ZAGREB, 5 Nov 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 6,932 new coronavirus cases and 36 deaths, the national COVID response team reported on Friday.

That is the highest number of new cases yet in one day since the outbreak of the pandemic. The record until now was 6,310, which was registered on Thursday.

There are currently 28,541 active cases in the country, including 1,711 hospitalised patients, with 231 hooked on ventilators.

At the same time, there are 26,362 people self-isolating.

Since the start of the epidemic in Croatia in 25 February 2020, there have been 490,074 cases and 9,400 people have died as a consequence. A total of 452,133 people have recovered, of whom 3,983 in the past 24 hours.

To date, a total of 3,155,683 people have been tested, including 15,079 in the past 24 hours..

As of Wednesday evening, a total of 3,658,686 vaccine doses have been administered, with 47.57% of the total population or 56.94% of the adult population having received at least one dose. On 4 November, 17,038 doses were administered. A total of 7,798 people received their first shot of vaccine on Thursday..

A total of 1,990,471 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine while 1,811,801 are fully vaccinated, or 53.57% of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 4 Nov 2021 - The teachers' Facebook group Staff Room on Thursday asked Education Minister Radovan Fuchs to expedite the testing of students and reduce waiting times for test results in order to contribute to curbing the spread of the coronavirus infection and reduce the need for online classes.

In an open letter to the minister, the group says that over the last few weeks the epidemiological situation in schools has been deteriorating even though the ministry, in cooperation with the Public Health Institute, has done a lot to prevent schools from turning into infection hotspots.

That the situation in schools has been deteriorating is evidenced by the fact that almost all schools in Croatia have switched to online classes after the autumn school break, the group said.

"Even though we are talking about only a few days, we believe this is only a short-term solution," they said.

The group notes that due to the increased pressure on the epidemiological service and the large number of people who are being tested, students in some cases are tested only five or six days after exhibiting symptoms.

Students have to wait for test results for up to two days, during which time all their close contacts in the classroom continue to attend physical classes while contacts outside the school are also at risk, the group says, warning that without self-isolation, the virus continues to spread.

This increases the likelihood of entire classes or even schools having to switch to distance learning, the group says, calling on the minister to do his best for the process of testing of students to be expedited and waiting time for results to be reduced.

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ZAGREB, 4 Oct 2021 - In a comment on the introduction of COVID-19 certificates for workers in the healthcare and welfare systems, the head of the KBC Zagreb hospital, Ante Ćorušić, said on Sunday that an employee who does not have such a certificate and refuses to get tested will not be paid their daily wage.

There will be a number of points at the hospital where one will be able to get tested and have their COVID-19 certificates checked, Ćorušić said in a comment on new epidemiological rules, under which employees in the healthcare and welfare systems, visitors, and persons escorting patients have to have digital COVID-19 certificates as of 4 October.

KBC Zagreb has around 6,200 employees, and around 1,600 of them do not have COVID-19 certificates or proof that they have recovered from the coronavirus infection. We cannot force them to get vaccinated if they do not want to do it, Ćorušić said in an interview with the HTV public broadcaster on Sunday but noted that the situation was under control and that there were checkpoints at the hospital where COVID-19 certificates would be checked and testing would be performed.

He said that he believed that the new rules would nevertheless help raise awareness of the need to get vaccinated.

Asked if possibly penalties stricter than the non-payment of daily wages would follow, he said that according to available information, nobody would get fired.

"But those who do not want to get tested and do not have proof of recovery from the disease or proof of vaccination will not receive their daily wage. That wage will go to someone else who will have to work in their stead on that day," he added.

Ćorušić noted that not much would change for patients.

Most of the patients who expect to be hospitalized, even those awaiting specific medical procedures available in day hospitals, have COVID-19 certificates anyway, he said.

Patients with medical emergencies do not have to display COVID-19 certificates upon admission, however, "depending on the situation and their condition, some of them will definitely undergo PCR testing," Ćorušić added.

He noted that close to 90% of doctors at the KBC Zagreb and around 56% of nurses had been vaccinated, adding that a more rational approach would be to get vaccinated, thus protecting oneself, patients, and one's own family.

Julije Meštrović, head of the KBC Split hospital, said that 95% of doctors working at that hospital had been vaccinated or had recovered from COVID-19 as had around 90% of nurses.

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July 18, 2021 - The music festival and concert industry has been among the hardest hit by the pandemic, and in order to help the organizers, the Ministry of Culture has decided to co-finance rapid antigen tests in cooperation with the Croatian Music Union.

According to Goran Rihelj from HrTurizam.hr, the Ministry of Culture has decided that, in cooperation with the Croatian Music Union (HGU), it will co-finance the costs of rapid antigen tests with HRK 5,000,000 for the purpose of conducting concert activities of interest to the Republic of Croatia. The profession welcomes such measures and says it will continue to work on business models that preserve health and the economy.

