21 March 2022 - A Zagreb University research team has established a test that enables the measurement of the quantity of antibodies that can neutralise the SARS-CoV-2 virus, creating preconditions for the development, control and application of specific immunoglobulins in COVID-19 treatment in Croatia.

The research team of the Center for Research and Knowledge Transfer in Biotechnology, headed by Beata Halassy, has successfully established a wild-type SARS-CoV-2 neutralisation test, creating conditions for the development, control and application of specific immunoglobulins in the treatment of COVID-19 in Croatia, the University of Zagreb said in a press release.

"This is the most relevant test to assess virus immunity that enables the measurement of the quantity of antibodies capable of preventing the virus from entering our cells, that is, neutralising it," Zagreb University said.

A paper on the results of the research has been published in "Frontiers in Immunology", one of the leading immunology journals.

The paper, "Is Better Standardization of Therapeutic Antibody Quality in Emerging Diseases Epidemics Possible?", is available at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.816159/full.

February the 6th, 2022 - Croatian schoolchildren will not need to begin having tests at home before arriving at their school premises for another week. It seems that the pricing information has also come in, which has been eagerly awaited by parents.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Directorate for Commodity Stocks has decided to purchase a massive three million rapid antigen tests for the at home testing of Croatian schoolchildren at a price of 6.95 kuna + VAT, as reported by Media servis.

On top of the pricing for the tests intended for Croatian schoolchildren, all of the necessary delivery dynamics have also been agreed and the first tranche of one million rapid antigen tests will be delivered by the 9th of this month at the very latest, and the rest within a period no longer than fourteen days.

Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs said on Thursday that the at home testing of Croatian schoolchildren will begin when the Directorate of Commodity Stocks actually physically delivers the tests to the country's schools, and will be conducted in three phases, after which he hopes the need for them at all will disappear, writes tportal.

On Mondays, parents of Croatian schoolchildren will test their children for the presence of the novel coronavirus, and if a positive case occurs in the classroom, the test will be repeated and students who are negative can continue to go to school.

''We're going to be basing this on trust and assume that parents won't try to cheat the system to suit their liking, because the meaning of this measure is to keep as many children in their classrooms as possible,'' said Fuchs, adding that entire classes "dropped out" of their classrooms just because several students had tested positive.

Testing will be conducted for one month, and if everything goes as we imagined, we will move on to testing only in classes where a positive student appears.

The third step is the total abolition of such testing, Fuchs said, and expressed hope that the planned timetable could be realised, and that in the end it will be possible to abolish the wearing of masks as well.

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November 9, 2021 - Minister of Science and Education, Radovan Fuchs said that the Ministry of Science and Education is currently agreeing on a mechanism and method of testing for COVID in the education system, three options are being considered for testing teachers, and the exact method of testing will be known by Friday.

"A testing variant will be introduced for all who need to be tested. So, those who have covid-certificates will show certificates and will not need to be tested," the minister said.

The mechanism and method of testing are currently being agreed upon, and there are three options on the table, said Fuchs, testing teachers in authorized institutions, such as laboratories, testing in schools, and the possibility of self-testing, reports Index.hr.

"We will know by Friday, after taking into account all the pros and cons in terms of the possible and most effective. We will define and write this in the decision, as well as the decision to act and test in health facilities," Fuchs told reporters on the eve of the sessions of the National Council for Monitoring the Implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy.

It's about 120,000 people

He noted that this is a total of 120,000 people, when kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and the higher education system are taken into account, and in the primary and secondary education system itself there are slightly less than 60,000 employees.

"If 45 percent of them are unvaccinated, and I don't know exactly how many got over it, then we're talking about testing about 30,000 people. That's not so little'', he noted. 

It must be taken into account, he added, that testing teachers should be done every two days, but also that it should be done before the teacher enters the classroom and starts teaching.

"It's not quite simple, but we intend to write it all down in the instructions so that there aren't too many problems," Fuchs pointed out.

He also said that testing of children is not being considered at the moment, but that it will be considered if necessary.

“Teachers are certainly responsible people,” he pointed out. "I don't think they'll just go by the 'I really care about my students and my kids' system. I believe most of them will, if necessary, conduct rapid antigen tests," he added.

Boras: The University will respect the decisions of the Headquarters

Rector of the University of Zagreb Damir Boras pointed out that the University cooperates well with the Civil Protection Headquarters and that it will "always strictly adhere to things concerning COVID", noting that the University can make an autonomous decision on the introduction of covid certificates.

The university has its own headquarters which is currently sitting and considering the possibility of introducing covid-certificates. "In any case, we must protect ourselves and we will respect the decisions of the Headquarters. So, there will either be covid-certificates, or vaccination certificates or prescribed testing," the rector said.

