ZAGREB, 3 Feb 2022 - In the last 24 hours, there have been 13,186 new cases of infection with coronavirus in Croatia, identified with both PCR and rapid antigen tests, while 42 patients have died, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Thursday.

A total of 2,108 patients are receiving hospital treatment, including 194 who are on ventilators.

The number of active cases stands at 59,927 while 26,731 people are self-isolating.

Since the start of the epidemic in March 2020, 963,370 people have become infected with the novel coronavirus and 13,989 have died.

To date, 4,285,836 persons have been tested, including 18,142 in the past 24 hours.

A total of 56.58% of the total population has been vaccinated with at least one dose or 67.33% of adults. A total of 64.92% of adults have been fully vaccinated.

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ZAGREB, 4 Jan 2021 - Croatia has registered 5,845 new coronavirus cases and 46 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Tuesday.

The number of active cases in the country currently stands at 28,889. Among them are 1,817 infected persons receiving hospital treatment, including 233 who are on ventilators, and 16,715 persons who are self-isolating.

To date, 4,745,870 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 55.71 percent of the total population, or 66.37 percent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,260,882 people have received at least one dose and 2,146,134 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 63.16 percent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 3 Jan 2022 - In the last 24 hours 1,103 coronavirus cases, out of 4,577 tests, and 44 related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

There are 27,512 active cases, including 1,795 hospitalized patients, of whom 239 are on ventilators, while 16,284 persons are self-isolating.

In the last 24 hours the share of positive tests was 24%.

Croatia has registered 722,054 coronavirus cases to date, including 12,653 deaths and 683,889 recoveries, of which 3,091 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 55.68% of the population has been vaccinated, including 66.34% of adults, of whom 63.06% fully.

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ZAGREB, 1 January 2022 2021 - Croatia entered 2021 at the peak of the COVID pandemic's second wave, and with high numbers of infections, hospital admissions, and deaths, while at the end of 2021 these numbers were several times higher.

Thus, of the total of 12,500 COVID-related deaths since the outbreak, over 8,000 persons have died in the past year.

According to data from the Croatian Institute of Public Health, in 2020 there were 4,478 COVID-related deaths, while in 2021 there were near twice as many, 8,407. About 80% of them were not vaccinated.

According to official data on the koronavirus.hr website, a total of 700,000 people in Croatia have contracted coronavirus, and the highest number of daily new cases was on 9 November, when 7,368 infections were registered.

Although the fourth wave of the pandemic is still ongoing, due to the emergence of the new Omicron variant of the virus, experts are announcing the possibility of another, fifth wave as early as the beginning of 2022. According to the latest data, 51 Omicron cases have been detected in Croatia so far.

With the arrival of the vaccine in January, mass vaccination began in Croatia, and Health Minister Vili Beroš said the goal was to inoculate 50% of the population by the summer. However, this percentage was not reached even by the end of the summer.

Two-thirds of adults vaccinated

By the end of 2021, about 55% of the total population was vaccinated, or 66% of the adult population, so Croatia is 30% behind countries with the highest vaccination rates.

Although interest in the vaccine was high among citizens at the beginning of the year, it gradually declined and inoculation nearly came to a halt in early summer. In the autumn, the interest rose again but not enough to significantly increase the immunization rate.

From jumping queue for vaccination to anti-vax protests

In a year, we went from people jumping the queue for vaccination at the very beginning, which caused public outrage and condemnation, to anti-vaccination protests, which became louder and bigger in the autumn, after mandatory COVID certificates had been introduced in the healthcare and social welfare systems and state and public institutions.

The culmination of the protests was in late November when an estimated 20,000 people gathered in Zagreb's Ban Jelačić Square, and after that threats were recorded, and even attacks of anti-vaxxers on doctors, which happened in Bjelovar.

By the end of 2021, about 4,7 million vaccine doses were administered in Croatia, 2.2 million people were vaccinated with two doses, and about half a million citizens received their third dose.

The COVID pandemic has further driven up the already huge costs of the healthcare system, and the treatment of COVID patients has so far cost Croatia about HRK 4 billion.

The hospital system has been adjusting to the epidemiological picture of coronavirus, which has meant delays in medical examinations, tests, and non-emergency procedures, which made it even more difficult for many citizens to access healthcare.

Due to huge debts, which reached HRK 6 billion, in March drug wholesalers restricted drug supplies to twenty hospitals with the largest debts for medicines and medicinal products.

The government and drug wholesalers then agreed that the debt would be repaid by the end of the year, but that did not stop new debts in the hospital system.

Although he has been announcing it, Minister Beroš still hasn't unveiled a proposal for health reform, which should streamline the system and reduce costs.

So far, there has been talking of some measures, such as a unified public procurement system, centralization of the hospital system, and consolidation of the institute of public health and emergency medicine.

