ZAGREB, 12 Nov - The COVID-19 situation has continued to deteriorate in the European Union and is considered "very worrying" in ten countries, including Croatia, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECD) said on Friday, as quoted by the French news agency AFP.

Of the 27 EU member states, the situation is very worrying in Belgium, Poland, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary and Slovenia, the ECDC said.

The most favourable epidemiological situation is in Italy, Malta, Spain and Sweden, it added.

Croatia remained "dark red" on the ECDC's latest COVID-19 map, released on Thursday.

In the EU and the European Economic Area, 81.1 per cent of people aged above 18 have received at least one dose of vaccine, the ECDC said.

In Croatia, over 50,000 people have received their first shot in the last three days, Health Minister Vili Beroš tweeted. 

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ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's (ECDC) latest COVID map shows that Croatia is entirely dark red as are large parts of Eastern Europe.

Dark red signifies a very high risk of COVID-19 incidence.

Last week the capital Zagreb and Pannonian Croatia were dark red on the ECDC map, while Adriatic Croatia and North Croatia were red.

The ECDC estimates COVID-19 risk according to the bigger statistical regions within a country (NUTS 2).

NUTS 2 regions must have a minimum of 800,000 inhabitants and a maximum of three million. There are only four NUTS2 regions in Croatia - Pannonian Croatia, Adriatic Croatia, Northern Croatia, and the City of Zagreb.

ECDC Map for October 28th, 2021

Unlike during the summer months, when the epidemiological situation was worst in the west of the EU, now regions in the east of the EU are mostly marked red or dark red.

All regions of Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovenia are dark red, as are the largest parts of Slovakia and smaller parts of Greece. Hungary and Germany are entirely red, while neighboring Austria is partly red and partly dark red.

The epidemiological situation is better in the Czech Republic, where two regions are orange and the rest are red. The situation is similar in Poland, while all Baltic countries are entirely dark red.

Of the Scandinavian countries, Sweden has the best situation, being entirely orange, while Finland is completely red.

The Benelux countries as well as Ireland are red or dark red, while France is completely orange.

Italy and Spain have the best epidemiological situation, being green and orange, while Portugal is orange.

The ECDC updates its epidemiological map every Thursday.

Red means the number of active cases in the past two weeks has been between 75 and 200 per 100,000 population and that 4% or more of the COVID tests have been positive.

Dark red are those countries where the total number of cases in 14 days has been over 500.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 21 Oct 2021 - Zagreb is still dark red and parts of central and eastern Croatia have been marked dark red on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's latest COVID map, released every Thursday.

Red means the number of active cases in the past two weeks has been between 75 and 200 per 100,000 population and that 4% or more of the COVID tests have been positive. Dark red is those countries where the total number of cases in 14 days has been over 500.

Today Croatia reported 3,053 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as well as 17 related deaths. To date, 46.27% of its population has been vaccinated against COVID, including 55.46% of adults, of whom 52.18% fully.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 9 Sept 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at a government session on Thursday that Croatia's turning red on the epidemiological map of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) was as expected given the spread of the much more contagious Delta coronavirus variant. 

"After it was orange and green on the ECDC map the whole summer, Croatia has now turned red, which is as expected considering the rise in the number of infections," he said.

"We are faced with the much more contagious Delta variant, which is more aggressive and spreads faster, and Croatia is already seeing an increase in the number of infections. We continue to insist that vaccination is the best and most efficient way to protect ourselves," he stressed, noting that so far close to 52% of the adult population had been vaccinated.

He recalled the basic epidemiological measures, such as room airing, physical distancing, mask-wearing, and personal hygiene, warning citizens against relaxing entirely.

The epidemiological restrictions applied in Croatia were appropriate to our mentality, health protection, and economic and financial trends, Plenković said, adding that compared to other countries, they had enabled a very good quality of life for Croatian citizens.

"Now it is important that the figures that are relevant at the moment - the number of hospitalizations, the number of patients in serious condition and the number of fatalities - be kept as low as possible," he said, adding that of the ten latest fatalities, only two had been vaccinated.

Most important part of tourist season without alarming situations

He expressed satisfaction with the tourist season, noting that there had been no alarming situations during the peak season.

