Croatian Headquarters Passed New Coronavirus Measures for Several Counties
October 4, 2020 - The Croatian Headquarters passed new coronavirus measures in several counties on Saturday. A closer look.
Index.hr reports that another 241 coronavirus cases were recorded in Croatia on Saturday, two people died and the number of active cases was 1447, the National Civil Protection Headquarters reported on Saturday.
Head of the Croatian National Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, commented on Saturday's figures.
"It would certainly be better if the number was smaller. 240 is a big number; we had a big number of 333 yesterday (Friday), we hope it's a peak. There were those few events that generated such a big number. Of course, we expect and prepare for a worse situation when it starts to rain, when the cold starts, and when people will spend more time indoors," said Capak for Dnevnik.hr.
"We are certainly preparing a mandatory measure of wearing masks indoors. We will discuss other measures with certain sectors of the economy and adopt them in agreement with them," Capak added in an interview with N1.
New measures of the Croatian Headquarters
The Croatian Headquarters adopted measures for the town of Popovača, Požega-Slavonia, Koprivnica-Križevci, and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties.
Measures for the city of Popovača
At the proposal of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Sisak-Moslavina County, the necessary epidemiological measures for the area of the town of Popovača are being introduced for a period of 14 days.
Necessary epidemiological measures are:
- in all enclosed spaces where trades are performed and institutions engaged in public activity, it is obligatory to wear face masks or medical masks correctly;
- a maximum of 50 persons may be present at wedding ceremonies in compliance with all prescribed epidemiological measures;
- a maximum of 50 people may be present at a funeral in compliance with anti-epidemic measures, without gatherings, and condolences to the bereaved must not be expressed through close contact;
- sports competitions can only be held without the presence of spectators;
- when entering public institutions, the parties are obliged to wear a face mask or medical mask, disinfect their hands and fill in a health questionnaire;
- family farms that provide catering services are obliged to provide their services in compliance with all prescribed epidemiological measures, and groups with more than 30 people may not be hosted;
- livestock fairs and similar exhibitions and events are suspended;
- visits to the sick, homes for the elderly and infirm, and other social welfare institutions are prohibited;
- recommended that homes for the elderly and infirm and other institutions in the social welfare system organize shift work whenever possible;
- recommended that the sessions of the City Council of the City of Popovača and the assemblies of associations and organizations in the area of the City of Popovača be organized online or in another appropriate way without gathering participants at the same place;
- recommended that all social gatherings (events, exhibitions, scientific gatherings, various events, etc.) in the area of the City of Popovača be postponed.
Restrictions in Požega County
In Požega-Slavonia County, wedding ceremonies will have to be registered with the competent civil protection service by October 20. They will be able to accommodate a maximum of 50 people.
Extension of the measure for Koprivnica-Križevci
In Koprivnica-Križevci County, the prescribed epidemiological measures are extended and will last until November 5.
Measures for the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
Epidemiological measures have been introduced in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County:
- the obligation to wear face masks or medical masks properly in all enclosed spaces and on public transport
- a maximum of 500 people may be present at public events, manifestations, and gatherings indoors, and 1000 people in open spaces
- a maximum of 50 people can be present at all private gatherings and ceremonies (weddings and weddings, funerals, birthdays)
- recommended that the elderly and risk groups not to use public transport between 6:00 and 8:30
- recommended that employers organize work from home where possible
- recommended that employers to encourage wearing face masks or medical masks in the workplace when possible and epidemiologically justified
- recommend to employers who work indoors to provide conditions for maintaining a physical distance of 2 meters in all directions when possible
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Croatian Headquarters Will Discuss Lowering Music in Catering Establishments to Reduce COVID-19
September 28, 2020 - Music in restaurants, bars and cafes could soon be quieter in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The latest, as the Croatian Headquarters will discuss lowering music in catering establishments.
Namely, as various Croatian media learned on Monday morning and as Jutarnji List reported, the National Civil Protection Headquarters will soon begin talks with representatives of caterers in which they will try to agree on reducing noise in restaurants, bars, and cafes, i.e., reducing decibels from speakers, which would 'lower' the tone of visitors' conversations.
