ZAGREB, July 16, 2020 - The government on Thursday amended its decision on developing a mobile application in support of contact tracing in the event of contagious diseases whereby it included the Health Ministry in this task.

Health Minister Vili Beros is authorised to conclude a contract with the APIS IT company on preparing a digital platform to trace and manage COVID-19 infections.

The funds in the amount of HRK 625,000 (€83,000) are ensured for the first stage of the development of the platform.

Specialists of the APIS IT,  the Croatian agency that provides services to the public and government sector in planning, development, and maintenance of their information systems, are working on the design of the Croatian version of a mobile application in support of contact tracing for COVID-19,  the Jutarnji List daily reported this past Saturday.

Contact tracing is perceived to be of particular significance as containment measures are lifted.

ZAGREB, July 16, 2020 - There are currently 1,204 people in Croatia diagnosed with coronavirus, and of them, 132 are receiving hospital treatment, including five on ventilators, Health Minister Vili Beros told the government on Thursday morning.

In recent weeks, 12 people have died (due to COVID-related complications), he said explaining that a majority of them had significant underlying health conditions or were patients of high age.

The percentage of tests returned positive is 4.05% and the median age of people diagnosed with this infection is 47 years.

Beros said that in the past week no new hot spot appeared, and all newly-diagnosed cases were from the hotspots identified before.

There are currently 23 clinics designated for suspect cases concerning the COVID-19 epidemic in all the 10 counties.

ZAGREB, July 14, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours 52 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Croatia, bringing the number of active cases up to 1,183, and one person has died, the national COVID-19 response team said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference, Health Minister Vili Beros said Croatia had registered 3,827 cases since the novel coronavirus appeared 141 days ago.

The latest fatality was a man in Zagreb, born in 1951, who had many underlying conditions but was not on a ventilator. Since the start of the epidemic, 120 persons have died.

Five patients are on ventilators, one more than on Monday, and 129 patients are hospitalised.

Over the past 24 hours, 11 patients have been discharged from hospital and 33 have recovered at home. There are 81 active cases among medical staff, seven more than on Monday, and 508 are self-isolating.

To date 95,920 persons have been tested, including 1,745 over the past 24 hours, and 4.03% of the samples have been positive. Men account for 48.41%.

ZAGREB, July 13, 2020 - In the past 24 hours, 53 new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Croatia and currently there are 1,145 active cases in the country without any new deaths, the National Civil Protection Authority informed on Monday.

Today it is 140 days since the first confirmed case of the coronavirus infection in Croatia and in the past 24 hours we identified 53 newly diagnosed cases, which brings the total number of positive cases to 3,775 since the outbreak of the epidemic, Health Minister Vili Beros told a press conference.

The average age of patients is 47.4 years. No one has died since yesterday and four patients are on ventilators while 132 are hospitalised.

There are currently 1,145 active cases, while 1,620 have fully recovered to date..

A total of 94,175 people have been tested for the virus.

Beros informed that technical glitches had appeared in recording new positive cases of the disease in Istria County. Today it is clear that that number is zero however Beros has called for a written explanation for Sunday's figures.

"It is clear and visible that we are continuing to live with the virus. It is still among us and we have to be cautious," said Beros.

Croatia's death toll to the virus stands at 119.

ZAGREB, July 9, 2020 - A total of 91 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Croatia in the last 24 hours, one person has died and three are on ventilators, the National Civil Protection Authority said on Thursday.

The number of active cases currently stands at 978, the authority said on its website.

Of the active cases, 100 are receiving hospital treatment and three of them are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case of infection with the novel coronavirus in the country was reported, 3,416 people have contracted the disease, and of the 115 have died while 2,323 have recovered.

Currently, 4,410 people are in self-isolation.

So far, 89,764 people have been tested, including 1,529 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, July 8, 2020 - In the last 24 hours, 1,375 tests for COVID-19 have been performed in Croatia, and of them, 53 have returned positive, the country's coronavirus crisis response team stated on Wednesday.