Commenting on the coming census, he said that for the first time citizens would be able to self-enumerate via the e-Citizens (e-Građani) system.

The census will be conducted digitally from 13 to 26 September, after which data will be collected by around 8,000 census-takers, who will be in the field until 17 October, Plenković said.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - The eastern and central parts of Croatia turned red on the updated COVID transmission map produced by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Thursday.

The City of Zagreb, coastal counties, and the north of Croatia remain orange.

The red zones in Croatia are thus the counties with the seats in Karlovac, Sisak, Bjelovar, Slavonski Brod, Požaga, Virovitica, Osijek, and Vukovar.

ECDC (September 2, 2021)

The only "green" EU member-states on the updated map are Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland.

The ECDC publishes maps every Thursday in support of the EU Council Recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was adopted by EU Member States on 13 October 2020 and amended on 28 January 2021 and 14 June 2021. The maps are based on data reported by EU Member States to the European Surveillance System database by 23:59 every Tuesday.

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

ZAGREB, 22 July 2021 - The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Thursday published a new map showing the COVID-19 situation in Europe, according to which Croatia's Adriatic region remains orange, while continental Croatia is in the green zone.

The ECDC publishes an epidemiological map for Europe every week based on the 14-day incidence rate and the test positivity rate.

The new map shows that the whole of Italy is no longer in the green and that three of its regions are in orange.

France has mostly turned orange, with only two of its central regions remaining green. Smaller parts of Sweden and Finland are also orange, as is most of Denmark.

The majority of Greece is orange and a part of it is red. Portugal is also red. Spain is dark red and red, and Cyprus is dark red. Ireland, Luxembourg, and parts of Denmark and the Netherlands have also gone red.

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

July 15, 2021 - Not the best news for the peak season - the Croatian coast is no longer green on the ECDC corona map! 

The Croatian coast is no longer green on the new corona map of the European Union published by ECDC, reports Index.hr.

The entire Adriatic part of Croatia is now in orange.

The ECDC map is updated every week. Colors for individual areas are determined by a combination of the number of confirmed cases in the past 14 days per 100 thousand inhabitants and the percentage of the population tested. The latest map was released today.

Updated ? maps are online!

These maps aim to support the @EUCouncil recommendation on travel measures in the EU during #COVID19 pandemic.

Color-blind friendly map in next tweet.https://t.co/CcBVx6B0o5 pic.twitter.com/K2oaO7oqzq

— ECDC (@ECDC_EU) July 15, 2021

It is the most important coronavirus map in the European Union, and it is considered a reference because EU member states adopt measures and determine the conditions for entry from a particular country according to the color that the country has on the ECDC map.

The vast majority of Europe is still in the green zone. The Croatian coast, parts of Greece, part of the Netherlands, part of Sweden, Ireland, and the south of France are now marked in orange.

Spain, Portugal, a small part of Greece, part of Denmark, and part of the northeast of the Netherlands, as well as Luxembourg, are red. 

Parts of Spain, as well as a very small part of the Netherlands, are dark red, symbolizing the worst epidemiological situation.

The headquarters announced that 139 new cases in Croatia were recorded in the last 24 hours, and the number of active cases in Croatia today is 653.

Among the active are 110 patients on hospital treatment, of which 9 patients are on a respirator.

The headquarters also announced that no deceased persons had been registered in the last 24 hours.

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

July 9, 2021 - The latest ECDC map has marked Croatia fully green, but we should remain cautious given the rising numbers of our tourism neighbors. 

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has released an updated map of Europe. On this week's map, the whole of Croatia is in the green zone, reports Index.hr.

The surrounding countries are green, as is most of Europe. Important exceptions are Spain and Portugal, mostly in the red zone, which marks the highest incidence.

The ECDC map is updated weekly using data from Thursday at 23:59. Colors for individual areas are determined by combining the number of confirmed cases in the past 14 days per 100 thousand inhabitants, and the percentage of the population tested.

ECDC is a European agency based in Stockholm, and its Covid maps are also an indicator for tourists of whether it is safe to travel to a destination.

If Croatia stays in the green zone, tourism workers believe that we could be much closer to the record 2019 than expected by the end of the season.

