ZAGREB, 20 June, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 58 coronavirus cases and five deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Sunday.

There are 597 active cases, including 288 hospitalised patients, 25 of whom are on ventilators, while 3,868 persons are self-isolating.

Croatia has registered 359,173 coronavirus cases to date, including 8,174 deaths and 350,402 recoveries, of which 122 in the past 24 hours.

To date 2,110,485 persons have been tested for the virus, including 4,340 in the past 24 hours, and 2,355,050 vaccines have been administered, with 1,449,819 persons receiving the first dose and 905,231 both.

For more on COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

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ZAGREB, 19 June 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 84 coronavirus cases and one death have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Saturday.

There are 666 active cases, including 291 hospitalized patients, 24 of whom are on ventilators.

To date, Croatia has registered 359,115 coronavirus cases, including 8,169 deaths and 350,280 recoveries, with 117 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,106,145 people have been tested for the virus, including 4,316 in the past 24 hours.

As for vaccination, 2,318,428 doses have been administered, including 1,442,925 persons who received one dose and 875,503 both.

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.

ZAGREB, 18 June 2021 - Croatia has registered 113 new coronavirus cases and three COVID-19-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus crisis management team said on Friday.

The number of active cases currently stands at 700, and 313 of them are hospitalised, including 25 who are on ventilators. A total of 4,274 persons are self-isolating.

Since late February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 359,031 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 8,168 have died.

To date, 2,101,829 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 4,436 in the last 24 hours. So far, 2,272,244 doses of vaccines against COVID-19 have been administered.

For more news from Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated news section.

18 June, 2021 – Mali Ston on the Peljesac Peninsula is famous for its top quality oysters and mussels. But, recent drop in sales is threatening the livelihood of local producers and the Peljesac Peninsula oyster and mussel production as a whole.

The Peljesac Peninsula in Dubrovnik-Neretva Country is without a doubt one of the most beautiful parts in all of Croatia. Wine production and the cultivation of oysters and mussels have given it a well-earned international reputation. Traditions that span centuries, beautiful scenery and amazing historical towns and villages have turned Peljesac into one of the most favourite destinations for foreigners and locals alike.

It comes as no surprise that most of the yearly revenue of local shellfish farms comes from tourists travelling to Peljesac or restaurants around Croatia selling Peljesac Peninsula oysters and mussels. They're produced in cycles and are mainly sold fresh. So, any drop in sales usually means an un-recoverable loss. In 2020 there was an enormous drop in sales for Peljesac. This was the effect of COVID-19 related travel restrictions and the closing of restaurants.

Dangerous numbers

Slobodna Dalmacija released a report on the current state of oyster and mussel farming in Mali Ston with some alarming numbers to consider. Local aquaculture farmers are currently down 80% in revenue when compared to 2019. After a disastrous 2020, this number is very serious indeed. Along with this crisis, they are apparently facing problems with illegal oyster farms and illegal selling. According to a few interviewed producers, much of what is being sold doesn't even actually get recorded for tax purposes and this creates additional problems for those who are choosing to work above board and legally.

The President of a local association of shellfish producers, Marija Radic, denies there are illegal farms in operation in and around Peljesac. She also stated that instances of selling Peljesac Peninsula oysters and mussels without proper invoices is less common than some of the local producers might claim. However, she did confirm the numbers of around 80% in terms of the drop in sales are sadly correct. The only thing that can save the majority of Peljesac Peninsula oyster and mussel farmers is the return of tourism and restaurant consumption. The local market is simply too small and unable to alleviate such a dramatic drop in sales.

Do your part in helping out local businesses by visiting gorgeous Peljesac for a food, wine and beach trip. Here’s some of the best beaches on the peninsula and here you can find the locations of top local wineries.

For more, follow our dedicated business section.

ZAGREB, 17 June 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 5,192 tests performed for coronavirus in Croatia, 95 (1.8%) have returned positive, the country's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

The COVID-related death toll has increased by three to 8,165.

There are currently 745 active cases, and 342 of them are hospitalized patients, including 25 placed on ventilators. As many as 4,344 are self-isolating.

Since the first registered case of the infection with this novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, 2,097,393 people have been tested, and 358,918 of them have contracted the virus. To date 350,008 have recovered, including 148 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

To date, 1,428,340 people have been given at least one shot against this novel virus, and 790,856 have fully been inoculated.

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

ZAGREB, 16 June, 2021 - Slower salary growth halted the growth of hourly labour costs in the EU in the first quarter of 2021, while in Croatia labour costs increased for the first time since the start of the pandemic, Eurostat data show on Wednesday.

In the first quarter of 2021, the hourly labour costs rose by 1.7% in the EU, compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2020, hourly labour costs increased by 3.2%.

The costs of hourly wages and salaries increased by 2.6%, after growing 3.8% in Q4 2020.

The costs of salaries increased the most in arts, entertainment and recreation (+8.3%), followed by accommodation and food service activities (+6.1%).

The costs of contributions at the start of this year went up 1%.

The highest increases in hourly labour costs in Q1 2021 were registered in Lithuania (+12%) and Slovenia (+11.1%), while the lowest were in Austria (+0.3%) and Belgium (+0.9%).

In Croatia, they went up 2.3%, for the first time since Q2 2020. In Q4 2020, they dropped 1.1%. The costs of hourly wages and salaries increased 2.3% after falling 0.2% at the end of last year. The costs of contributions went up 2.2%, after falling 6.4% at the end of 2020.