"Due to the new conditions of the event, paying for tests for visitors is a new cost that sometimes spills over to visitors, and sometimes to the organizers. Therefore, the help of co-financing rapid antigen tests announced by the Ministry of Culture is more than welcome ", said the President of the HGK Event Industry Association Boris Kovaček, adding that the industry expects further work on ways to safely implement events.

Tomo in der Mühlen, president of the Association of Creative and Cultural Industries of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, agrees, saying that entrepreneurs in the industry support all aid measures because it is extremely important that the event industry works. "We must constantly work on improving the models according to which we can better organize controlled events. That's the only way. Otherwise, if we do not develop a model of how we can do this and disable work, we will end up in a situation where some exceptions, where the organizers do not respect the measures, become more common, and no one in the industry wants that, events are a great motivation and incentive for young people to be vaccinated.

The ministry defined concert programs of interest to the Republic of Croatia as those with more than half the participation of Croatian performers, continuous and confirmed presence in the cultural life of the country, high level of quality, intended for different age profiles of the audience. Co-financing is carried out in the form of grants, up to 50 kuna per conducted antigen test of visitors.

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.

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25 June 2021 – Dubrovnik Marin Med Polyclinic released an app that allows people to order COVID-19 testing.

Travelling in the time of the pandemic has been interesting and sometimes quite frustrating. The situation in 2021 is much better than the previous year, but there are still some hoops that need jumping through in order to get to your dream vacation. One of the most important things to consider when travelling is the need for COVID19 testing. In Dubrovnik, Marin Med Polyclinic is one of the most efficient and hassle-free places where you can do this. Now, they’ve made the entire process even easier by developing a mobile app that enables people to sign up for testing remotely. The name of the app is fit4traveldubrovnik and it is the first of its kind in Croatia.

How Does it Work?

The majority of guests coming to Dubrovnik will need to take an official COVID test before flying back home. By using fit4traveldubrovnik you streamline the process of acquiring proof of being COVID-free before your trip. The app enables users to schedule the testing and choose from the available testing locations. You also pay for the testing through the app. Within a maximum of 24 hours, you will receive the test results via email.

Marin Med has set up a new testing spot in front of Dubrovnik’s Grawe Building in the business district of Gruz. This way, the testing is done in an easy and fast manner without the need for entering the building. Dr. Rikard Lenz, the director of Marin Med emphasised the entire process of scheduling testing, paying, and receiving results can be done via the app, making in-person visits needed only for the actual testing. In fact, with the outdoor testing spot now available, persons in need of a COVID test need to generally spend just a few seconds, up to a minute at the testing site. This makes the entire process not just very fast, but also extremely safe. For more information on getting tested for COVID19 in Dubrovnik, check out the official website of Marin Med.

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ZAGREB, 27 May 2021 - Croatia has registered 375 new cases of coronavirus infection and ten more infected people have died in the past 24 hours, the national COVID response team said on Thursday.

There are currently 2,968 active cases in the country and 968 hospitalized patients with 95 of them on ventilators.

To date, a total of 1,994,545 people have been tested for the contagion, with 6,319 tests conducted in the past 24 hours and the share of the positive tests being 6%.

As of Thursday, 1,645,332 doses of vaccines have been administered. To date, 1,221,109 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine while 424,223 have received both shots.

Since 25 February when the first coronavirus case was detected in Croatia, to date, there have been 355,296 registered cases and 7,981 people have died as a consequence.

A total of 344,347 people have recovered of whom 509 in the past 24 hours.

There are currently 12,259 people in self-isolation.

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

ZAGREB, 21 May 2021 - Children up to the age of 12 will be able to travel to Croatia without a negative test to coronavirus, which is now required for children over the age of seven, Jutarnji List daily said on Friday.

The decision of the national COVID-19 crisis management team to allow as of April all vaccinated persons to cross the border without quarantine or testing was very important for domestic tourism, but as the season approaches, the sector is aware that there are still many obstacles to achieving significant tourist turnover.

The most significant obstacle refers to children aged 7-16 entering the country. They cannot be vaccinated because the vaccines have so far been registered for persons over the age of 16, and yet they are not in the group of people who would be exempted from quarantine or getting a PCR test.

According to domestic regulations, all children up to the age of seven are exempted from the obligation to present a test, a certificate of recovery from COVID-19 or a certificate of vaccination when crossing the border, which will make it much more difficult or expensive for all foreign tourists with older children to come to Croatia in the summer.

Several domestic tourist associations have sent an initiative to the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) about ten days ago to exempt all children under the age of 12 from the obligation to get tested when crossing the border to make it easier for tourists to enter the country this season.

