ZAGREB, 18 January, 2021 - The head of the national COVID-19 crisis management  team, Davor Božinović, said on Monday that the despite the fact that the current epidemiological situation was good, they did not want to risk a third wave occurring and that the impact of each measure on the decrease of infections would be assessed.

He stressed he could not specify whether the current measures would be relaxed after 31 January, but until then each existing measure would be evaluated.

Commenting on claims about the introduction of vaccination certificates which could enable citizens to travel, Božinović said there were no formal discussions on them.

"We are currently not considering those options," he said, adding that some countries are thinking about it.

"If there is a joint approach at the EU level, we are going to actively join those talks. At the moment, the quantities of vaccine in the EU and Croatia, and more or less in the entire world, are too small for such decisions to be made. At this moment I think it is too soon," Božinović said.

Capak: 29% fewer new infections compared to previous week

The head of the Croatian Public Health Institute, Krunoslav Capak, said that from 12 to 18 January there had been 29% fewer new infections than in the preceding week, from 5 to 11 January.

The 14-day incidence of 288.9 new cases places Croatia in the 7th place of countries with lowest incidence in the European Union. However, the mortality rate remains high, with Croatia ranking 8th among the EU countries with the highest mortality rate.

Capak said that a new tranche of 17,550 doses of the Pfizer vaccine had been delivered to Croatia today. Part of it will be used to administer the second shot to people who have been vaccinated.

He said that 122 suspected side effects had been reported to date, most of which had been mild side effects but there had also been several more severe allergic reactions.

Capak announced that the next tranche of Moderna's vaccine would be delivered on 25 January - 4,800 doses. He did not agree with reporters' claims that the delivery in the EU was slower than in countries who had negotiated with manufacturers by themselves.

"I hope we will receive sufficient quantities of the vaccine to vaccinate all those interested in our population, which is most important," Capak said.

Capak confirmed claims that Pfizer was reducing the delivery of vaccine doses but that the reason for that was the reconstruction of the vaccine production plant, the goal of which was to increase production and reach the agreed vaccine quotas.

As for Croatia, there is no official confirmation that the delivery of the vaccine will be reduced, he said, adding that as of 15 February the deliveries will be significantly increased.

Markotić: We must remain prudent to avoid third wave of epidemic

The head of the Zagreb Dr Fran Mihaljević Infectious Diseases Hospital, Alemka Markotić, said that the lower number of new infections was reducing the pressure on the hospital system, and that the number of discharged patients had been exceeding the number of admitted patients in recent days.

She underscored that despite that one must not ignore the situation in Europe.

"Some countries are registering a spike that occurred in a short period of time, probably due to the mutated version of the virus," Markotić said, adding that one must be careful to avoid a third wave of the epidemic.

She said that a decision to close the Arena sports hall in Zagreb as a tertiary centre for coronavirus patients had not been made yet, although it was being considered.

ZAGREB, 17 January, 2021 - The current epidemiological measures will be extended at least by mid-February, according to what advisers have been suggesting to the national COVID-19 crisis management team, Jutarnji List daily said on Sunday.

It is even possible the measures will be extended by March as nothing can guarantee that the situation will not deteriorate even with the existing restrictions.

They underscore that it must be seen what will happen when classes for lower grades of elementary school and for high school seniors start and how the recent holiday gatherings and holidays spent outside one's place of residence will affect the spread of the epidemic.

Since Croatia has been registering a drop in the number of infected people among those tested, as well as a drop in the number of hospitalised patients, there has been an increasing number of appeals for relaxing the measures. Many hope that after 31 January, the date by which the current measures are in force, outdoor cafes, gyms and fitness centres could reopen.

The head of Istria County's COVID-19 crisis management team, Dino Kozlevac, has already announced he "will discuss the matter with the national team", without whose permission that cannot be done as local measures can only be stricter than national ones.

However, it is certain that there will be no relaxation of measures until the end of January. Also, it is too soon to predict what could happen in ten days, and current temperatures are not helping. Experts explain that even if bar and restaurant terraces were to open, heaters would have to be turned on, around which a large number of people would gather, Jutarnji List said.

January 15, 2020 – At today's press conference of the National Civil Protection Headquarters, Interior Minister Davor Božinović explained the changes at Croatian borders and commented if there would be any easing of measures from February 1, 2021.

The National Civil Protection Headquarters held a press conference on the current epidemiological situation in the country.

In the last 24 hours, 715 new cases of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were recorded, and the number of active cases in Croatia today is 4653. Among them, 1855 patients are in hospital, of which 160 are on respirators. Thirty-three people died. There are currently 18,048 people in self-isolation.

Krunoslav Capak, Director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, explained the situation with testing and the incidence rate.

