ZAGREB, Sept 10, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours 291 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia and two persons have died, the national COVID response team said on Thursday.

The number of active cases is 2,567, including 320 hospitalized patients, 27 of whom are on ventilators, the team said in a press release.

Since February 25, when the first case was recorded in Croatia, 12,917 persons have been infected with the virus, 208 have died, and 10,142 have recovered.

Currently, 8,711 persons are self-isolating.

A total of 205,256 persons have been tested to date, including 4,118 over the past 24 hours.

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ZAGREB, Sept 9, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has recorded 341 new coronavirus infections and three fatalities, the national COVID-19 management team said on Wednesday.

The number of active cases is currently 2,587 and 8,688 people are self-isolating. There are 299 patients in hospitals, including 24 on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of coronavirus infection, a total of 12,626 people have contracted the disease. Of them, 206 have died and 9,833 have recovered.

To date, 201,138 people have been tested for the virus, including 4,172 in the last 24 hours.

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ZAGREB, Sept 9, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday that the European Union has secured 300 million doses of vaccine against the coronavirus for EU citizens, adding that any vaccine will be made available to Croatia, as soon as it is scientifically verified.

"The moment a vaccine is scientifically verified as the right vaccine against the coronavirus, we will have it at our disposal, just as Germany, France, and other EU member states will," Plenkovic said in an interview with Croatian Radio.

He said that decisions made by the government benefited the Croatian citizens both in terms of healthcare and economically.

Asked if the vaccine would be paid for by the government or citizens themselves, Plenkovic said this process was ongoing. "News came in this morning that AstraZeneca is also verifying (its vaccine). When all this becomes more clear, we will try to make it as cheap as possible and even free of charge, but at this point, we have not discussed details yet. What is important is that when it becomes available, our citizens will have it at their disposal," the prime minister said.

Plenkovic expressed satisfaction with the work of the national coronavirus response team. "My support to them is clear and firm and will remain so," he said, recalling that the national team is an institution of the central government.

"The national team is a government institution. It was established by the government based on the law and regulations passed by parliament. They are here to work on protecting public health. I am pleased with their work and think that they have done a great job," he added.

Commenting on the number of coronavirus cases in Croatia, Plenkovic said he expected it to decline, stressing the importance of self-discipline.

Government likely to adopt about 30 amendments to the post-earthquake reconstruction bill

Regarding the bill on the reconstruction of Zagreb and its environs after the March 22 earthquake, which will be discussed by the inner cabinet today, the prime minister said that about 30 amendments could be adopted.

Recalling that the damage was estimated at over €11 billion, Plenkovic said that the government was right in not rushing the bill. He said that the reconstruction of the central part of Zagreb was very complex and challenging and that the government had decided to take part in it by securing funds from the budget and from international sources.

He said that the government had received €89.9 million from the EU for that purpose, noting that this was the largest advance payment ever made from the EU Solidarity Fund.

"I think the total amount will surpass €500 million," Plenkovic said. He added that the government was in talks with the World Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank, and other international financial institutions and that the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development would also have special programs for that purpose.

He said the government would like the bill to be adopted with the greatest possible consensus because the reconstruction process would take a long time and would involve the City of Zagreb and many experts.

"At the inner cabinet meeting, we will adopt any proposal we think will help make the reconstruction process effective and transparent ... regardless of which political party it comes from," Plenkovic said.

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ZAGREB, Sept 6, 2020 - A total of 225 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia in the past 24 hours and one person has died, the national COVID-19 response team said on Sunday.

The number of active cases has increased to 2,758 and 296 of them are hospitalized, including 21 on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first case of infection with the novel virus was confirmed in Croatia, 11,964 people have been infected, of whom 198 have died and 9,008 have recovered. Currently, 8,964 people are in self-isolation.

To date, 191,360 people have been tested, including 3,509 in the last 24 hours.

New measures for Bjelovar-Bilogora County

At the suggestion of the Civil Protection Headquarters of Bjelovar-Bilogora County, the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia adopted a Decision on September 5th on the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for Bjelovar-Bilogora County.

The decision applies from September 7th, 2020, and limits the number of people at wedding ceremonies to 50, at other private ceremonies to 20.

Also, the number of persons who may be present at funerals is limited to 50. Carmine can be held only in a family circle with a maximum of 20 people, and condolences must not be expressed through close contact.

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ZAGREB, Sept 6, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic on Saturday commented on a protest in Zagreb against COVID restrictions, saying that protest is a democracy but that the fact that the protesters stood outside nursing homes was idiocy and disastrous.

He was responding to questions from the press on Rab island if the rally in Zagreb was a festival of democracy, as the participants claimed, and if he considered any restrictions contentious.

"From day one we have been saying that the elderly and the sick are the ones we must care for, not teenagers, my generation. To go outside retirement homes and say that corona is a child's play, which I saw they did, is a disaster... If they are protesting against masks, that's okay."

Speaking of restrictions, he said, "One should be more disciplined than usual, that's the only measure."

