September 23, 2020 - The director of the Croatian National Institue of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, was a guest on Dnevnik Nova TV, where he spoke about when there would be herd immunity in Croatia, but also how many people have come into contact with COVID-19 in the country so far.

He says about 400,000 people have been in contact with the coronavirus

Capak said that serology tests during the spring showed that the number of those who came in contact with the coronavirus was 25 to 30 times higher than the number of those infected, i.e., those whose PCR test confirmed they were infected with the coronavirus. "About 400,000 people in Croatia have probably come into contact with the coronavirus," he said, adding that serology tests would be repeated.

Herd immunity only in the middle of next year

He added that herd immunity in Croatia could be achieved only in the middle of next year, i.e., when more than 50 percent of the population comes into contact with the coronavirus.

The sensitivity of PCR tests

He commented on the sensitivity of tests that detect coronavirus even in those cases where the virus is present in a very small amount, and the person is not contagious.

Capak says that the amount needed to detect the virus in infected people has been intensively researched lately.

"The problem is that it can be different with different PCR methods. Also, it significantly depends on the method and quality of sampling," he explained.

He also assessed that the situation in schools is good so far. "If we manage to maintain this pace of teaching, everything will be fine by the end of the school year," he concluded.

What does it mean when a person dies of COVID-19 but had numerous comorbidities?

He also explained what it means if a person died from COVID-19 but had numerous comorbidities.

"Certainly, the severity and length of the virus have an impact on the occurrence of those most severe forms of the virus. It can also be hypertension, which is a disease in itself, but is a factor in developing cardiovascular diseases. It doesn’t have to be some serious illness, but it is comorbidity. The duration of the illness certainly has an impact on the clinical picture, and even the outcome of the illness itself," he told Dnevnik.hr.

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