ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - Croatia has registered 170 new coronavirus infections and six related deaths over the past 24 hours, and the number of active cases stands at 8,285, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

There are 868 COVID patients in hospitals, and 131 are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia recorded its first case, a total of 418,028 people have been registered as having contracted coronavirus, 8,778 of them have died, and 400,965 have recovered, including 1,302 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 17,029 people in self-isolation.

To date, a total of 2,916,030 people have been tested, 2,854 of whom over the past 24 hours, when the share of positive tests was 6%.

As of Sunday, 3,486,793 vaccine doses against this novel virus were administered, and 45.66% of the total population or 54.75% of the adult population was vaccinated.

The share of the adult population fully vaccinated stood at 51.37% on Sunday.

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ZAGREB, 10 Oct, 2021 - In the past 24 hours 908 coronavirus cases and nine related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Sunday.

There are 9,423 active cases, including 839 hospitalised patients, 124 of whom are on ventilators, and 18,408 persons are self-isolating.

To date 2,913,176 persons have been tested for the virus, including 8,894 in the past 24 hours.

To date Croatia has registered 417,858 coronavirus cases, 8,722 related deaths and 399,663 recoveries, including 1,250 in the past 24 hours.

To date 45.65% of the population has been vaccinated against COVID, including 54.74% of adults, 51.36% of whom have completed vaccination.

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ZAGREB, 7 Oct 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said at a government session on Thursday that the vaccination of medical staff against COVID-19 had been stepped up and that the current rate was 74%, with the highest increase in vaccination having been reported among nurses.

"Compared to a week ago, the share of unvaccinated staff has dropped by 2.4% and most of the newly vaccinated are nurses and other medical staff, which is an increase of 2.8%," Beroš said.

He commended medical institutions for the good organization of the introduction of COVID-19 certificates in the healthcare sector. So far 11,567 employees have been tested, 41 have been found to be positive for coronavirus, and 36 have refused to get tested, he said.

"By doing so we are not violating anyone's rights, quite the contrary. It is our duty to secure conditions for the safe treatment of every patient," said the minister.

Beroš said that his ministry had formed a commission to monitor the treatment of cancer patients in order to respond to the challenges of the post-COVID period as well as a task force to formulate amendments to the health insurance and health care laws to define new solutions regarding the availability of health care.

Speaking of the national day against breast cancer, the minister said that prevention programs had continued during the pandemic, albeit with a 10% drop.

He noted that Croatia had seen a drop in breast cancer cases of some 25% for the fifth consecutive year.

Irena Petrijevčanin, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, said that the EU digital certificate based on a rapid antigen test was valid for 48 hours, one based on a PCR test for 72 hours, a certificate proving one's recovery from COVID-19 was valid for 180 days and one proving vaccination 365 days.

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ZAGREB, 7 Oct 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 1,748 coronavirus cases and eight related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Thursday.

There are 9,299 active cases, including 823 hospitalized patients, of whom 119 are on ventilators, while 16,379 persons are self-isolating.

Croatia has logged 413,665 coronavirus cases to date, 8,730 deaths, and 395,636 recoveries, including 1,254 in the past 24 hours.

Also, 2,885,071 persons have been tested for the virus, including 10,592 in the past 24 hours.

54% of adults vaccinated

To date, 45.39% of the population has been vaccinated against COVID, including 54.44% of adults, of whom 51.07% are fully vaccinated.

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ZAGREB, 7 Oct 2021 - The Zagreb Municipal Court has sentenced Boris Štitić, 36, to two years and four months in prison pending an appeal for attempting to extort money from three members of the national COVID-19 crisis management team - Alemka Markotić, Krunoslav Capak, and Vili Beroš, Jutarnji List daily said on Thursday.

Štitić, a Slovenian and Croatian citizen, is a nurse with three convictions for fraud.

Under the latest sentence, he must also pay over HRK 10,000 in court costs. He has been released from detention, in which he had been since October 2020, and the stay behind bars will be counted towards the final sentence.

Although he claimed he was innocent at the start of the trial, he eventually confessed, justifying his actions with the COVID restrictions and the impossibility to see his child, who lives with the mother in Slovenia, during the pandemic, although a few weeks before sending threatening e-mails to the three officials, they spent several weeks on the coast.

The court did not find any mitigating circumstances, finding as aggravating that Štitić attempted to extort money from persons engaged in the fight against the pandemic and committing the offenses in an, especially odious manner, without any empathy for others, subjecting the victims to stress by making death threats against them and their families.

On 30 September 2020, Štitić sent e-mails to Markotić, Capak, and Beroš in which he said they would die unless they paid €100,000 in the Monero cryptocurrency.

