ZAGREB, Oct 28, 2020  - Homeland Movement leader and member of Parliament Miroslav Skoro tests positive for COVID-19, he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

"I have developed mild symptoms. I am following doctor's orders and expect a speedy recovery," Skoro said.

He said he has been in self-isolation since October 16 when he attended a meeting of the parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs and National Security and was in contact with Committee member Franko Vidovic (Social Democratic Party) who later turned out to be infected. "In the meantime, this virus has been confirmed in me too," Skoro wrote.

After the Committee meeting, two SDP Committee members and four clerks have been ordered to self-isolate. The meeting was also attended by senior officials from the State Attorney's Office, the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) and the police.

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ZAGREB, Oct 28, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Wednesday that there were 12,736 active coronavirus cases in Croatia and that the number of COVID patients in need of hospitalization was growing, currently standing at 932 or 155 more than on Tuesday.

Sixty-eight people are on ventilators, 14 more than yesterday. Twenty-three people have died in the last 24 hours, and the death toll now stands at 493, Beros said ahead of an inner cabinet meeting.

The minister said that the respiratory support and intensive care unit of the KBC Split hospital was working at 50.68% capacity. Seventy-five patients are currently receiving treatment there, and if their number increases, the entire hospital block in the city's Krizine neighborhood will be converted to accommodate COVID-19 patients, he said.

The occupancy rate in the KBC Rijeka hospital is 30.43%, with 21 coronavirus patients, KBC Osijek's occupancy rate is 51.38% with 93 patients, while Zagreb's "Dr. Fran Mihaljevic" hospital for infectious diseases has long been operating at more than 90% capacity and cannot admit new coronavirus patients.

Zagreb's KB Dubrava hospital is operating at 90.20% capacity and an additional 200 beds are being set up. On Tuesday, ten new ventilators arrived and today another 20 will arrive as will new medical staff - 39 nurses and five anesthesiologists, said Beros.

"We will do our best so that the health system functions as long and as well as possible. We do not have a crystal ball to foretell a collapse which I read about in media reports. It is possible but as a responsible person I will do my best to make the system function in the best possible way," the minister said, adding that the health system at the moment still functioned one step ahead of the needs.

General practitioners must contact and inform people who have tested positive for coronavirus as well as their contacts, he said.

"Many countries are imposing a lockdown, but those measures are not yielding results. We will continue to issue recommendations that constitute a balance between health protection and keeping the economy going," said Beros.

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ZAGREB, Oct 28, 2020  - In the last 24 hours 2,378 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia and 23 persons have died, the highest daily number of fatalities since the start of the epidemic, the national COVID-19 response team said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a record 18 coronavirus-related deaths were reported.

The number of active cases is 12,736, including 932 hospitalized patients, of whom 68 are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the new virus was first registered in Croatia, 40,999 persons have been infected, of whom 493 have died and 27,770 have recovered, including 930 in the past 24 hours.

Currently, 14,924 persons are self-isolating.

To date, 466,315 persons have been tested, including 8,589 in the past 24 hours.

ZAGREB, October 25, 2020 - Croatia has registered 2,421 new cases of the coronavirus infection over the past 24 hours, and eight people have died, the national COVID-19 reponse team said on Sunday.

The number of new infections is higher than yesterday, when the number of single-day COVID-19 cases exceeded 2,000 for the first time.

The number of active cases in Croatia stands at 11,144. There are 825 COVID patients in hospitals, and 58 are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, 36,380 people have contracted the novel virus, 437 have died, and 24,799 people have recovered, including 1,014 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 28,177 people in self-isolation. To date, 445,568 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 8,520 who have undergone testing in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, October 23, 2020 - A total of 1,867 new coronavirus cases and seven related deaths have been confirmed in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Friday. 

This is the largest single-day number of new infections since the outbreak of the epidemic. The current number of active cases is 8,394.

Among those infected, 716 are receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19 and 49 are on ventilators. 

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 31,717 people have contracted the novel virus, 413 of them have died and 22,910 have recovered, including 846 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 25,889 people are in self-isolation, A total of 428,961 people have been tested to date, including 7,313 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, October 22, 2020 - Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Thursday that the authorities were preparing additional beds in makeshift facilities for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, following a surge in the number of daily cases of the coronavirus infection.