"5335 people were tested. A week ago, we had 1098 positive cases. The total number in the first five days of this week is 3819, 23 percent less than the first five days of last week. The incidence is below 300 – 288.8 in the last 14 days. The lowest incidence is in Dubrovnik and the highest in Međimurje. Croatia ranks 7th in the EU in terms of seven-day incidence," Capak said. The share of positive cases in those tested is 16.4 percent.

Decisions about border crossings

Davor Božinović clarified the decision on the temporary ban on restricting crossing Croatian border crossings.

"Croatian citizens can stay in neighboring third countries for up to 12 hours in case of urgent and necessary reasons. These are rare situations when there is no other choice for people. For example, funerals, absence of public transport, people in transit, students, going to the doctor, purchasing medicines, etc.," said Božinović.

He added that the decision on passengers coming from the area on the Croatian Institute of Public Health's special list applies to everyone – to their citizens and citizens of all countries coming from those countries. These are passengers from the UK and South Africa. It is valid that they can enter Croatia only with a negative coronavirus test and be quarantined for 14 days. The quarantine can be shortened to 7 days in case of another negative test.

Božinović and Capak on easing measures

As Index found out earlier, the easing of epidemiological measures is possible as early as February 1, but provided that the number of newly infected people continues to fall, i.e., the share of new cases in the total number of daily tests continues to fall. The first in line for easing the measures would be gyms and terraces of cafes and restaurants. Also, there is almost no chance that restaurants and cafes' closed spaces will open from February 1st.

At a press conference today, journalists asked Božinović if there would be any easing of measures from February 1.

"The fact is that only this week, we decided to extend the measures, which last until January 31, 2021. We will continue to work as before: daily monitor the Republic of Croatia's epidemiological situation and the countries around Croatia, EU countries. It is not in our interest to defend anything other than what is estimated to be due to the virus's spread. In that sense, we will take all factors into account a few days before this decision's expiration. This is wintertime. Everything is being done to achieve an effective way to fight the epidemic - ventilation, masks, keeping distance, etc. We are constantly thinking about measures, and we will continue to do so, but today it is not realistic to announce something, and we will not do it. We have a little more than two weeks to monitor the situation. No one in this epidemic is an island," said Božinović.

Božinoć added that when adopting measures, they must also consider the winter weather so as not to overload the health care system. Asked whether these measures would be in force until the spring, Božinović said:

"I don't know why you came to that conclusion. I just said that we would have meetings with other departments, ministers in the Government a few days before the expiration of this decision."

They monitor all important parameters every day and will make a decision based on them. It is too early to announce anything, they said.

"It is evident to us that these results in reducing the number of newly infected consequences are fewer contacts, fewer gatherings indoors, fewer private gatherings, and celebrations. It is the foundation of the fight against coronavirus, especially in winter conditions. This is easier to implement in some situations and more difficult in some others. There are activities for which this is not a particular problem, and for some, it is. We are sorry for all who suffer in such a situation. We can not let the health system not respond to people's needs when it comes to Covid and other diseases."

Asked whether individual sports would be allowed, Krunoslav Capak replied: "We are analyzing the situation. We cannot announce the easing of measures. Some sports federations have sent inquiries and letters. We are responding to them and communicating with the Ministry of Sports."

Krunoslav Capak said that there had been no case of influenza infection in Croatia. Alemka Markotić pointed out that no new strain of coronavirus had been recorded in Croatia, which had been noticed in Great Britain, Ireland, and South Africa.

Sources: Index, Jutarnji list

ZAGREB, Dec 11, 2020 - The head of the national COVID-19 response team, Minister of the Interior Davor Bozinovic, on Friday called on citizens to refrain from visiting their friends and relatives during the coming holidays, noting that the current epidemiological restrictions would be extended beyond December 21.

Even though he announced the extension of the current regime, Bozinovic would not go into details or announce possible new measures, and when asked whether a ban on leaving one's place of residence was being considered, as had been the case in the spring, he said that the public would be informed about possible changes to the current regime on time.

He called on citizens to refrain from visiting people close to them during the coming holiday season.

"Our message for the coming holidays is that, basically, everyone should refrain from socialising and contacting people other than those who are members of their households, and that we should wish all who are dear to us the best for Christmas and the New Year by telephone or a text message," said Bozinovic, noting that there were 1.5 million households in Croatia and that socialising indoors would pose a very high epidemiological risk.

Asked why, for the sake of the nation's mental state, the COVID-19 response team was not announcing in advance when restrictions would be tightened  or relaxed, Bozinovic said that it was difficult to predict a favourable or bad course of the epidemic.

"It would not be good if we issued a message about relaxing restrictions and then had to give up on it if the epidemiological situation does not improve," he said.

Bozinovic said that the impact of all existing restrictions was carefully considered, announcing talks with church officials for this weekend.

He recalled that the new, tighter epidemiological measures for shops and shopping centres would go into force on Saturday.

