ZAGREB, 8 Aug, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was attending the 306th Sinjska Alka tournament in Sinj on Sunday, saying it was "a beautiful event" for the area and Croatia because it was "our tradition, our heritage and everything that embodies Croatia's identity."

Speaking ahead of the lancing competition, he congratulated the people of Sinj and the Alka Knights Society on the 306th Sinjska Alka.

The tournament commemorates a victory over 60,000 Ottoman soldiers on 14 August 1715 by 700 Croatian defenders of Sinj, about 30 kilometres inland from the southern coastal city of Split.

The event features period-clad horsemen riding at full gallop and aiming their lances at an iron ring, called the alka, which is suspended from a rope above the race track.

It was inscribed on UNESCO's world intangible cultural heritage list in 2010.

Members of the press asked Plenković to comment on the COVID situation in Sinj, whose Mayor Miro Bulj asked that hospitality establishments be allowed to stay open longer for the tournament, a request rejected by the national COVID crisis management team due to COVID rules.

The prime minister said the rules were the same for all and that they were adopted for, not against, citizens and tourists.

He said he saw no problem, as more spectators would be allowed than last year, and that after 18 months it should be clear to everyone why bars were not allowed to stay open after midnight, not just in Sinj.

Plenković went on to say that the tourist season was above all expectations, and that the state and all other segments of society had done everything for it to be better both in terms of the COVID situation and efforts to promote Croatia.

He announced a tourism sector meeting in Opatija on Tuesday to be attended by six ministers aimed at reviewing what has been done in this year's tourism season which, according to current estimates, will be at 65-70% of the results achieved in the record year 2019.

"Considering our neighbours and the situation we were in, that is brilliant," Plenković said

He added that people should be more disciplined, wiser and more responsible to each other in order for the season to last as long as possible, so that Croatia's coastline was an orange COVID zone for at least two to three more weeks which, he added, would indicate strong economic recovery.

He said the growth announcements for the second quarter were "brilliant" and that if the season continued like this, they would be "very good" for Q3 as well. "That's what is most important at the moment to me as prime minister."

Asked to comment on the Hague war crimes tribunal's confirmation that Slobodan Milošević took part in a criminal enterprise against Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Plenković said Croatians knew that very well and did not need proof.

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ZAGREB, 7 Aug, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 233 coronavirus cases and one COVID-19 death have been registered in Croatia, the national crisis management team said on Saturday.

There are 1,201 active cases and 166 hospitalised patients, including 18 on ventilators, while 4,130 persons are self-isolating.

To date, 2,345,366 persons have been tested for the virus, including 7,832 in the past 24 hours.

Croatia has registered 364,832 coronavirus cases to date, including 8,271 deaths and 355,360 recovered patients, 170 of whom have recovered in the past 24 hours.

Croatia has vaccinated 40.9% of its total population, including 49.2% of adults, 44.89% of whom have completed vaccination.

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ZAGREB, 24 July, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 191 coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Saturday.

The number of active cases is 1,013 and there are 121 hospitalised patients, including 15 on ventilators, while 3,194 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 362,496 coronavirus cases and 8,245 deaths, while 353,238 persons have recovered from COVID, including 135 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,242,487 persons have been tested for the virus, including 6,118 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,997,335 vaccine doses have been administered, with 39.9% of the population vaccinated, including 47.9% of adults.

One dose has been administered to 1,617,306 persons, while 1,423,795 persons have been fully vaccinated - 1,380,029 who have received both doses and 43,766 who have received the one dose of the Janssen vaccine.

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ZAGREB, 23 July 2021 - Croatia is introducing tougher COVID-19 restrictions in five coastal counties as of Monday, the head of the national coronavirus response team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, announced at a press conference on Friday. 

Any gatherings in one place of more than 50 people without a COVID vaccination certificate will be banned, while the maximum number of people with COVID certificates in one place will be 1,000, Božinović said.

"The entire Croatian Adriatic is currently dancing between the orange and red zones on the EDCD map. These measures are aimed at preventing the introduction of restrictions for travellers returning from Croatia, and this is also their wish," he said, adding that the new measures would be in place until 15 August.

Special restrictions have been introduced for wedding celebrations. If they involve up to 15 persons, they do not need to have a COVID certificate, while for those with more than 15 persons all participants will be required to have such certificates.

Fairs and other outdoor business events can be held only with the approval of local and regional coronavirus response teams. Organisers are required to seek permission for such events no later than seven days before the gathering or event takes place.

The national coronavirus response team has also changed the criteria for entering Croatia, extending the validity of COVID vaccination and recovery certificates. Under the new rules, people can enter the country if their certificates showing that they have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from the disease are not older than 270 days. Previously, such certificates should not have been older than 210 days.

Travellers from Category 1 countries must have a negative PCR test not older than 48 hours and must self-isolate on entering the country, while visitors from Category 2 countries must show a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours or a negative antigen test not older than 48 hours, regardless of the vaccination or recovery status. The Category 2 countries include the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation and Cyprus.

Learn more about travelling to Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic on our TC page.

ZAGREB, 28 June 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, 14 new cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Croatia, there have been two related deaths, and the number of active cases stands at 425, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

There are 195 COVID patients in hospital, including ten who are on ventilators.

Currently, 4,138 people are in self-isolation.

To date, Croatia has registered 359,666 cases of coronavirus infection, including 8,202 deaths and 351,039 recoveries, of which 101 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 2,138,094 have been tested for coronavirus so far, 2,236 of whom over the past 24 hours.

As at 27 June, 2,529,512 doses of the vaccine have been administered, with 1,478,516 people receiving at least one dose and 1,051,096 of them receiving both doses.

