March 28, 2021 - The Croatian Institute of Public Health has changed the recommendations on priorities for COVID-19 testing and announces new rules for vaccinated people and COVID-19 recoveries in Croatia. 

N1 reports that the Croatian Institute of Public Health (CNIPH) has announced that the exemption from testing and quarantine is being extended for all those who have recovered from COVID-19 or have been vaccinated against it. According to the new recommendations, instead of the previous three months, it is unnecessary to go into quarantine or test for six months after recovering from COVID-19 or receiving the vaccination against it.

Also, the CNIPH states that the UK variant of the virus has been removed from the list of variants for which quarantine lasts 14 days and for which testing is mandatory upon completion of quarantine.

Other rules have not changed, and to reduce the spread of infection, all patients' close contacts are referred to health surveillance in quarantine/self-isolation. Close contacts that are part of a collective in which it is essential to assess the extent of infection or work with a vulnerable population are recommended to be tested by PCR test or rapid antigen test within five days of exposure.

Close contacts are subject to health surveillance in quarantine/self-isolation for ten days from the last close contact with an infected person, according to the CNIPH.

However, there are some exceptions. Based on the history or results of a screening test for new variants, if it is suspected that a patient is infected with a variant of the virus with a higher potential for spread, contact quarantine lasts 14 days from the last contact with an infected person. Close contacts of persons who are sequenced to be infected with a variant of concern should be tested on the last day of quarantine. Currently, this applies to the Brazilian and South African variants of the virus.

Detailed recommendations of the CNIPH on handling contacts of infected persons and termination of self-isolation/quarantine can be read HERE.

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