The largest decrease in hourly labour costs in Q1 2021 was registered in Malta (-2.6%), followed by Ireland (-2.5%).

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 16 June, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, Croatia has logged 146 new COVID-19 cases after conducting 5,485 tests, and two infected persons have died, the national COVID-19 response team said on Wednesday.

Currently, there are 801 active cases in the country, including 349 hospitalised patients, of whom 28 are on ventilators, and 4,774 people are in self-isolation.

To date, there have been a total of 358,823 registered cases of the contagion, 8,162 people have died as a consequence while 349,860 have recovered.

A total of 2,092,201 people have been tested for the virus to date, including 5,485 in the past 24 hours.

As of 15 June, a total of 2,196,552 doses of vaccines have been administered, with 1,427,566 people receiving at least one dose and 768,986 people receiving both vaccine doses.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 16 June, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday at the forum "Human Rights in the Coronavirus Crisis" that encroaching on the intimate space of human freedoms required a decision of the parliament, which he would have let it make if he were prime minister during the crisis.

Milanović said at the forum at the Faculty of Law that "in this crisis, we are not talking about human rights but about fundamental human freedoms."

"My right to breathe, to sneeze, to walk, to move - that is my human freedom. In order to affect that deeply intimate space, it is necessary to have a decision of a representative body," Milanović said.

In his presentation, he referred to Articles 16 and 17 of the Constitution and said that the coronavirus situation had met the conditions for declaring a state of emergency.

"Article 17... refers to a state of emergency, imminent danger of war or a natural disaster. It doesn't matter if this virus, and a virus is a natural fact and attacks a living organism, originated as a fact of zoonosis or was released by the Chinese or escaped from the laboratory, it makes no difference. That is a serious matter. It puts lives in danger. If that doesn't meet the conditions (for declaring a state of emergency), nothing does," Milanović said.

He added that if the coronavirus crisis had happened during his term as prime minister, he would have let the parliament vote in the relevant decisions, which would result in greater public trust, instead of having a COVID-19 response team do it.

Everything we watched for a year and a half was surreal, he added. He praised the fact that the vaccine was produced so quickly, adding that everything else was wrong.

Ombudswoman: Citizens had numerous complaints

According to Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter, during the pandemic citizens had questions and complaints related to passes, self-isolation, access to health care since family doctors were not available to them and their examinations were cancelled, and they also sent questions related to the right to work, that is, to work from home or work in the office.

In the past few months, the ombudswoman has been receiving questions about vaccination and in the past few weeks, about COVID passports.

She also said that the frequent changes in the anti-epidemic measures and vague recommendations had led to an increase in dissatisfaction and fear among citizens, which had further undermined trust in institutions.

The ombudswoman said that there were solutions and that her report for 2020 had been discussed in the parliament, and now she hoped that the recommendations would be implemented.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 15 June (Hina) - In the past 24 hours, Croatia has logged 96 new COVID cases after conducting 5,924 tests, and eight infected persons have died, the national COVID response team reported on Tuesday.

Currently, there are 767 active cases in the country, including 372 hospitalised patients, of whom 28 are on ventilators, and 5,352 people are in self-isolation.

To date, there have been a total of 358,677 registered cases of the contagion, 8,160 people have died as a consequence while 349,750 have recovered.

A total of 2,086,716 people have been tested for the virus to date, including 5,924 in the past 24 hours.

As of 14 June, a total of 2,164,874 doses of vaccines have been administered, with 1,419,924 people receiving at least one dose and 744,950 people receiving both vaccine doses.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 14th, 2021 - The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) on Monday signed the Covid Guarantee Agreement in the amount of €50 million for loans taken by Croatian mid-caps and large corporations to help them recover from effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a joint press release, EIB and HBOR said the EIB contribution valued at €25 billion stems from the European guarantee fund (EGF) set up by EIB in 2020 to accelerate post-COVID recovery, job keeping measures, and to provide much-needed liquidity for European companies.

This is the first EIB operation in Croatia stemming from the EGF, following three EGF operations implemented by the European Investment Fund (EIF). The EIF operations provided guarantees for €350 million in loans. Today’s agreement with HBOR puts the total amount of loans guaranteed by the EGF in Croatia to €513 million,  the press release notes.

Teresa Czerwinska, vice president of the EIB, who is in charge of Croatia, said that the "EIB-HBOR agreement is good news for Croatian economy and local mid-caps and large corporations. It brings further economic relief crucial for faster recovery from the COVID-19 crisis."

Tamara Perko, President of the Management Board of HBOR, said that this Guarantee Agreement "will enable HBOR to approve loans with lower collateral requirements to mid-caps and large companies."

These benefits will be available for direct working capital loans and investment loans to mid-caps under the existing HBOR’s loan programs. It is our pleasure that the EIB has recognized HBOR as its first partner for cooperating under this program in Croatia, which makes it possible for us to offer further benefits to our entrepreneurs irrespective of their size," said Perko.

Croatian companies whose loans were approved six months before the agreement between EIB and HBOR can apply for the guarantees provided the loan agreements were signed after the European Commission approved state support to introduce this financial facility for Croatia.

The EIB reported that the EGF had approved funding amounting to almost half its target for 2021. After clearance under the EU state aid notification process in December 2020, the initiative has now approved €11.7 billion in support of European businesses struggling with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is almost half the fund’s target for 2021.

The fund mobilizes additional financing, and initiatives approved so far are expected to generate €93.9 billion in funding and investments for the EU economy, the press release notes.

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