"My personal opinion is that everyone should be vaccinated. Of course, I accept that there is a right of people not to be vaccinated, but some categories of employees, professionals, no longer have that right. I would say, for example, that medical professionals made their decision when they started practicing medicine and since then they have to respect the profession, "Boras told reporters.

Asked whether the University will give a stronger recommendation than before, Boras replied that the University has already given a strong recommendation, and it is to respect the decisions of the State Staff, which, he reiterated, communicates excellently and daily with members of the University Staff. The university was founded before the state ".

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July 28, 2021 - The new ECDC map, which places the Croatian coast in an orange zone, has alerted all localities and tourism boards in the region. Some destinations, such as Zrće beach on the island of Pag, have adopted their own measures and requirements to combat the pandemic effectively and save tourism.

After last week's session of the Government, when it was said that new measures apply to Dalmatian counties this week, which primarily emphasizes the control of the implementation of already introduced anti-pandemic measures, Večernji List interviewed Zrće beach concessionaires and Noa Beach Club owners to find out what this means for them.

The new measures came into force today, what do you plan to actually change compared to the previous measures? Will there be parties on Zrće beach?

"There will be entertainment and tourism, we are not giving up on the season or our business. The catering industry, as well as the organizers of concerts, festivals, and traditional events and musicians, are definitely among the most affected groups. We all struggle with the same problems. Precisely because we knew what all could await us this season, we were ready from day one. For a start, all our 400 employees were vaccinated with two doses of vaccine", says Josipa Žižić, spokesperson for the Noa group, and adds: "We were the last to go to the Noa Beach Club with the opening, to make sure everything was according to protocol. We have 100 people in the security of all entrance routes and 4 teams of medical staff for testing and verification''.

''We adhere to everything that the Headquarters and the Institute point us to. At the moment, we only let people into the facilities who have been vaccinated, have a PCR or Covid antigen test made when entering the Covid free zone. We use the CovidGO mobile application, which reads the correctness of EU digital COVID certificates, and which is impossible to bypass, and if all the conditions are not met, we do not allow entry. We go a step further, we plan to introduce even stricter measures - a quick test will no longer be valid for 48 hours, each entry will mean a new test and a spot check that the test is negative. I think that this direction is good, considering that we have not had any infected people yet and that everything is going according to plan without any complications."

Are there any plans to tighten more measures on Zrće beach, if possible, given that you are already adhering to all the prescribed measures?

"Every day, over 4,000 people enter through our three checkpoints. From 01.07.2021, we test over 1000-1200 people every day at a total of three entrances with over 20 wardens. At the same time, we control the entrance to the beach and the control of the entrance to the clubs, which would mean that each visitor goes through the checkpoints twice, all for the purpose of respecting the measures and quality control of our visitors and their safety. For each entry to the beach, in the Covid free zone, it is necessary to have a Covid passport proving vaccination, ie that they have overcome the disease in the previous 180 days, have a PCR or rapid test. All those who do not have a Covid passport issued for vaccination or overcoming the disease, will have to, according to the next stricter measures we plan to introduce, make a test that is valid only for that one entry", said Sime Oštarić, director of Nasa doo. We also asked what exactly these stricter measures mean: “With each entry, visitors will have to have a new test, so we will even leave the practice of 48 hours of the valid test. There are currently no infected people on Zrće beach, tourism has been taking place here for some time, and there are no hotspots, with these measures I do not know how it would be. Even the Hideout festival was canceled, which was usually attended by a lot of visitors from Great Britain", answers Oštarić.

"This is what we live on, it is in our least interest for anyone to leave Zrće beach infected. We plan to continue to follow the instructions and, I repeat, tighten the measures. If all guests are vaccinated, if they take a test on the spot and if we no longer allow even a 48-hour test, and later we only receive vaccinated on the model of Greece, which has already started to do so, then really the danger of hotspots should not and will not be. So far, we have controlled over 60,000 people and tested over 20,000, and statistics show that 90% of our guests are vaccinated mostly with two doses of the vaccine. Moreover, since the beginning of the season, in total with the city of Novalja, at 6 points, we have tested more visitors than the whole of Croatia", adds Žižić.

One of the suggestions was on-site vaccination?

"As we announced, we plan to soon introduce a measure according to which only vaccinated guests can enter, just as Greece has already done. Regarding vaccination on the spot, we discuss this with the competent institutions, we will be guided by their instructions, recommendations, and possibilities. But this is certainly another method that we are willing to implement and organize so that Zrće beach and Noa remain a safe place as before", Žižić answers.

If you want to know more about Zrće and the island of Pag, be sure to check the Total Croatia guide, where you will find everything you need to know from how to get there, where to stay, where to eat, and what to do on one of the most popular islands of Croatia. Now in your language!

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 across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.