ZAGREB, November 30, 2020 - Finance Minister Zdravko Maric presented on Monday, after talks with employers' and entrepreneurs' associations, three measures to help entrepreneurs whose businesses are closed due to new epidemiological measures, including job-retention measures, "COVID loans" and covering fixed costs.

The government, he said, will continue paying HRK 4,000 per worker under the job-retention scheme, and HRK 470 million has been provided for that purpose for the period until the end of the year.

"COVID loans" for liquidity, totalling HRK 1.3 billion, will remain to be available for "closed" business, which are the priority, and for other businesses, as well.

The third measure will cover entrepreneurs' fixed costs, or part of them, such as rent, lease, RTV subscription, monument annuity, music licensing fee, etc.

The decline in turnover in December will be compared to last year's results, the minister said, with businesses that have seen a drop in turnover of at least 60% being eligible for the measure, and the Tax Administration will be in charge of administration, based on fixed costs invoices.

Representatives of hospitality stakeholders said the measures were too weak and insufficient, noting especially that it is necessary to reduce VAT.

November 26, 2020 –  From Saturday, November 28, 2020, catering facilities and gyms close in Croatia due to the introduction of new epidemiological measures. Here's a look at all new measures which will be in force until December 21, 2020.

Today at the press conference at 2 p.m., Prime Minister Andrej Plenković presented new, strict measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic. These measures will be in force at least until December 21, and according to Hina, Plenković announced a change in the law, which will enable the punishment of persons who do not adhere to the prescribed measures.

The measures suggest that all public events and gatherings with more than 25 people are prohibited, and a maximum of 10 people are allowed to participate in private gatherings.

Masks are obligatory in the outdoors when it is not possible to keep a distance of at least 1.5 meters. All public events should last until 10 p.m.

As we reported earlier, the work of all catering facilities is suspended, except for hotels and camps, who can only serve their guests, but the restaurants and bars are allowed to prepare and deliver food during their working hours.

Sports competitions and trainings are suspended, except for the highest levels of competition, all without spectators and with the adherence to the epidemiological measures. The work of gyms, fitness centers, and sports and recreation centers are suspended as well.

Wedding ceremonies are suspended, and a maximum of 25 people are allowed to attend funerals where condolences must not be expressed through close contact.

Public transport must not exceed 40 percent occupancy, while drivers and passengers are required to have face masks. The control will be carried out by inspectors.

Stores, shops, and shopping malls remain open but should have displayed information about the largest possible number of customers who can be in the space at the same time, and they need to enhance hygiene measures (cleaning, disinfecting, ventilating).

Working hours of bakeries are limited to 10 p.m. Prohibition of alcohol sales stays from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Casinos and bookmakers, as well as fairs and other forms of economic and tourist events, are suspended.

All amateur cultural and artistic performances, programs, and events, including choirs, are suspended, as well as composite musical stage performances involving orchestras and choirs. There are no rehearsals of amateur choirs, which also applies to church choirs.

Anti-epidemic measures restricting 25 people and completion by 10 p.m. do not apply to professional art performances and programs that do not include the performance of complex music and stage works that include orchestras and choirs, cinema screenings, and exhibitions in museums, galleries, and other exhibition spaces.

There is also no food consumption in the cinema. Also, the work of children's playrooms and dance schools is suspended. Foreign language schools can only operate online, as well as driving schools. While driving, instructor and trainees should wear masks.

It is recommended that masses are online, via radio and TV programs, without coming to religious facilities. There may be a maximum of 25 believers in the church at mass.

People who have any symptoms are prohibited from coming to work. Working from home is recommended, as well as sliding working hours, working in shifts and groups, fewer meetings, and regular ventilation of working space.

Plenković emphasized the fact that they are against complete closure and curfew, but they are introducing these measures in order to protect our health and limit certain activities that they believe will help reduce the infection. And they will also take care of the economy.

"Our goal is to ensure the sustainability of the health system in which our doctors, nurses, and health professionals make superhuman efforts to cure the sick and save every life. In parallel, testing capacity will be strengthened because we need to isolate every infected person," said Plenković.

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ZAGREB, November 13, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that Croatia would today again have more than 3,000 new coronavirus cases, appealing to citizens to comply with epidemiological measures so as to avoid the introduction of more restrictions and noting that the situation is currently under control.

"The current situation is definitely the most difficult since the onset of the epidemic and we all must behave in such a way to help reduce those high numbers as soon as possible," Plenkovic said at a government session.

He said that the measures adopted two weeks ago had significantly slowed down the spreading of the epidemic and that the situation in Croatia was not as bad as in some other countries but that it was serious.

In five counties epidemiological measures are in force that are stricter than those at the national level.