Colder weather will certainly increase the number of those sitting in cafes and restaurants indoors where there is usually loud music, resulting in guests amplifying their speech. Since the coronavirus spreads mainly by droplets, in part by aerosol, any increase in speech or shouting helps it spread.
According to Croatian laws, catering establishments in which music is not provided as an obligation in the minimum conditions can have noise only up to 65 decibels, which would be the strength of the average conversation. However, it is almost certain that music in cafes is sometimes much louder. These are all reasons why the Headquarters intends to reach an agreement with the caterers, because, in the end, it is to their advantage, given that if a cafe is registered as a hotspot, it will face temporary closure.
The Headquarters' views are also supported by the research of scientists from the University of California who said that, for example, reducing the volume by only six decibels in average speech can have the same effect on preventing the spread of the coronavirus as doubling room ventilation.
Increasing the volume by 35 decibels, which is the difference between whispering and shouting, emits 50 times more particles. Namely, whispering creates a noise of 35 decibels, ordinary conversation of 65, loud speech 75, and shouting 100 decibels, which is 30 more than the noise generated by city traffic. Noise of 100 decibels is mostly allowed in nightclubs under Croatian law.
Experts warn that during the corona period, due to the excessive spread of the virus, singing in choirs should also be limited, and they also recommend 'quiet zones' in all high-risk enclosures like hospital waiting rooms.
In the past 24 hours, 48 new cases were recorded, so the number of active cases in Croatia today is 1,180. Among them, 291 patients are in hospital, of which 24 are on a ventilator. In the past 24 hours, 3,029 people were tested.
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Croatian Headquarters Does Not Extend the Midnight Rule for Bars and Clubs
September 7, 2020 - Big news today, as the Croatian Headquarters does not extend the midnight rule for bars and clubs.
As Index.hr reports, at midnight, the National Civil Protection Headquarters' decision, which limited the working hours of bars and clubs, expired.
According to that decision, bars and clubs were allowed to work only until midnight. Since the Headquarters did not extend the decision, from today, clubs and bars can work as before the decision made on August 14 and extended on August 27.
The midnight ban for bars and clubs was introduced after clubs, primarily those on the Adriatic, proved to be places where the coronavirus spread.
"I have to point out a few related facts about these 180 newly infected. It’s an even younger age group than yesterday, averaging 31 years. Most of them can be connected with gatherings on the Adriatic coast," said the head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, in mid-August. He added then that the competent inspections would continue to control the work of caterers.
In the meantime, the Headquarters did not explain the situation with clubs in terms of coronavirus spread. It is only known that the decision to limit the work of clubs until midnight was presented as a measure to reduce the spread of coronavirus among young people, because these situations have often been cited by the Headquarters as epidemiologically particularly risky.
But it is also a decision that had very negative consequences. Last week, a post by Jure Karamarko from Zadar spread on Facebook, as he published a letter to the National Civil Protection Headquarters in which he told them that he had just lost his job in a Zadar nightclub and ironically thanked them for it.
As he wrote, the employer informed him and his entire team that they had been deregistered. He wrote that he does not blame the employer at all and that it is clear to him that someone cannot pay salaries and contributions to someone who earns zero, but he sees the blame in the Headquarters to which he sent very direct messages about their decisions.
He said that his team, which has now lost its job, has served tens of thousands of people without a single infected person, and that they have complied with measures that were not prescribed, and introduced thermometers in the club. He also accused the owners of clubs who were silent.
He called the Headquarters "corrupt scum" who succumbed to pressure and put all the blame on clubs. He said that because of the Headquarters, his people and their families would not have anything to eat tomorrow.
It was also warned that the decision to limit working hours was violated in various ways, such as restaurants that are actually clubs, or party boats on the Adriatic, but, despite the fact that they announced it themselves, the Headquarters never made any decisions to regulate it, so the only problem for the Headquarters were clubs and bars.
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