"Croatia is a safe destination, and there is a great demand because the government has made all the preconditions for Croatia to be safe, and it is up to us to preserve this situation, to act responsibly, to respect epidemiological measures, to keep the good numbers we have," the Sports and Tourism minister Nikolina Brnjac said on Wednesday, adding that we are facing one of the best possible seasons during covid.

Portuguese tourism finds itself in an unenviable situation as it goes through a new pandemic wave. In the last few days, they have crossed the limit of 3,000 new daily cases, which has not happened since the beginning of February.

France has advised its citizens to avoid Portugal and Spain this summer due to the rapid spread of the Delta Variant.

“Those of you who haven’t booked a holiday yet, avoid Spain and Portugal as your destinations; that’s advice as a precaution,” Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune told public television France 2.

"This is a recommendation that I insist on; it is better to stay in France or go to other countries... The situation is very worrying," he added, noting that travel to these destinations is still allowed. He noted, however, that it is possible to introduce stricter measures in the coming days.

Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos said France's concerns were "understandable" given the country's deteriorating health situation.

The night curfew set last Friday is still in force in high-risk areas, mainly in Lisbon and the surrounding area and the Algarve tourist region, in the south of the country. Now visitors to restaurants over the weekend must have a negative test or proof that they are fully vaccinated. In hotels, it is a must every day across the country.

Veljko Ostojić from the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT) says we must be careful and learn from Portugal, Spain, and Greece.

"Portugal had a problem because they had a party after winning the World Championship, and they also let the British in. Great gatherings and celebrations always tell. We experienced something similar in mid-August last year. We must be aware that tourists who come to Croatia also know the world's situation and that they will not leave because a fishing evening was not held in a small coastal town or a concert was canceled. Therefore, we have to subordinate epidemiological measures for a long season," emphasizes Ostojić, adding that this season will also be a great challenge.

Faced with a large increase in the number of corona cases among young people, Spain wants to speed up vaccination of that age group to avoid a new wave that would ruin the tourist season and the rise of the economy.

With the arrival of summer and holidays, there are more and more student parties in cafes, discos, and apartments, so the number of infections among young people has spiraled out of control in the last ten days. As a result, the incidence increased to 814 cases per 100,000 people in 14 days for youth between the ages of 20 and 29, or three times the average incidence for the entire population (252).

To stop the increase in the number of infections among young people, the government of Catalonia has announced that it will close clubs for at least 15 days from the weekend. According to official data, the percentage of those between the ages of 20 and 29 who have received at least one dose of the vaccine is only 14.4 percent. Among the total population, 64.1 percent.

At the same time, the vaccination campaign is accelerating - 40.3 percent of the population of about 47 million Spaniards is fully vaccinated, while half (55.9 percent) received a single dose of the vaccine. However, due to the deteriorating situation, several regions, including Andalusia and Catalonia, are considering tightening restrictions this week, after outdoor masks have not been mandatory since June 26.

Greece, which is heavily dependent on tourism, has lifted most restrictions on travel and entertainment and wearing masks outdoors, as the number of those infected has been falling for a long time. But it has been growing rapidly again in recent days, and experts are particularly concerned about the Delta Variant of the virus. On the new Covid map, parts of Greece are in the orange zone.

Many of the newly infected are young, and authorities link the spread of the infection to entertainment, so they decided to return restrictions to restaurants, nightclubs, and bars later this week.

"From July 8, restaurants, bars, clubs, and entertainment venues will only work with seated guests and following legal capacity rules," Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias told reporters, adding that large fines are envisaged for violators, including closing the premises.

Owners of Greek cafes and nightclubs are worried that the new restrictive measures, which allow serving only seated guests, will jeopardize the tourist season but say they accept them if it prevents the spread of the coronavirus.

"It is a step back that will certainly affect tourism, but it seems necessary so that we do not lose the rest of the summer. So we will be patient," said 27-year-old Ilias Babacikos, a beach cafe manager in the Athens coastal suburb of Alimos.

So far, about 38 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. However, the government wants to vaccinate 70 percent of citizens by autumn, offering various incentives, including money and free mobile data for young people.

According to the data published yesterday, 110 new cases were recorded in Croatia in the last 24 hours, and the number of active cases in Croatia was 624. Among them, 121 patients are in hospital, of which 3 are on a respirator. 

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