Currently, there are 934 active cases of this infection, and of the 91 are being treated in hospitals, including four placed on ventilators.

One more person infected with the disease has died in the last 24 hours, and the number of the COVID-related fatalities stands at 114.

Since 25 February when Croatia reported its first confirmed case of the coronavirus infection, there have been 3,325 people diagnosed with it. To date, 2,277 have fully recovered.

Currently, 4,539 people are in self-isolation.

Croatia has so far conducted 88,235 tests.

ZAGREB, July 4, 2020 - In the last 24 hours 86 new cases of infection with the novel coronavirus have been identified in Croatia, and the number of active cases in the country stands at 798, the national COVID-19 response team said in a statement on Saturday.

Among those 798 people, 85 are receiving treatment in hospitals, including three who are on ventilators.

One person has died of the infection.

Since February 24, when the first case of infection with COVID-19 was reported in Croatia, 3,094 people have contracted the disease, of whom 113 have died while 2,183 have recovered.

A total of 5,272 people are in self-isolation.

So far, 84,166 people have been tested, including 1,264 in the last 24 hours.

All information related to the coronavirus is available at the websites of the Civil Protection Directorate and the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) and the website www.koronavirus.hr.

ZAGREB, July 3, 2020 - The Electoral Commission (DIP) said on Friday that people infected with the novel coronavirus would be allowed to vote by proxy in Sunday's parliamentary election.

"Anyone who has been diagnosed with coronavirus infection will be able to vote with the help of another person of their confidence, who will fill in the ballot as instructed by the infected person," DIP spokesman Slaven Hojski told a press conference after the Constitutional Court said that DIP had a duty to ensure for infected people to be able to exercise their right to vote.

Hojski explained that after a call from a COVID positive person, a member of the polling committee will come in front of their house or apartment, without coming into direct contact with the infected person. The person of confidence will then fill in the ballot, put it in an envelope, and return it to the member of the polling committee outside the apartment.

"The infected person must not come into direct contact either with the member of the polling committee or with the ballot," DIP vice-president Ana Lovrin stressed.

The person of confidence is usually a member of the infected person's household.

ZAGREB, July 3, 2020 - In the last 24 hours, 96 out of 1,464 tests performed in Croatia for Sars-CoV-2 have returned positive, the national COVID-19 crisis response team stated on Friday.

Currently, there are 728 active cases, and of the 88 are receiving hospital treatment, including four placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, there have been two more deaths in connection with this infection, bringing the death toll to 112.

Currently, 4,943 persons are placed in self-isolation.

Since 25 February, when the country reported its first confirmed case of this communicable disease, a total of 3,008 people have been diagnosed with it.

To date, 2,168 have fully recovered.

ZAGREB, July 3, 2020 - Nearly half of those who have died of COVID-19 in Croatia have been residents of a care facility, the Jutarnji List daily said on Friday.

According to the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), 50 of the 108 casualties were residents of a care facility, including 29 in Split-Dalmatia County.

These figures are not unexpected because seniors are the most at-risk population around the world and care facility residents account for 60-70% of coronavirus-related deaths in many European counties, epidemiologist Branko Kolaric was quoted as saying.

Although mortality has been highest among the elderly, HZJZ data shows that the highest number of COVID cases has been confirmed in the 50-59 age group.

In comparison with previous analyses, the new jump in coronavirus cases since June 18 shows an increase in infections in the 20-29 and 30-39 age groups. The ratio of infections among those aged 20-29 has risen from 10.8% to 12.9% and among those aged 30-39 from 13.7% to 15.1%.

The HZJZ says those aged 20-29 accounts for the highest number of about 500 recent infections in Croatia.

The number of infections in older age categories is declining, which is good as they are more at risk of developing more serious conditions and complications related to COVID-19, the newspaper said.