Markotić is the director of Zagreb's Dr. Fran Mihaljević Infectious Diseases Hospital, Capak is the director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, and Beroš is the minister of health.

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ZAGREB, 6 Oct, 2021 - Croatia registered 1,925 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours while 18 people died as a consequence, and there are currently 8,813 active cases in the country, the national COVID response team reported on Wednesday.

There are 820 hospitalised patients and 116 are on ventilators, while 16,186 people are self-isolating.

To date, 411,917 cases of contagion have been registered and 8,722 people have died, while 394,382 people have recovered. A total of 2,874,479 tests have been conducted, including 10,083 in the past 24 hours.

54.31% of the adult population vaccinated

As of Tuesday, 3,460,702 doses of vaccines had been administered, and 45.28% of the total population or 54.31% of the adult population had received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Yesterday, 8,144 people were vaccinated, of whom 5,073 received the first dose.

A total of 1,837,585 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine, while 1,721,731 have been fully vaccinated, which makes up 50.97% of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 4 Oct 2021 - Croatia has registered 219 new coronavirus cases and 7 COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

The number of active cases stands at 8,073.

There are 810 infected persons receiving hospital treatment, and 98 of them are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 408,918 people have been registered as having contracted the novel coronavirus, and 8,685 of them have died, while 392,160 have recovered, including 1,208 in the last 24 hours. Currently, there are 18,521 people in self-isolation.

To date, 2,855,076 people have been tested, 3,032 of whom over the past 24 hours.

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ZAGREB, 3 Oct, 2021 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović announced on Sunday that everything was ready for the introduction of mandatory EU digital COVID certificates in the healthcare and welfare systems.

"Everything is ready. ... I am confident that the people working in the healthcare and welfare systems will do their best and that the interests of patients are their priority. I think they will continue to observe the professional and ethical principles as they have so far," Božinović told RTL television during a visit to Velika Gorica, just south of Zagreb.

Commenting on the request by the nurses' union for assessment of the constitutionality of this decision, Božinović said that the purpose of decisions like this was to protect the health of the most vulnerable people, adding that the decisions by the national COVID-19 response team were in line with the constitution and law.

"Mandatory testing of staff before coming to work was in place before. Drawing a parallel between COVID certificates and mandatory vaccination is completely wrong and untrue," Božinović said, adding that the Constitutional Court had confirmed the constitutionality and legality of decisions made by the national coronavirus response team before and "that is what is going to be this time as well."

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ZAGREB, 3 Oct, 2021 - Croatia has registered 944 new coronavirus cases and 14 COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours,, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Sunday.

The number of active cases stands at 9,069.

There are 779 infected persons receiving hospital treatment, and 95 of them are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 408,699 people have been registered as having contracted the novel coronavirus, and 8,678 of them have died, while 390,952 have recovered, including 1,082 in the last 24 hours. Currently, there are 20,198 people in self-isolation.

To date, 2,852,044 people have been tested, 9,005 of whom over the past 24 hours.

As at 2 October, 3,447,108 vaccine doses have been administered, with 45.08% of the total population, or 54,07% of the adult population, having been vaccinated. 1,829,251 people have received at least one dose and of them 1,714,992 have been fully vaccinated, which is 50.78% of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 1 Oct 2021 - GLAS party leader and MP Anka Mrak-Taritaš has submitted a conclusion to the parliament calling on it to oblige the government to make sure all school-goers have access to psychological help due to the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic and earthquakes as of the next school year.

Mrak-Taritaš told a press conference on Friday that the Zagreb Institute for Social Research recently published a survey covering 27,000 students, 417 experts and 4,796 teachers.

The survey showed that the coronavirus pandemic has negatively or extremely negatively impacted the lives of most students, affecting their motivation and mental health.

"It is particularly concerning to learn that depression and anxiety have increased significantly among students, as have phobias and fear... Also, a large number of Croatian students live in areas that were affected by the earthquakes and they certainly feel the consequences of those traumatic events," she warned.

Only 43% of schools have a psychologist employed

Mrak-Taritaš warned that the State Pedagogical Standard is not being respected in the school system and that a survey showed that as many as 233 elementary schools employ fewer professionals than stipulated by regulations, and only 43% of schools have a psychologist employed.

She noted that 880 elementary schools have a total of 340 psychologists employed which means that about 130,000 primary school pupils do not have access to psychological help. That means that one psychologist is responsible for an average of 925 students, said Mrak-Taritaš.

According to the electronic records of the Ministry of Science and Education, currently 47% of elementary schools and 55% of secondary schools have an employed psychologist, said Mrak-Taritaš.

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