Asked what he would tell people who claimed that coronavirus did not exist, Milanovic said ironically that they were "very fine people."

Asked what would happen if the virus entered kindergartens and schools, he said children and youth were the least at risk. "It's time they finally go to school because this has been going on too long."

Milanovic and Slovenian President Borut Pahor were on Rab for the 77th commemoration of the liberation of inmates from the Kampor fascist concentration camp.

"The banality of evil," he said of the WWII camp. "This wasn't a typical extermination camp. This was a camp where you bring Slovenians and Croats because they crossed you for some reason, not just because they are Slovenians and Croats, and leave them to die in a year, you don't feed them. That's the banality of evil. Somebody watched that, those guards, for a year."

Asked if he and Pahor discussed bilateral topics, Milanovic said, "We talk all the time... about the situation in the region, everything that goes on around us. About the right-wing in Europe. I don't mean traditional Christian values but... I don't like the words 'anti-European policy' because that means nothing, but there is a number of leaders and politicians in Europe who see the enemy in everything."

Asked if he and Pahor talked about the reopening of borders given that Slovenia put Croatia on the red list of COVID countries, Milanovic said there was a reason why Slovenia did that.

"The number of daily cases of infections increased because almost a million foreigners arrived in Croatia in July and August so that we could make money. That's not surprising. That's the price we consciously paid both as a state and as a society, and we should finally accept that... Let's not be surprised that almost a million foreigners passed through Croatia, leaving their money here, socializing, forming crowds, and that some got infected. But that's the price of the risk we were all willing to take. Slovenia's reaction was expected, that will change."

Asked if he would ask Pahor that Slovenia apply the regional COVID model towards Croatia, like Germany, Milanovic said, "He doesn't decide on that, just as I don't in Croatia."

He said they often spoke on the phone. "The topics are political, concerning the region, the Balkans, the eastern Balkans."

Asked if he heard the appeals from the ruling HDZ, the minister of defense, the parliament speaker, and the prime minister that he should be more rational with military resources, Milanovic said he did not. "Since I'm the commander in chief, I'll decide what's more rational, if they really said that. We are being very rational."

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ZAGREB, Sept 5, 2020 - Hundreds of people rallied in Zagreb's main square at 5 p.m. on Saturday for the anti-COVID Freedom Festival protest in response to coronavirus prevention measures.

They carried banners which read "Take off the mask, turn off the TV, live life to the fullest", "COVID is a lie, we're not all covidiots", "Parents and children are inseparable", "Better the grave than to be a slave", "Free life is our power", "Normally, period" and "We believe in the strength we have".

The festival was organized by the Rights and Freedoms initiative. Participants arrived by bus from Dubrovnik, Split, Sibenik, Zadar, Rijeka, and Istria.

Since COVID-19 appeared, unprecedented measures which restrict fundamental rights and freedoms have been imposed, and our goal is to preserve the achievements of a democratic society in which one cannot tolerate decision making based on panic and propaganda or on copying instead of examining, the organizer said.

They insist on the preservation of human rights, freedoms, knowledge, solidarity, and mutual respect, and wish to say that health is psychical, physical, emotional, and mental, not just the corona level.

In the morning, participants organized events accompanied by music outside nursing homes, where they asked residents to open their windows and balconies to hear that they are not forgotten and to cheer them up with music and messages of encouragement.

Police say the rally has been announced

Zagreb police told Hina they were notified that a public rally called the Freedom Festival would be held and that they would see to it that it proceeded safely.

Assistant Interior Minister Damir Trut said on Friday the protest's organizers committed to adhering to all epidemiological measures stipulated by the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

The medical association says the festival is deception and demagoguery

The Croatian Medical Law Association (HUZMP) said on Friday it was appalled by the announcement of the Freedom Festival because, according to a press release, it was a protest against individual and societal health organized under the slogan of freedom and that this meant it was about deception and demagoguery.

"At a time when the world is facing the highest ever numbers of coronavirus cases and dead when hospitals in Croatia are quickly filling up with everyday hospitalizations of new patients, the HUZMP is appalled by the announcement of a so-called freedom festival," the press release said.

What freedom of speech are we talking about and who will cultivate it if there is no general safety and health, and who will enjoy freedoms if the processes and institutes of medical science, prevention, and treatment are being belittled, the HUZMP asked.

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ZAGREB, Sept 5 (Hina) - The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Croatia has increased by as much as 110% in the past 15 days, Jutarnji List daily said on Saturday, adding that the growing number of severe cases is worrying.

Although the actual figures do not seem so terrifying, because 135 people were receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19 on August 21, while their number on September 4 was 283, the trend is a serious cause for concern, the newspaper said.

The number of active cases in this period jumped by 47%, which is more than half the increase in the number of hospitalized patients, as the number of active cases rose from 1,841 on August 21 to 2,703 on September 4.

A further cause for concern is the fact that the share of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Croatia in the total number of infected people was 7.33% on August 21, while on September 4 it was 10.5%, Jutarnji List said, adding that the number of deaths in the said period rose from 169 to 195.

