ZAGREB, 20 Sept 2021 - Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said on Monday the national COVID-19 response team was not considering either tightening or relaxing epidemiological restrictions, such as the reopening of nightclubs, and that the protest against those restrictions held on Saturday was unjustified.

"At the moment we are not planning any tightening of the restrictions or their further liberalization," Božinović, who heads the COVID-19 response team, told reporters in Šibenik when asked if the reopening of nightclubs was being considered, as demanded by bar owners on Sunday.

He noted that it was not necessary to explain in great detail why nightclubs would not be allowed to reopen even if complying with anti-epidemic rules, including COVID-19 certificates.

"After 18 months of the pandemic, everyone will tell you that indoor areas are the main problem if they are not aired sufficiently and if people do not keep at least a minimum physical distance from one another," he said, stressing that gatherings at nightclubs were more difficult to control than gatherings at football matches.

No reason for the protest

Commenting on a protest against epidemiological restrictions, held in Zagreb on Saturday, Božinović said the protesters had gathered without any real reason.

"After the protest, at least some of them probably went to a cafe or a restaurant and were probably mad because they protested without any real reason," he said, adding the organizers had rushed to "stage something" after seeing scenes of protests in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

The minister also said that he did not know if police had acted after Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković had reported a person to them, who called him by the nickname 'Njonjo' (Wuss) in a phone conversation.

"It is normal for a protected person who gets a call from an unknown number to tell their security that they received a call from an unknown person who had insulted them. The protocol about that is clear... there is staff who take care of that," said the minister.

"I do not know if the police did anything, but I'm sure that everyone in that chain did what they were supposed to do," he said.

Božinović also commented on the lifting of visa requirements for Croatian nationals traveling to the USA, saying that after a long-lasting process he was an optimist. He expressed hope that Croatians would be allowed to travel to the USA without visas by the end of the year.

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.

August 31, 2021 - Due to the increase in infections and delays in the vaccination process, some countries, including the US, would be removed from the safe list of several European countries, on the recommendation of the EU Council. Should Croatia follow these measures?

HrTurizam writes that national representatives of the Council of the European Union met yesterday, Monday afternoon, to discuss and update the EU's safe travel list, a process that takes place every two weeks.

The EU Council has decided to remove six countries from the list: Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, and the United States, claiming that their current coronavirus infection rate exceeds the agreed threshold of 75 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days.

The US vaccination campaign has stalled in recent months and has lagged significantly behind EU vaccination efforts. More than 57% of the EU population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to 52% in the United States. The U.S. has more than 1,000 new cases a day, the highest level since March.

Removal from the EU safe list means that trips that are not important again become subject to temporary travel restrictions, such as testing, quarantine, or a total ban.

However, compliance with the recommendations is not mandatory. Some EU countries have the right to decide unilaterally whether to keep their borders open to US travelers. On the other hand, America still does not allow European travelers free entry into the country.

The presence of American tourists in Croatia has been positive in the August statistics so far, and even September arrivals are still expected. At the moment, the United States is on Croatia's safe list, which means that that the travelers arriving from the USA do not have to provide any reason for their travel in order to enter Croatia. They will be required to prove that they’ve been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID and that they haven’t spent any significant time outside of the “green countries”.

Follow the latest flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 26 August 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that there would be no tight lockdown and called on citizens to show personal responsibility and get vaccinated against COVID-19.

It is crystal clear that Croatia will not opt for a tight lockdown, the PM said after a government meeting.

He said that the government had secured sufficient amounts of vaccines against coronavirus.

"The threat (of the spread of the disease) will be considerably lower, provided that people get vaccinated, comply with basic measures: wearing masks, keeping a social distance, and airing rooms," Plenković said when asked by the press to comment on President Zoran Milanović's statement that the current anti-epidemic rules no longer made sense and that Croatia should follow the example of Sweden in managing the epidemic.

Urging citizens to behave responsibly, Plenković said that no rewards would be given to those who decided to get a jab.

"I firmly believe in common sense, prudence, and benevolence of our people and in them being well informed," Plenković said when asked about the possible imposition of more stringent rules.