"If we want to avoid stricter measures, personal responsibility is crucial. We believe this can be achieved with joint effort, with measures currently in force and with responsible behavior," he said, calling for physical distancing, wearing of masks and social distancing, with less contact with friends and relatives and less unnecessary contact.

Sufficient hospital capacity, sufficient number of beds, ventilators

The situation is currently under control even though the number of hospitalised patients is growing, which is due to an increase in the number of infections of about ten days ago, but the increase has been slowing down. The health system is under strain but it is not on the verge of collapse, Plenkovic said.

He noted that in Zagreb's KB Dubrava hospital alone, there were more than 500 available beds.

The hospital has been converted into a COVID hospital.

"Even though tests cannot discover all new cases, the slowing down of the number of new hospitalisations confirms that the situation with the epidemic is not getting out of control in relation to the measures in force and the capacity of the health system," he said.

ZAGREB, Nov 11, 2020 - Police have brought charges against the 27-year-old organizer and leader of the Anti-COVID protest rally that called for the dissolution of the national COVID-19 crisis response team for failing to ensure law and order and violating epidemiological rules.

They said that the 27-year-old man had not taken measures to ensure law and order, which resulted in the violation of measures introduced by the crisis response team, namely those related to keeping a safe distance and using protective face masks when that is not possible. In addition, the man did not warn protesters or stop the rally when he saw that they were not adhering to the measures in place.

Police said that the 27-year-old man had been informed about his duties as the organizer and leader of a public gathering when he reported the protest rally, and he had been warned to adhere to all epidemiological measures.

They added that the City of Zagreb's crisis response team had sent the instructions to the organizer of the  Anti-COVID protest rally.

Citizens dissatisfied with the work of the national coronavirus response team gathered at Zagreb's Central Railway Station on Sunday and walked towards the main square Trg Bana Jelacica where a dozen speakers addressed the demonstrators.

During their march, they did not adhere to epidemiological measures, such as keeping a safe distance or wearing protective masks.

Demonstrators carried banners with different messages, including those reading: "How dangerous is a virus if you need a test to know you have it?" and "This is not a matter of virus, but a matter of control."

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ZAGREB, October 29, 2020 - Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Thursday that any new epidemic measures would only be more restrictive that those currently in place, but did not specify whether and when they would be imposed, saying that this would depend on further developments.

"Any new measures that may be adopted in the coming days or longer may only be more restrictive considering the present epidemiological situation, but I will not be more specific because you more or less know the direction in which new measures would go," Bozinovic told the press ahead of a regular cabinet meeting.

He was asked whether and when restrictions such as those imposed in France and Germany could be expected in Croatia.

Bozinovic recalled that the national coronavirus response team had adopted a set of measures earlier this week to contain the coronavirus epidemic. Possible new measures would depend on the numbers of new infections, the infection growth rate and the burden this puts on the healthcare system, he added.

The minister also commented on the gathering of hundreds of Hajduk Football Club fans in Split on Wednesday evening to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Torcida fan club. Asked who was responsible that the gathering took place despite the restrictions in force, Bozinovic said that the responsibility lay with those who assembled there.

"We know that any gathering of more than 50 people has to be reported in advance. I believe that, if the gathering wasn't reported to it, and I presume it wasn't, the local coronavirus response team will take the measures provided for under the law," the minister said.

Bozinovic noted that "we will have a problem as long as there are people who think it is all right to gather together in large numbers and have close contacts without maintaining a distance."

He concluded by saying that other measures could be used to prevent such behaviour, but "repression should be a last resort."

ZAGREB, October 29, 2020 - There are indications that the epidemiological measures in place have started to work, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, appealing to citizens to adhere to the measures to help contain the spread of the coronavirus epidemic and avoid tougher restrictions.

"Although the numbers are continuing to grow as expected, there are indications that the measures we have adopted are starting to work. If this continues, we can expect the epidemic to reach its peak in two or three weeks," the prime minister said.

"The numbers of new infections and deaths are increasing and we are seeing a two-digit number of fatalities every day," he said. He added that countries in a worse situation than Croatia were imposing tighter restrictions and that Croatia had also tightened the measures to restrict public gatherings and reduce the rate of the spread of the infection in the population.

The prime minister said that the number of hospitalisations was also growing and that a sufficient number of beds had been ensured. He stressed the importance of adhering to the measures in place to prevent the further spread of the epidemic and avoid tighter measures.

"It depends on every one of us whether we will save hundreds of lives, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and whether we will manage to keep the economy going. I appeal to all fellow citizens to demonstrate maximum responsibility and solidarity," Plenkovic said.

"The least we can do as a society is to be responsible and to reduce our private and family gatherings, maintain a distance, wear face masks indoors and where we cannot maintain a distance, to regularly air out enclosed spaces and take care of hygiene. These are no big sacrifices, and we are protecting lives and jobs," Plenkovic said, expressing confidence that Croatia can do this.