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ZAGREB, 11 June 2021 -  After a major relaxation of epidemiological measures, it is expected the measures will be eased further, Jutarnji List daily said on Friday, reporting that as of Tuesday coffee shops will stay open until midnight, but they will still be limited to outdoor seating areas.

As a source close to the national COVID-19 crisis management team told the daily, one of the new measures would definitely be related to longer working hours for hospitality establishments, which could then stay open until midnight instead of until 11 p.m.

We need to keep up with the tourist season and allow our and foreign guests to enjoy the summer as much as possible, they said.

Indoor seating areas of coffeehouses will not be allowed to reopen as that would pose an epidemiological risk, Jutarnji List daily finds out. Also, most coffee shops have outdoor seating areas where guests can be without significant restrictions and owners of hospitality establishments are allowed to work.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centres across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

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 ZAGREB, 28 May 2021 - In the past 24 hours 321 new coronavirus cases and 11 COVID-19 deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday.

There are 2,726 active cases, including 904 hospitalised patients, of whom 95 are on ventilators, while 11,723 persons are self-isolating.

So far 1,999,818 persons have been tested for the virus, including 5,273 in the past 24 hours, with the share of positive tests standing at 6%.

By Thursday 1,686,585 vaccines have been administered, with 1,240,309 persons receiving the first dose and 446,276 both.

So far Croatia has registered 355,617 coronavirus cases, 7,992 deaths and 344,899 recoveries, including 552 in the past 24 hours.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and test centres up and down the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 21 May 2021 - After the European Parliament, Council of the EU chair Portugal and the European Commission approved the COVID-19 certificate, intended to help summer tourism in the EU, the Croatian Sabor on Friday expressed dissenting opinions, from support to warnings that this was a discriminatory decision.

Social Democratic Party MP Arsen Bauk told reporters that SDP's MEPs had supported embarking on an agreement with the European Council with regard to COVID-passports and that the party supports them in the Croatian parliament too if they will facilitate travel and getting back to normal.

"Naturally, we are aware of the dangers of them being a means of discrimination and we will observe that solution with caution, as we did with the (COVID-19) measures, but in principle, we support the idea," he said, adding that the reference to discrimination was in the sense that the certificate serves to diminish someone's rights.

We're aware of that danger and that is why we will take care that that does not happen. We consider that that is primarily a document that facilitates life for citizens and only possibly something that discriminates, Bauk underscored.

If there are contentious things, such as protection of personal information, they are less than the benefits that the certificate can bring for a normal life for citizens, he added.

Marija Selak Raspudić (Bridge) underscored that until there is an equal approach for all EU countries to all three conditions that are set as essential to be issued with the certificates, and considering that Croatia has a low inoculation rate, that decision is discriminatory as it does not put all EU member states in an equal position.

It is also contentious, she added, how long that decision will apply and how it will apply to people who have been vaccinated with vaccines that have not been approved by the EU, which means that some EU citizens will not have the same rights as other EU citizens.

Stjepo Bartulica (Homeland Movement) said that it is necessary to warn that the COVID certificates could pose a threat to fundamental freedoms and rights.

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ZAGREB, 21 May 2021 - The head of the Croatian COVID-19 crisis management team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said on Friday that the authorities would next week start considering possible relaxation of anti-epidemic rules as of 1 June.

The current rules are in force until 31 May and we will see which course to take considering the relaxation, the minister said.

Božinović added that Croatia wanted the application of the EU Digital COVID certificate to start as soon as possible.

Being a tourist destination, Croatia would like to see the implementation of the COVID travel pass as soon as possible.

Apart from serving as a travel pass, the digital COVID certificate can be used for some other purposes, and this depends on decisions to be made by individual member-states, Božinović said.

He went on to say that the technological system was equal at the EU level, and it would be known who was authorised to develop the QR codes for certificates, he explained.

During a news conference in Zagreb today, the head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) Krunoslav Capak, informed that all the participants in two pilot projects -- a business lunch and a wedding party  -- tested negative to coronavirus seven days after the participation in those events.

Overall in Croatia, the number of new positive cases fell by 38% over the week, he added.

Croatia's current incidence rate  per 100, 000 inhabitants is 262.5.

As for the vaccination of foreigners, Capak said that Croatia enabled foreign citizens to get vaccinated.

For instance we have vaccinated 500 diplomats and their families' members, they have no Croatian documents, and information about their inoculation has been entered into the relevant data base, Capak said.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centers up and down the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and choose your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 16 May 2021 - On election day, between midnight and noon, 892 Croatian nationals entered Croatia on the grounds of compelling personal reasons, which is similar to the average number of entries last Sunday and two weeks ago, the Ministry of the Interior said on Sunday.  

On 2 May, 724 Croatians entered the country and on 9 May 683 did so.

The ministry said that delays on some border crossings on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia were due to passengers returning after a long weekend in some EU member-countries, and passenger traffic was also more intense on border crossings between Croatia and Slovenia.

With regard to inquiries about the arrival of Croatian nationals with the right to vote in local elections, regardless of the country they come from, the ministry recalls that the decision currently in force that bans or restricts border crossing defines exceptions in cases of compelling personal reasons, the right to vote being one of them.

It notes that persons travelling for compelling persons reasons must not stay in Croatia for more than 12 hours and that if they do not leave within that period, they are subject to epidemiological restrictions defined by the decision in force. 

The ministry recalls that during their stay in Croatia all passengers, regardless of their category or the country they come from, are obliged to comply with general and special recommendations and instructions by the Croatian Public Health Institute.

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