"We do not have the luxury of being populists, demagogues, speculators, or provocateurs. We must be responsible and make decisions to the benefit of all," the premier said.

He added that the lifting of restrictions would mean that there would be no more COVID grants to businesses.

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

ZAGREB, 26 Aug 2021 - Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, who heads the national COVID-19 response team, said on Thursday that the team was not planning to change or tighten current epidemiological restrictions just as it had not done so far.

"After we have been communicating on a daily basis for the past 18 months about the pandemic, I think there is no one who lacks basic facts about protection against the infection," he said, expressing hope that Croatia would stay orange on the epidemiological map of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Speaking of a decrease in interest in vaccination, Božinović said that the vaccination roll-out and the related activities were within the remit of the Croatian Public Health Institute and not the national COVID-19 response team.

"Naturally we want as many people as possible to get vaccinated because at this moment that is the only sustainable way out of the epidemic and stronger efforts will definitely be made in that regard. We expect the number of people interested in getting vaccinated to increase in the autumn but we should all be making the public aware that vaccination protects to a large extent against the more severe forms of the disease," he said.

Asked if the team was considering the introduction of tighter epidemiological restrictions, he said that each restriction had to be designed in line with people's willingness to accept scientific achievements but that there was no measure that was more efficient than vaccination.

"On the other hand, larger gatherings pose a risk... the autumn is close, and staying indoors facilitates the spreading of the infection so we have to warn people of risky behavior and gatherings that can lead to an increase in the number of infections. So far we have not been inclined to introduce very strict restrictions and we will continue to behave that way," Božinović said.

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

August 12, 2021 - Yesterday a meeting was held in Opatija between associations linked to the tourism sector and government authorities. They spoke of the current situation of the catering industry, coffee bars in Croatia for example, and also of its precarious future if restrictions are imposed and financial support is not provided.

The National Association of Caterers (NUU) also participated in the meeting of the tourism sector with representatives of the Government of the Republic of Croatia held in Opatija, reports HrTurizam. The importance of this meeting is shown by the fact that 21% of all companies in Croatia operate in the tourism sector, of which 2/3 are caterers, and whose position was discussed by Jelena Tabak, President of the National Association of Caterers.

According to the press release of the NUU, the meeting in Opatija discussed the successful figures in the booking of foreign and domestic tourists and discussed the burden and damage suffered by the hospitality sector.

"The already fragile catering industry, faced with a high tax burden, illiquidity, and a chronic shortage of manpower, has been put at the forefront of the defense since the beginning of the pandemic by restrictive business measures", the statement said. For all catering companies, such as coffee bars in Croatia, which perform activities of preparation of drinks and beverages only, work indoors is still prohibited.

By working in controlled conditions, limited working hours and enclosed spaces, this part of the sector has once again shown its size and proved that it carries a pandemic on its back in addition to the health system. According to the caterers, further restrictions in the catering business will protect the rest of the tourism sector, which is the basic bread of Croatia, according to the caterers.

Jelena Tabak, President of the National Association of Caterers (NUU) (Photo: Goran Stanzl/PIXSELL)

Given that this attitude further leads to the collapse of coffee bars in Croatia, Jelena Tabak appealed to the Government and the Ministry of Tourism to stand behind this part of the sector as soon as possible and actively participate in its recovery and quality development, with the collegiality of all other colleagues in the sector, to which the caterers did so at a time when the number of paid visits to Croatia must not be jeopardized.

According to the presented results, for now, we have a very good chance to finish the season, fall and winter, but the damage is too great to repair in the foreseeable future without the implementation of tax relief and long-term reforms. The lack of reforms will encourage an already excessive outflow of the qualified catering staff who bring to their senses the quality of service and a successful tourist year.

We hope that more such meetings will be held shortly and that the trend initiated by Minister Nikolina Brnjac with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia will become the rule because only with an interactive approach and joint efforts of all tourism stakeholders and caterers associations it is possible to achieve tourism success.

For more, follow our business section.