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ZAGREB, 1 Jan 2021 - Several Croatian cities, including the capital city of Zagreb, held New Year Eve parties in their main squares on Friday night, while a majority of big towns scrapped plans for outdoor celebrations for 2022 amid a rising number of new cases of the infection with coronavirus.

The fear of a surge in new cases due to the appearance of the Omicron variant limited the festivities that ushered in the new 2022.

The open-air New Year celebrations in Zagreb, Osijek, and Dubrovnik were held in line with COVID protocols, and guests attending the concerts in the squares of those cities were required to have COVID certificates.

Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević joined the revelers in the Trg Bana Jelačića Square on late Friday night and before that he visited the Kosnica shelter for the homeless and firefighters on duty.

In Osijek and Dubrovnik, the mayors also held a toast to welcome the 2022 year.

The entertainment programs featured local pop and folk bands. There were also firework displays.

The traditional farewell parties for the outgoing 2021 year were held in the town of Fužine in the hinterland of Rijeka and some other cities at noon on Friday.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 3 Dec 2021 - In the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 4,521 new cases of coronavirus and 53 related deaths, the national COVID response team reported on  Friday.

There are currently 31,649 active cases, including 2,400 hospitalised patients, 313 of whom are on ventilators, while 26,494 people are self-isolating.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, a total of 623,776 cases of the novel coronavirus have been registered and the death toll has climbed to 11,096 while 581,031 people have recovered from the contagion, including 5,422 in the past 24 hours.

To date, a total of 3,489,551 tests have been conducted, including 12,073 in the past 24 hours.

As of 2 December, a total of 4,201,709 vaccine doses have been administered, with 54.18% of the total population or 64.63% of the adult population having been vaccinated.

A total of 2,198,680 people have received at least one dose while 1,960,066 people have been fully vaccinated, which is 57.87% of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 7 Nov 2021 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić has been found to be positive for COVID-19 after undergoing a test at the weekend, the government announced in a press release on Sunday.

Marić underwent a test after a member of his family had developed symptoms of the infection. His test returned positive, after which epidemiologists have ordered him to stay in isolation for ten days.

The minister "is feeling well and for now, he has no symptoms of the COVID-19 disease. He will stay in isolation and perform his duties from home while following orders from his doctor and epidemiologists," the press release said.

Marić, as well as other cabinet ministers, were vaccinated against COVID-19 early this year, and would soon receive a booster dose, following recommendations by the Croatian Public Health Institute, government spokesman Marko Milić said, adding that several cabinet ministers had already received the third dose of vaccine.

Milić appealed to all citizens to get vaccinated if they had not done so yet because the vaccine protects against serious forms of the disease. He also appealed to people who had received their second shot six months ago or longer, especially the elderly or those immunocompromised, to get a booster dose as soon as possible.

He recalled that Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milošević and Labour Minister Josip Aladrović, who had become infected even though they had been vaccinated, had overcome the infection with very mild symptoms.

Also, the opposition Bridge party leader, Božo Petrov, said in an interview with Nova TV on Saturday evening that he was positive for COVID-19. "Two or three days ago I found out I was infected. I had symptoms, I called my doctor and did a PCR test, which showed I was positive," he said.

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ZAGREB, 22 Oct 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 3,258 coronavirus cases and 17 related deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Friday.

Such a high number of new infections was last reported in April.

There are 15,300 active cases, including 997 hospitalised patients, of whom 135 are on ventilators, while 25,359 persons are self-isolating.

Croatia has registered 439,447 coronavirus cases to date as well as 8,985 COVID deaths and 415,162 recoveries, including 1,658 in the past 24 hours, while 3,014,840 persons have been tested for the virus, with 10,309 in the past 24 hours.

To date 46.37% of the population has been vaccinated, including 55.57% of adults, of whom 52.31% fully.

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ZAGREB, 23 Sept 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has conducted 10,106 coronavirus tests, and 13.6% of them, or 1,373, have turned out to be positive, and ten more COVID patients have died, raising the COVID-related death toll to 8,554, the country's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

There are now 8,615 active cases, and 694 of them are receiving hospital treatment, including 89 placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the infection with the novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, the country has conducted over 2.76 million tests which have shown that 396,470 people have caught the virus, and of them, 379,301 have recovered, including 1,132 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,388,015 vaccines have been administered. As many as 1,793,806 people have received at least one shot, and of them, 1,682,093 have fully been vaccinated (49.82% of the adult population).

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ZAGREB, 20 Sept 2021 - In the past 24 hours 264 coronavirus cases and 14 deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

There are 7,518 active cases and 695 hospitalized patients, including 85 on ventilators.

Croatia has registered 392,248 coronavirus cases to date, including 8,514 deaths and 376,216 recoveries, of which 1,018 in the past 24 hours.

A total of 20,966 persons are self-isolating.

To date, 2,730,993 persons have been tested for the virus, including 3,863 in the past 24 hours, and 43.93% of the population has been vaccinated, including 52.73% of adults, of whom 49.50% fully.

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.