ZAGREB, November 30, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros wrote on Monday on Facebook that he had recovered from the coronavirus infection and that he was working in his office again, calling on citizens to comply with anti-coronavirus restrictions.

In the first week of the new anti-COVID measures, the minister said that no sacrifice was too great to protect health and lives.

"We are denying ourselves a lot, but I believe this will result in fewer infections and deaths," Beros wrote, expressing gratitude to health workers for their self-sacrificing work.

Beros said on November 19 that he was positive, and two days later he said that he had probably got infected at the ministry despite the fact that he had been trying to protect himself.

ZAGREB, November 22, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros, who is isolating at home because he has coronavirus, said on Saturday the situation with the number of infections and related deaths was alarming and announced that he would talk with county heads on Tuesday.

Speaking for RTL television via video link, he again called for people to be more responsible.

"Tuesday is an important day, when all of us at national level will once again talk with prefects, which will be an opportunity for the national, local and regional governments to hold constructive talks and assess all problems."

Asked if that meant they would discuss new restrictions, Beros said every opportunity was good for talks.

He said many were criticising the national COVID response team's measures, but added that many in the world claimed that milder restrictions would be effective if people complied with them.

"We can impose stricter measures, but if people won't wear masks and (if they) socialise at private gatherings... Everything is an opportunity to show responsibility."

Asked if it was realistic for a vaccine to be in Croatia by Christmas, Beros said, "We joined early enough all European initiatives for procuring vaccines from various manufacturers. As a state, we have done everything. Now it's all up to the manufacturers."

ZAGREB, November 14, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Saturday that he would support the imposition of tighter restrictions if the current situation regarding the spread of coronavirus did not improve, however, there would be neither lockdown nor curfew.

Beros visited the city of Varazdin and the local hospital that is currently caring for 156 patients diagnosed with the coronavirus infection.

The minister held meetings with local authorities and admitted that the epidemiological situation in the north of the country was not good.

All that heightens the pressure on the healthcare system, and cooperation between the counties as well as at the level of the whole country is necessary, he added.

Considering new measures to suppress the virus, Bros said that he supported the activities aimed at tighter restrictions if the situation did not improve.

 "Another lockdown or curfew are out of question," he said adding that gatherings could be further restricted and working hours of some hospitality services could be changed.

Varazdin County Prefect Radimir Cacic said that currently this part of Croatia had the highest coronavirus numbers in Europe and that on average, about ten COVID patients were admitted to the Varazdin hospital on a daily basis.

ZAGREB, October 22, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday that despite continual measures and responsible behaviour by most citizens, the past week has seen the largest number of people infected with coronavirus and related deaths.

"We cannot be pleased with the current epidemiological situation or with the irresponsible behaviour of some individuals. All of that puts a lot of pressure on epidemiologists and other health workers, physicians and nurses, hospitals and the health system overall," said Beros.

He added that today, the 241st day since the outbreak of coronavirus in Croatia, a total of 1,563 new cases were registered and that currently there are 7,380 active cases with 661 patients receiving hospital treatment.

In the past week 686 patients were admitted to hospital while 448 were released. Compared to the week before, there is a noticeable increase in the number of people being hospitalised.

Currently 610 health workers are infected and 1,341 are in self-isolation.

"Despite the increase in the number of new cases no major hotspots have emerged and on the most part they are micro-clusters and involve small groups," he added.

Hospitals increasing capacity to cater for coronavirus patients

Epidemiologists keep recording infections that are connected with family gatherings, parties, choirs, going out, training and sport events, from where they  spread into the working community. A significant portion of those infected have had contacts with people who were previously infected.

Beros said that he expects appropriate participation by all stakeholders in the health system. Primary health care has the obligation to work on prevention and curbing the spread of the epidemic, he said. 

We are in a situation when we all need to do our bit, just like medical staff in intensive care units have been doing for months, he underscored.

Hospitals have been instructed to increase their capacity to cater for Covid-19 patients and to provide daily reports of the number of health workers who have been infected as well as schedule examinations for patients whose diagnosis and condition do not allow deferrals.

September 24, 2020 - Croatian Health Minister Vili Beros confirmed a downward COVID-19 trend in Croatia, while he is worried about the state of Delnice as a new hotspot.