For this purpose, Zagreb's Arena Centre, Split's Spaladium hall, Rijeka's Dvorana Mladosti venue as well as similar locations in Varazdin and Osijek have been selected for installing a total of 2,360 beds, if necessary.

Bozinovic informed the government that those capacities could be prepared to take in COVID-19 patients within 48 hours.

He also called on the Croatians to avoid all the uneccesary contacts so as to help efforts to curb the infection.

ZAGREB, October 22, 2020 - A total of 1,563 new coronavirus cases and 13 related deaths have been confirmed in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Thursday morning. 

This is the largest single-day number of new infections and deaths since the start of the epidemic in the country.

The current number of active cases is 7,380. Among those infected, 661 are receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19 and 46 of them are on ventilators.

Since February 25, when the first cases was confirmed in Croatia, 29,850 people have contracted the novel virus, 406 of them have died and 22,064 have recovered, including 629 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 25,620 people are in self-isolation. To date, 418,821 coronavirus tests have been performed, including 6,874 in the last 24 hours.

ZAGREB, Oct 21,  2020 - The head of the national Covid response team, Davor Bozinovic, said on Wednesday that as long as the number of people infected with coronavirus continued to grow they would concentrate on punishing violations of epidemiological measures, in particular legal entities.

Bozinovic visited the National Civil Protection Authority's warehouse in Jastrebarsko and told reporters that new measures would not be needed to curb the spread of coronavirus if measures already adopted were adhered to.

"We are monitoring the situation. The numbers are growing. They are growing outside Croatia too," said Bozinovic and underlined that they will concentrate the most on the measures in place, in particular the obligations of legal entities that organize events or other commercial acclivities where people fluctuate.

In that regard, he said, "we will punish any behavior that is not in accordance with the epidemiological measures."

He claimed that they had invested a lot of effort, including the Croatian Institute for Public Health which adopted detailed recommendations for all commercial and social activities so that they would not have to shut down.

"That effort has been transformed into specific recommendations by the response team," said Bozinovic, calling on all citizens to adhere to all measures as the only way to slow down the spread of the virus in Croatia.

He underscored that as long as the epidemic lasts, citizens have to avoid any large gatherings, private parties, and meetings.

He noted that the measures in place were intended for public events and not for events in people's homes. He warned, however, that it is in those circumstances that citizens forget themselves the most which then results in the virus spreading when they go home or back to work.

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ZAGREB, Oct 21, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday that a new lockdown could only be expected as the last resort if the situation escalated so much so that there was no other option.

Croatia today registered 1,424 new cases of the coronavirus infection. Asked whether more restrictive measures, such as a curfew, are being considered, he said that there were two methods.

One method is to view the problem rationally, take measures and raise public awareness of the seriousness of a problem, which is what we are doing, Plenkovic said.

Restrictive measures inevitably lead to negative economic effects, but at the same time state and public institutions receive their salaries, pensioners receive their pensions, and the private sector will get €1 billion. We are taking care of the general interest, he said.

A curfew, restrictive measures, a new lockdown, they are the last resort if the situation escalates so much so that there is no other option, Plenkovic said.

I believe in the strength, vigilance, and responsibility of the Croatian people, he added.

He reiterated that the problem of the pandemic should not be underestimated.

If this were nothing, there would not be 40 million infections in the world, there would not be restrictive measures in Slovenia. We have to get serious, the question is whether we will approach the problem seriously or in a way that will lead to confusion, Plenkovic said.

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ZAGREB, Oct 21, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered a record high of 1,424 new coronavirus infections and there have been 11 deaths, the national COVID-19 response team said on Wednesday.

Currently, 622 COVID patients are being treated in hospitals, and 38 of them are on ventilators. The number of active cases stands at 6,459, and there are 24,242 people in self-isolation.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, 28,287 people have contracted coronavirus, 393 of them have died, and 21,435 have recovered, including 473 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 411,947 people have been tested for the virus, including 8,255 over the past 24 hours.

This is the third time in a week that the number of single-day cases has exceeded one thousand.

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