ZAGREB, 1 April, 2021 - In the last 24 hours 2,422 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia, with the share of infected persons among those tested reaching 25.56%, Health Minister Vili Beroš told a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Currently, 33,376 people are self-isolating and 1,337 are receiving hospital treatment, including 144 who are on ventilators.

"A total of 6,832 persons have been infected this week alone, and compared with the start of last month, the number of patients on ventilators has nearly doubled and the number of hospital patients has increased by 60%," Beroš said.

By Wednesday, 2,632 samples have been sent for sequencing and the results show that the British variant of the coronavirus was detected in 67% of them.

Croatia has so far received 540,845 vaccine doses, and by 30 March 463,003 doses have been administered, or 86% of the doses received.

Beroš said that additional intensive care units are being reopened in the Dubrava Hospital in Zagreb, as well as in other hospitals as necessary.

He called on the citizens to refrain from large gatherings during the Easter holidays, to maintain a safe distance, wear masks and air out their rooms.

 In the last 24 hours, there have been 20 COVID-related deaths bringing the death toll to 5,967.

The head of the national coronavirus response team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, spoke of the measures to contain the coronavirus, which are being tightened until 15 April.

"Given the fact that the epidemiological situation is not the same everywhere, the national response team is introducing the new measures for the large part at the proposal of county teams," Božinović said.

Over the next two weeks, indoor training will be forbidden at national level, except for top athletes, and the work of indoor play groups will be restricted.

As for the border crossing regime, for entry into Croatia fast antigen tests, recognised by EU member states, and vaccination certificates will be recognised.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 31 March, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, 2,623 new coronavirus cases and 19 COVID-related deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national coronavirus response team said on Wednesday.

The number of active cases now stands at 11,306. Among them are 1,337 people receiving hospital treatment, of whom 144 are placed on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 271,632 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 5,947 have died and 254,379 have recovered, including 920 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 29,706 people are in self-isolation. A total of 1,549,854 people have been tested to date, including 10,622 in the last 24 hours.

By 30 March, 463,003 doses of vaccine have been administered and 374,399 people have been vaccinated, including 287,228 who have received one dose and 87,171 who have received two doses.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 31 March, 2021 - Dignitas, the Croatian association protecting the dignity and equality of patients, said on Wednesday that the reform of the healthcare system should be carried out in cooperation with patients and without undermining their rights. 

"We appeal to the Ministry of Health, Minister Beroš, and the Croatian government in general to stop systematically destroying the rights of patients," the association said in a statement, adding that the government was deceiving the public by saying that Croatia was among the EU countries with the lowest health contributions.

"Relevant data shows that this is not true. The Minister would now like to impose new taxes and shift an even greater burden onto patients' shoulders without himself offering a single reform during his term that would benefit the patients," the statement said.

The association criticised Minister Beroš for not even trying to stop pharmaceutical companies from saying publicly that the most serious patients, such as those on dialysis and oncological patients, would be left without therapy.

"Pharmaceutical companies have the right to present their problems in public, but the Ministry obviously did not make an effort to stop them from additionally frightening the patients who are anyway worried about their own conditions," the statement said.

Dignitas called on Minister Beroš to "first put the healthcare system in order and see where savings can be made", stressing that savings certainly cannot be made on medical staff and therapy. It said that the healthcare system should be reformed in cooperation with patients, recalling that citizens already contribute a substantial amount of their pay towards healthcare.

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

ZAGREB, 30 March, 2021 - The US Embassy in Croatia has donated a medical device to the Fran Mihaljević Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Zagreb that can detect the coronavirus in less than 45 minutes, the hospital's director Alemka Markotić said on Tuesday.

Four samples can be placed in the GeneXpert machine at the same time. However, it is not used for mass testing, but is useful in quickly dealing with certain situations, Markotić said.

US Embassy official Victoria Taylor said that this is not about just a piece of equipment, but also about the partnership between Croatia and the United States.

We are happy that our small contribution can help the Fran Mihaljević Hospital and the healthcare system in time of need, Taylor said, commending all Croatian health workers for their tireless work during the pandemic.

Markotić said that most of the patients in the hospital's COVID ward were between 50 and 65 years old and had underlying conditions. She noted that the hospital was nearly filled to capacity.

Markotić said that for now there was no substantial number of young people infected with the British variant of the coronavirus in the hospital, but noted that this variant was proved to be spreading faster among young people because of "their greater nonchalance, mobility and socialising."

She warned that the number of new cases was growing and called on the citizens to avoid "risky situations".

Markotić expressed hope that patients would not be left without medicines, after wholesale drug suppliers warned last week that they might restrict drug deliveries because of HRK 6.5 billion debt owed by the hospitals.

Drug wholesaler Medika said today it had suspended drug deliveries to the hospitals.

Markotić said that her hospital had sufficient drug supplies for now. "We hope that we will not find ourselves in a situation where we, or rather our patients, will be left without medicines."

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said earlier that Finance Minister Zdravko Marić and Health Minister Vili Beroš would meet with drug wholesalers to discuss the debt and that they would be paid a certain amount of money in the coming days.

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

ZAGREB, 30 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday that Finance Minister Zdravko Marić and Health Minister Vili Beroš would meet with drug wholesalers over the debt for drugs and that a certain amount would be paid in the days ahead.

