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.

For more, follow our business section.

June 14th, 2021 - The head of the Croatian Public Health Institute, Krunoslav Capak, commented on the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) position that countries should avoid administering the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to people over 60 due to concern related to rare cases of blood clotting.

"As far as I know, it has only been decided that people with so-called capillary bleeding, which is an infrequent disorder connected with the lack of certain blood proteins, should not be inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine," Capak said.

He added that contrary to reports on some Croatian web portals over the weekend, EMA did not conclude that the AstraZeneca vaccine would not be administered to people over 65.

"Now that incidence in Europe is much lower than it was when vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine started, the relative risks have been changing slightly for those who get infected and possibly develop a serious form of the disease and those who get vaccinated and develop a serious side effect," he said.

"Since those relative risks have changed, it is necessary to discuss the matter again at the European and national levels," the HZJZ head said in Virovitica-Podravina County, where he attended the start of a vaccination campaign by mobile teams visiting smaller communities by bus to inoculate their residents.

Capak was accompanied by Health Minister Vili Beroš, who dismissed claims on social networks that he did not fully pay his bill in a Zadar café which he left in protest at the fact that waiters were not wearing face masks.

Health minister comments on incident in Zadar café

"I talked to the cafe owner this morning. I did not leave the establishment without paying my bill in full," Beroš said.

"What kind of health minister would I be if I had stayed in the cafe... with waiters not wearing face masks," he said, explaining that he had kindly asked the waitress taking his order to put on a face mask but she ignored the request.

He noted that there were foreign guests in the cafe whose perception of Croatia was also formed on the basis of compliance with anti-epidemic measures.

As for questions if workers should wear face masks outdoors, Beroš said that that was necessary because waiters serving food and drinks in the open did so at less than two metres or a metre and a half from their guests.

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 select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 13 June, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 59 new COVID-19 cases, the national COVID-19 response team said on Sunday.

A total of 358,563 cases of coronavirus have been registered in the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020.

Currently, 5,783 people are in self-isolation.

To date, a total of 2,078,716 people have been tested for the virus, including 4,489 in the past 24 hours.

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

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ZAGREB, 12 June, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Saturday called on citizens via social networks to get vaccinated, noting that there is a sufficient quantity of vaccines and that it only takes a minute to protect one's life with vaccination and move on towards relaxation of epidemiological restrictions.

"More than 1.4 million people have received at least one vaccine dose, and more than 700,000 have been fully vaccinated. There is a sufficient quantity of vaccines and I call on everyone to get vaccinated. It only takes a minute to protect one's life by getting immunised and that is also the way to relax restrictions and have a safe season," Plenković said in a Twitter post.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Vili Beroš was in Zadar, participating in the vaccination of members of a local basketball team as well as other residents.

In the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 125 new COVID-19 cases while nine people have died, the national COVID-19 response team said earlier in the day.

There are currently 1,128 active cases in the country.

By 11 June a total of 2,087,157 doses of vaccines were administered. So far 1,401,647 people have received at least one dose while 685,510 have received both shots.

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

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ZAGREB, 12 June, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 125 new COVID-19 cases while nine people have died, the national COVID-19 response team said on Saturday.

There are currently 1,128 active cases in the country, including 408 hospitalised patients, 35 of whom are on ventilators.

A total of 358,504 cases of coronavirus have been registered in the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020 and 8,132 of them have died. A total of 349,244 people have recovered, including 195 in the past 24 hours.

Currently 6,445 people are in self-isolation.

To date a total of 2,074,221 people have been tested for the virus, including 4,701 in the past 24 hours.

By 11 June a total of 2,087,157 doses of vaccines were administered. So far 1,401,647 people have received at least one dose while 685,510 have received both shots.

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

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

ZAGREB, 10 June 2021 - In the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 184 new COVID cases while seven people have died, the national COVID-19 response team said on Thursday.

There are currently 1,290 active cases in the country, including 482 hospitalized patients, 48 of whom are on ventilators.

A total of 358,245 cases of coronavirus have been registered since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020 and 8,110 people have died. A total of 348,845 people have recovered, with 217 of them recovering in the past 24 hours.

Currently, 6,865 people are in self-isolation.

To date, a total of 2,065,437 people have been tested for the virus, including 5,435 in the past 24 hours.

By 9 June a total of 1,986,929 doses of vaccines were administered. So far 1,370,306 people have received at least one dose while 616,623 have received both shots.

For all, you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of testing centers and vaccination points across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and choose your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 9 June, 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has logged 275 new coronavirus cases and seven people have died as a consequence, the national COVID-19 response team reported on Wednesday.

There are 1,330 active cases in the country, including 520 hospitalised patients, 51 of whom are on ventilators.

Croatia has registered 358,061 cases of the novel coronavirus since it was first identified in the county on 25 February 2020 and 8,103 people have died as a consequence. A total of 348,628 people have recovered from the contagion, including 159 in the past 24 hours.

There are currently 6,819 people in self-isolation.

To date a total of 2,060,002 tests have been conducted and of that number, 5,970 were conducted in the past 24 hours.

By 8 June a total of 1,947,784 doses of vaccines have been administered. So far 1,357,103 people have received at least one dose while 590,681 have received both shots.

On 8 June alone, 27,128 shots were administered, the response team said.

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

ZAGREB, 8 June, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, 178 new coronavirus cases and five related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 management team reported on Tuesday. 

Currently, there are 1,221 active cases, including 545 infected people receiving hospital treatment, of whom 51 are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 357,786 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 8,096 have died and 348,469 have recovered, including 195 in the last 24 hours. A total of 6,954 persons are currently self-isolating.

To date, 2,054,032 people have been tested for the virus, including 6,814 in the last 24 hours.

By 7 June, 1,920,656 vaccine doses have been administered, with 1,345,741 people receiving one dose and 574,915 receiving both doses. On 7 June alone, 16,983 vaccine doses were administered.

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

June 7, 2021 – With many in Croatia hoping for a more relaxed summer than 2020, all eyes and ears are on the country's healthcare professionals. Here's some news from the COVID front and the adult population vaccination rate in Croatia.

The constant following COVID19 infections are getting rather tiring for everyone. Croatians have turned their attention massively towards the tourism season and summer as the only chance to enjoy a bit of rest and relaxation. As the strain on the health system starts to lessen, the questions surrounding the future of restrictions imposed on businesses grow more common.

It is evident the main factor for getting life back to normal will be the vaccination process. Index.hr reports on the latest trends. Their article quotes Diana Mayer, an epidemiologist with the Croatian Institute of Public Health. She expressed her satisfaction with the interest in vaccination. It is no secret there have been those opposing the vaccine in Croatia But it seems a bigger part of the population is willing to get vaccinated in hope of restrictions being lifted. The official data says 1,33 million Croatians have been vaccinated at least once, with roughly 564,000 of those receiving both doses. In a country of barely 4 million inhabitants, this is not a negligible result. According to Mayer, we are to see half of the population vaccinated by the end of June. Hopefully, this translates into a calmer Autumn.

Positive Trend

On Sunday the 6th of June 2021, there were 157 new cases of COVID19 infections in Croatia. The numbers seem to be going down, but it is way too early to draw any optimistic conclusions about the trends in near future. The waiting time for people who register for vaccination is also declining. Epidemiologist Mayer said this is not due to the decline of interest. More positive news comes from KB Dubrava (Clinical Hospital Dubrava), the largest COVID hospital in Croatia. KB Dubrava is to resume its normal function today and starts receiving non-COVID19 patients after 217 days. Let's hope this is just the beginning of a long-lasting positive trend.

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