Last year, according to data from the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ), children aged 7-16 generated 890,000 arrivals and slightly over seven million overnight stays, which is 16% of the 43,000,000 overnight stays generated by foreign tourists last year.

Children aged 7-16 account for a sixth of the overnight stays generated by foreign tourists in Croatia, and taking into account that those children have two parents accompanying them, the implications for domestic tourism, if the conditions do not change, could be drastic, Jutarnji List said.

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

ZAGREB, 10 May 2021 - In the last 24 hours, there have been 253 new coronavirus infections in Croatia and 34 people have died, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

Currently, there are 8,251 active cases, including 2,033 who are hospitalized, of whom 229 are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia registered its first case of this infection, a total of 344,747 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, and 7,503 have died.

So far, more than 1.88 million tests have been conducted.

A total of 328,993 people have recovered, including 1,589 in the last 24 hours.

There are 24,039 people in self-isolation.

By 9 May, 1,131,607 vaccine doses were administered. A total of 879,312 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose and 252,295 have received both doses.

January 19, 2021 – 45 people tried to enter Croatia with fake PCR tests this weekend alone. They were caught by Croatian police, detained at the border and reported to the State's Attorney office. If found guilty, each faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison

Some 45 people tried to enter Croatia through the borders of one county with fake PCR tests this past weekend.

Travel from Bosnia and Herzegovina into Croatia currently requires the production of a negative PCR test or a doctor's certificate proving you have successfully passed through a COVID-19 infection in recent months.

Since the ban on entering Croatia from Bosnia and Herzegovina without a negative PCR test was introduced, fake PCR tests are increasingly being forged. Border police and customs officers at crossings in Brod-Posavina County have met many people trying to cross the border with fake PCR tests. But, this weekend a new record number of forged tests were found on the county's border crossings.

According to a statement from the Brod-Posavina Police Department, as many as 45 attempts to enter the country with fake PCR tests were discovered on Saturday and Sunday.

"At the Stara Gradiška border crossing, police officers determined that 43 persons, mostly citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, presented fake PCR tests issued in BiH at the border control. At the Slavonski Brod border crossing, two people were registered who gave forged tests," the Brod-Posavina police reported.

Police officers file criminal charges against all those suspected of committing the criminal offence of forgery of a document with the Municipal State Attorney's Office in Slavonski Brod. If found guilty, such persons face up to three years in prison.

The overall number of people detained on Croatia's border with fake PCR tests this weekend could actually be higher - the figures of 45 persons detained with fake PCR tests were released by the police of just one county in Croatia - Brod-Posavina County. A further eight Croatian counties exist along the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each has border crossings between the two countries.

November 12, 2020 - Drive-in COVID-19 testing at the Split port will soon begin, and rapid tests should soon arrive at the Institute of Public Health, the director of that institute, Zeljka Karin, announced.

Index.hr reports that there are about 900 patients a day being tested, and drive-in testing will soon open in the port of Split, which should relieve the queues at the hospital and the county's Public Health Teaching Institute. Split should receive rapid tests that will need to be validated first, she said, adding that these tests will be done in closed collectives where a quick result is important.

"These tests are valid for a person who has a strong clinical picture to see if it is positive. A negative result says nothing or is not relevant. We will use this where we have a large number of people with a clinical picture so we can immediately put all people in self-isolation," Karin explained.

She reiterated that residents of Split-Dalmatia County could order testing online or through a family doctor. Citizens can now be tested at the Split Clinical Hospital in Krizine and the Teaching Institute for Public Health, and in two weeks, the port of Split.

Apart from Split, testing is done in Vrgorac, Imotski, Makarska and Sinj, and on the islands of Hvar, Brac and Vis.

Regarding the county's epidemiological situation, the head of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, Dr. Ivo Ivic, said that the numbers they can handle are satisfactory and that the situation - if such a trend continues - can be well controlled. They have planned for many patients and can activate an additional 30 to 40 beds within one day.

"We have not yet filled the capacity, but we are ready for an additional increase. We currently have 170 beds; if necessary, we will expand within Krizine. The epidemic is no longer at the pace it has been in the previous two weeks. This can be seen by the number of new cases in the country. A plateau has been reached, and this is not because the virus has changed. We need to be aware of that," he said, adding that he believes the measures have paid off.

Regarding the new vaccine against coronavirus, Ivic said that it is great and that its effectiveness will be achieved only when enough people are vaccinated. He pointed out that in the next six months, we will do everything we can to protect, reduce gatherings, and prevent the spread of the virus wherever possible. When asked what he thinks about Advent events, he answered that it will be better to have fewer of them and that the measures should be strictly followed.

"It is impossible to stop life; a lockdown can be done once and never again. I mean, then it must really mean that we are preparing for a catastrophe," Ivic concluded.

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