Index.hr reports that Health Minister Vili Beros said on Thursday ahead of the government session that epidemiological data still indicate a downward trend in the number of people infected with the coronavirus, while data on 266 people in hospital show no signs of overloading the health system.

Beros: There are no signs of overloading the health care system; I am worried about the jump in the number of patients in Delnice

"Today we have 232 infected; if we compare with last Thursday, when there were 250, it is still less. Last Thursday, there were 291, so the trend still shows a decline. Today, 266 people are hospitalized, 23 were admitted, and 30 were discharged, and still, there are no indications of overloading the health care system," Beros told reporters in front of Banski dvori.

However, he is worried about the jump in the number of patients in Delnice, among the users of the elderly home.

"This is what we say all the time, to monitor the epidemiological situation and to try to respond to any such micro-hotspots with adequate epidemiological measures," Beros said.

Minister Beros also spoke about the current situation with coronavirus at the government session.

Namely, Beros also told a government session that the number of people infected with the coronavirus had fallen for the third week in a row, while the rate of new infections had fallen by 5.2 percent in the past seven days.

"In Croatia, the number of newly infected people has fallen every week for the third week in a row. The rate of newly infected people in the last seven days is lower by 5.2 percent compared to the previous week," Beros said.

Of the total number of hospitalized, 9.71 percent are on a ventilator, up 1.71 percent from last week. The percentage of deaths relative to the number infected since the beginning of the epidemic is 1.68 percent.

With the arrival of autumn, the number of respiratory infections increases, so Beros called on citizens to adhere to epidemiological measures and timely vaccination against respiratory infections as the most effective prevention measures.

Current COVID-19 data in Croatia

There are currently 1,200 active patients with COVID-19 in Croatia, and 266 patients are in hospital.

In the past week, 219 patients were admitted, 23 were placed on a ventilator, and 223 patients were discharged. The average age of the infected is 49.2 years.

In the past week, 73 new coronavirus cases have been reported among healthcare workers, and 426 employees are in self-isolation.

Beros reported that the guidelines had been revised to shorten the isolation time for asymptomatic individuals. Thus, those with a mild or moderate clinical picture will now self-isolate for a minimum of 10 days.

Also, health care institutions should not condition the admission of patients who require hospitalization or conduct diagnostic and therapeutic procedures with a negative PCR test not older than 48 hours, especially in emergencies or when the delay may cause health deterioration. Recommendations were forwarded to family physicians and pediatricians.

The directors of hospitals have been informed that to reduce the waiting list for certain services, when issuing approvals for additional work, doctors consider the performed obligations in the home institution, said Beros.

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ZAGREB, Aug 31, 2020- Over the past 24 hours, 146 new coronavirus cases in Croatia have been registered and two persons have died, Health Minister Vili Beros said on Monday.

Currently, there are 2,650 active coronavirus cases in Croatia.

Since the outbreak of the virus in Croatia in February, 10,270 persons have shown to be positive for the virus and 167,250 have been tested, including 1,591 in the past 24 hours, Beros said at a press conference of the national COVID response team.

Twenty-eight persons have been hospitalized in the past 24 hours, he said, adding that 14 patients were on ventilators.

To date 7,434 persons have recovered from the virus, including five discharged from hospital in the past 24 hours, Beros said.

Namely, Index.hr. reports that, as for the decision on the work of the gym, it will be changed and the gyms will be able to work with the application of all measures. When asked how the gyms became safe within 4 days, Božinović answered that it was a question for the local headquarters.

"We made the decision based on the conclusion of the Split-Dalmatia County Headquarters. And by arguing that the focus is to be extinguished in such a way that, if detected, in this case, 4 gyms, to take all measures allowed by law to remedy the situation as soon as possible and so that the activity can continue to go. The last option should be to close something for 14 days. We need as many field trips as possible, more precise information, to remedy the situation. On this occasion, we call on all those who use and give their services to make every effort to implement the measures of the Croatian Institute for Public Health", said Božinović.

When asked about the protests of caterers, Capak said that the goal is always to find a balance and adapt as much as possible to the necessary epidemiological measures.

"We strive to find balance all the time. Epidemiological measures and restrictions are being imposed at various levels around the world. In some European cities, restaurants are completely banned. We have balance, working cafes, restaurants, nightclubs until midnight. Everyone has the right to protest. We think we have found a balance between the economy and health", Capak concluded.