Representatives of drug wholesalers, pharmacists and drug manufacturers warned last week that the supply of medicines could be restricted due to the HRK 6.5 billion debt, and the Medika company today suspended deliveries to hospitals.

Visiting Osijek-Baranja County, Plenković told press this was a usual situation. "Every once in a while, when an important date is due, whether Christmas, Easter or election day, wholesale drug suppliers unanimously start asking for the money they are due."

"We'll talk about it, the ministers of finance and health will meet with them and certain funds will be paid in the days ahead."

Asked about the payment date, Plenković said the ministers would discuss it. "I'm not an accountant to talk with them about the exact payment date."

The CEO of Oktalpharma, Ivan Klobučar, supported Medika's move, telling N1 television that the government, the Health Ministry, the Croatian Health Insurance Fund and Minister Beroš had been ignoring their appeals for a meeting for three months.

He said the situation was such that those responsible would see how difficult the situation was when "patients and others who are not at fault at all bear the brunt." If someone urgently needs a medicine, they will not get it, he added.

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

ZAGREB, 30 March, 2021 - In the past 24 hours 1,487 new coronavirus cases and 17 COVID deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 response team said in a press release on Tuesday.

The number of active cases is 9,622, including 1,289 hospitalised patients, of whom 127 are on ventilators, while 27,940 people are self-isolating.

Croatia has registered 269,009 coronavirus cases to date, 5,928 COVID deaths and 253,459 recoveries, including 1,138 in the past 24 hours.

To date 1,539,232 people have been tested for the virus, including 9,064 in the past 24 hours, and 367,458 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19, with a total of 453,710 doses administered, including two to 86,252 people.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 26 March, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 1,802 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 16 deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said in Friday.

The number of active cases stands at 9,052. There are 1,107 COVID patients in hospitals, 115 of whom are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia registered its first case, a total of 264,111 people have been infected, 5,854 of them have died and 249,205 have recovered, including 1,141 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 27,892 people in self-isolation.

To date, 1,511,40 people have been tested, 8,003 of whom over the past 24 hours.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 25, 2021 - Both the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sports and Croatian tourist boards recognised the development of health tourism as a high priority for Croatia.

To discuss the development of health tourism in Croatia, a branch that is becoming one of the more important Croatian tourist products, Croatian Tourism and Sports minister Nikolina Brnjac met with Kvarner Tourist Board director Irena Peršić Živadinov, Kvarner Health Tourism cluster president Vladimir Možetič, and Zagreb Tourist Board director Martina Bienenfeld. As life expectancy and healthy lifestyle trends increase, the value of health tourism grows. The novel coronavirus only made that growth even more rapid.

"Over 80,000 tourists in 2020 visited Kvarner (well-known for Lošinj Island and its hospital for respiratory issues) for health services. Today, many people are recovering from the consequences of the novel coronavirus there," said the Kvarner Tourist Board director Živadinov.  

"We have all the advantages for further development of health tourism: a good reputation of health services, qualified staff, natural richness of thermal sources, good climate, and long tradition of tourism," said minister Brnjac. Her goal is to pull Croatia out of the perception of a country only good for the summer season.

Croatia offers health services in wellness and medicine tourism. Health tourism is most associated with the regions of Kvarner, Istria, northern Croatia, and Zagreb, but the goal is to include other regions that have the potential for health tourism and to achieve the goals of a strategy that needs to be accomplished by 2030.

Martina Bienenfeld said that the Zagreb Tourist Board is working on the City's recognition as the centre of medical excellence. She pointed out good traffic connections, a mixture of the Mediterranean and mid-Europe climate, as well as good prices of health services as great advantages of Croatia's capital to the international clientele.

The Health Care Bill and Services in Tourism Bill now allow hospitality and health tourism services in hospitals and medical centres. These legal changes are also significant in attracting further investments in the field.

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

ZAGREB, 25 March, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has performed 8,396 tests for coronavirus and 1,673 of them, or 20%, have returned positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

Currently, there are 8,407 active cases in the country, and of them, 1,071  patients are receiving hospital treatment, including100 placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, the death toll related to COVID-19 has increased by 10 to 5,838.

Since the outbreak of this infectious disease in late February last year, over 1.5 million tests have been performed, and 262,309 people have turned out to be positive. Of them, 248,064 have recovered, including 856 in the last 24 hours.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 24 March (Hina) - Andreja Marić of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Rada Borić of the New Left party on Wednesday critcised the Croatian government as well as the European Commission over procrastination in administering COVID-19 vaccines.

Addressing the national parliament, Andreja Marić said that the Croatian government failed this test.

Until three days ago, a mere 470,000 doses of all vaccine producers were delivered to Croatia, which is only 14 doses per 100 inhabitants, Marić said.

To date, 358,000 doses have been administered, and 8.9% of citizens have received one shot so far of the two-dose vaccine and 2.2% have been inoculated with both doses. Only Bulgaria and Latvia have fared worse than Croatia in the European Union, she said.

Marić insists that delays in coronavirus vaccine deliveries are not the result of the unjust distribution inside the European Union but a consequence of Croatia's wrong decision to rely on AstraZeneca vaccines at the beginning.

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