school, which takes maybe two minutes," he said, adding that he saw nothing positive in the protest.

"I won't say it's genocide against pupils, but it's something horrible. I saw there a lot of negative energy, meanness, a lot of frustrated people. If they want to achieve something, that's certainly not the way," said Štibohar.

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