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ZAGREB, Aug 26, 2020- In the last 24 hours, there have been a record high 358 cases of infection with coronavirus in Croatia, and currently there are 2,352 active cases, the national COVID-19 response team said on Wednesday.

Health Minister Vili Beros informed a news conference that 184 COVID patients were currently being treated in hospitals, which is 7.4% of all active cases, and 10 of those patients are now on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, 26 new patients have been admitted to the hospital, while 19 have been discharged.

Also, 7,993 people are now in self-isolation.

Croatia's COVID-related death toll stands at 175, and a total of 6,362 have recovered.

Thus, since the onset of the epidemic on 25 February,  8,889 people in Croatia have been diagnosed with this infectious disease, and 157,387 people have been tested for it.

Currently, 130 healthcare workers are positive for COVID.

In Split-Dalmatia County where 136 people have been diagnosed with this infection in the last 24 hours, new hotspots have appeared in fitness gyms.

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ZAGREB, Aug 25, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Tuesday, after a meeting with representatives of primary health care, that he would propose to the government central financing of doctors' specialisations, given the increasing outflow of doctors and lack of funding on the local level.

"Each day we have fewer family doctors because they are retiring. The cause of this shortage is the problem of financing specialisations. There is often not enough funds at the local and regional level to finance specialisations, which results in fewer doctors specialising in that field," Beros told reporters.

I will propose central financing of specialisations to the government, Beros said after the meeting with associations of doctors in primary care.

Vikica Krolo, the head of the KOHOM association of family doctors and deputy head of the Croatian Medical Chamber, said that the meeting had been initiated due to burning issues that had come to the fore during the coronavirus pandemic, primarily due to a staff shortage caused by long-standing devastation of primary care.

She warned that in the last four years the number of family doctors had dropped from 2,400 to 2,200, 30% of the doctors currently working in the system were over 60 years old and about to retire, and there were 160 retired doctors who still work.

There is little interest among young people, merely 175 specialisations are underway, and the specialisation plan for the period until 2025 envisages 504 specialisations in family medicine. The number of registrars in hospitals has increased, and there are currently 3,000 of them.

Krolo noted that most doctors had followed recommendations during the coronavirus crisis and opened all communication channels to patients. The number of patients coming personally to practices has decreased, but the number of contacts has increased, ranging between 100 and 200 per doctor.

Krolo warned that in the autumn there could be waiting lists for family medicine for the first time, due to the shortage of doctors.

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ZAGREB, Aug 24, 2020- Over the past 24 hours, there have been 136 new cases of the coronavirus infection in Croatia, after 1,722 tests were carried out, Health Minister Vili Beros told a press conference of the national COVID-19 response team in Zagreb on Monday.

There are 163 patients in hospitals, including 12 on ventilators. Two more people have died, and those victims were two elderly men.

Currently, there are 2,213 active cases, including 119 health workers, and 7,519 people are self-isolating, 515 of whom are health workers.

Since the first case of the infection was reported, a total of 8,312 people have tested positive for the virus, 5,926 people recovered, and 173 died.

Head of the COVID-19 response team and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said that given the increase in the number of new infections they had agreed that local teams should define hotspots more precisely.

He expects some teams will come up with concrete measures, and if all teams have similar demands, then a measure can be introduced for the entire country.

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ZAGREB, Aug 21, 2020 - Croatia has 265 new cases of the coronavirus infection, the highest daily number so far, but Health Minister Vili Beros does not consider this to be a significant departure from recent trends and believes that it is due to the summer tourist season.

Speaking at a regular news conference of the national COVID-19 response team on Friday, Beros said that 50% or 137 of the new cases were people who were in self-isolation, which, he said, showed that epidemiologists were doing a good job.

Beros noted that 1,647 tests had been conducted in the past 24 hours and that currently, 6,446 people were self-isolating.

There has been one fatality in the past 24 hours, an elderly woman.

The death toll stands at 169. Eleven people have been hospitalized since yesterday, which puts the total number of hospitalized patients at 135, including 12 who are still on ventilators, Beros said.

There are currently 1,842 active cases of the COVID-19 disease in the country.

Beros believes that the latest figures do not depart radically from those in recent days and that they are due to Croatia being open to tourists, with a large number of foreign nationals having vacationed on its coast.

The increase in infections is certainly also due to "a certain kind of behavior in the summertime," said Beros.

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