These figures are not surprising given that Croatia has been seeing negative trends for days now, and it was only logical that this situation would also affect the hospitals, which were not under too much strain this summer despite the constant presence of the virus. This was mostly due to the fact that symptoms of the disease were milder than those seen during the first wave of the epidemic from March to June, and the fact that people spent much more time outdoors, Jutarnji List said. 

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ZAGREB, September 4, 2020 - The situation in Croatian prisons is good and epidemiological measures have prevented the spread of coronavirus, Justice and Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica said in parliament on Friday during a debate on a bill on the execution of prison sentences.

He said two prisoners had been positive for the virus but they did not infect fellow prisoners.

There has been a "relatively small number of incident situations" in Croatian prisons when taking into consideration that over 12,000 prisoners pass through them annually, he said, adding that it was necessary to continue to work on the professionalisation of prison staff.

MPs said conditions in some prisons were bad and that convicts were not treated equally due to delays in serving their sentences.

Vili Matula of the green-left bloc asked how the manipulation of rules would be stopped. "(Tomo) Horvatincic is drinking coffee in Samobor, while saying that he is not going to prison because of grave illnesses."

Davor Dretar of the Homeland Movement said there was a "privileged caste who start feeling ill as soon as a final sentence strikes them." He also mentioned missing memory cards and escapes to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and said this party would not endorse the bill.

Misel Jaksic of the Social Democrats said changes in prisons alone would not change the judicial system and that it cannot be said that tis is working as long as there are cases like Zdravko Mamic and Horvatincic.

Zeljko Sacic of the Sovereignits praised corrections officers for doing a complex and tough job, calling for improvement of their status and of the conditions for visiting prisoners.

Veljko Kajtazi of the ethnic minorities group said conditions in prisons had improved over the past ten years but that there was s shortage of corrections officers and that some prisons were overcrowded and had poor sanitary conditions.

Presenting the bill, Minister Malenica said it ensured the equal status of all prisoners, raised the security of correctional institutions, improved the conditions of serving sentences, reduced costs in the long term and dealt with overcrowding.

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ZAGREB, September 4, 2020 - In the past 24 hours, 334 new cases of the coronavirus were registered in Croatia, bringing the number of active cases to 2,703, and one person died, the national Covid response team said on Friday.

Of the 334 latest cases, 283 are in hospital treatment, 15 of whom are on ventilators.

Since 25 February when the first case was registered in Croatia, there have been a total of 11,428 persons infected with the virus, 195 of whom have died and 8,530 recovered.

Currently, 9,042 people are in self-isolation.

To date a total of 183,912 people have been tested for the virus, 4,047 of whom in the past 24 hours, the response team said.

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September 3, 2020 - Three of Croatia's most internationally famous venues in the events industry were lit in spectacular red on Monday. Pula amphitheatre, Zagreb Arena and Fort Punta Christo were bathed in light from sunset until after dark

Three of Croatia's most internationally famous venues used by the events industry were lit in spectacular red on Monday. Pula amphitheatre, Zagreb Arena and Fort Punta Christo, also in Pula were bathed in light from sunset until after dark.

Though the change in appearance was enjoyable and visually impressive, the action was undertaken to send a strong message. It was part of a worldwide campaign to highlight the effects of Coronavirus on the events industry and those who work within it.

Some of the most famous historical buildings, concert venues and event halls in the world joined the Red Alert campaign and were similarly lit on the same night.

Large public events have been put on hold over most of the world under epidemiological guidelines. Seating arrangements in theatres, conference halls, sports and music halls are simply not compatible with social distancing regulations – many such venues could not make a profit by holding events at 50% capacity.

This has affected millions around the world who work in the events industry, from musicians and performers to technicians, bookers, agents, the media, PR representatives, venue management and general staff. Freelancers operating within the events industry are some of the hardest hit and have had all of their income sources removed completely. Many who operate in the events industry are highly trained and skilled, so diversifying into other industries can be problematic.

Pula amphitheatre (also known as Pula Arena) is a massively popular open-air venue in warmer months. It holds spectacular opera, ballet and classical music events as well as hosting a film festival. Like Zagreb Arena, it attracts some of the biggest names in pop and rock music. Fort Punta Christo has become famous all over Europe and further over the last decade, thanks to the internationally renowned Outlook and Dimensions festivals. Those events were supposed to take place in Tisno, at The Garden festival site. But, along with seven further festivals due to be held there this year, they chose to cancel in order to safeguard the health of their attendees and locals.


Fort Punta Christo in Pula is widely known as a host site for international music festivals

The Croatian events industry alone is comprised of 2000 business entities, has more than 12,000 employees, and annually generates HRK 4.5 billion. Autumn/winter 2021 is the soonest estimated point at which large scale events could return to normal. The Red Alert campaign has been undertaken to highlight the plight of the events industry as many sections within it face total collapse if deprived of work until then. 



All photos © Red Alert

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