ZAGREB, 24 March, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 1,891 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 20 deaths, while the number of active cases currently stands at 7,600, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Wednesday.

There are 1,038 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, 99 of whom are on ventilators.

At the moment, there are 23,766 people in self-isolation.

Since 25 February 2020, a total of 260,636 people have contracted coronavirus, 5,828 of them have died, and 247,208 have recovered, including 665 in the last 24 hours.

As of Wednesday, a total of 1,495,041 people have been tested, 9,327 of whom over the past 24 hours.

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

ZAGREB, 23 March, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has performed 8,177 tests for coronavirus and 956 of them, or 11.7%, have returned positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Tuesday.

Currently, there are 6,394 active cases in the country, and of them, 1,029  patients are receiving hospital treatment, including 92 placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, the death toll related to COVID-19 has increased by 22 to 5,808.

Since the outbreak of this infectious disease in late February last year, as many as 1.485 million tests have been performed, and 258,745 people have turned out to be positive. Of them, 246,543 have recovered, including 820 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 21,804 persons are self-isolating.

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ZAGREB, 19 March, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has performed 6,553 tests for coronavirus and 1,112 of them, or 17%, have returned positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Friday.

Currently, there are 6,426 active cases in the country, and of them, 918 patients are receiving hospital treatment, including 80 placed on ventilators.

In the last 24 hours, the death toll related to COVID-19 has increased by 17 to 5,743.

Since the outbreak of this infectious disease in late February last year, as many as 1.46 million tests have been performed, and 255,619 people have turned out to be positive. Of them, 243,450 have recovered, including 785 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 21,803 persons are self-isolating.

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ZAGREB, 18 March, 2021 - In the past 24 hours 1,197 new coronavirus cases and 17 COVID deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 response team said on Thursday.

The number of active cases is 6,116, including 894 hospitalised patients, of whom 84 are on ventilators, while 20,528 people are self-isolating.

To date Croatia has registered 254,507 coronavirus cases, 5,726 COVID deaths and 242,665 recoveries, including 554 in the past 24 hours, and 1,454,984 persons have been tested for the virus, including 7,619 in the past 24 hours. The positive rate of tests in the last 24 hours was 15.7%.

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ZAGREB, 17 March, 2021 - The number of new coronavirus infections in Croatia is up by 46% from last week and among the 12 COVID fatalities in the past 24 hours is a 12-year-old girl who had multiple comorbidities, the national COVID-19 response team said on Wednesday.

"In the three days of this week, we had 2,265 new cases, while in the first three days of last week, we had 1,547. The incidence is 222.7, the lowest  being in Istria County and highest in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County," said Krunoslav Capak, head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

In EU rankings, Croatia is seventh with the lowest incidence. Today 16.7% of the test results were positive (1,445 cases).

British variant detected in 50% of samples

Speaking of new variants, Capak said the British one was present in more than 50% of the sequenced samples.

"These new variants spread somewhat faster, and due to vaccination, nicer weather and the favourable situation we have had, people have relaxed. There is more and more socialising, gatherings, which is the biggest risk for the spread of coronavirus infection," he said, adding that the classic epidemiological measures were also effective against the new variants.

Asked if Croatia was in a third wave of the epidemic, Capak said it was difficult to say but that the important thing was to continue to fight to cut down the numbers of new cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

Speaking of the 12-year-old girl who died of COVID in the past 24 hours, Capak said she had a serious cardiovascular comorbidity.

He went on to say that less than 30% of people had refused the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Asked if the ministers who had recovered from COVID would be given that vaccine to promote it and if the vaccination of people over 65 with AstraZeneca would be suspended for fear of side effects, Capak said the response team was not considering either.

He said "we believe we have no reason" to suspend the administration of AstraZeneca to those over 65, adding that the European Medicines Agency's "commission on side effects is intensively investigating all side effects."

He said there was no difference in the occurrence of side effects with either Pfizer or AstraZeneca and that it was 0.5% in each.

Božinović: Existing regime should stay

The head of the national response team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said the existing regime of restrictions should stay and that possible changes should be made at county level.

Asked if restrictions would be tightened ahead of Easter, he said this regime could be kept up only if everyone was responsible and disciplined.

"In recent days the virus has been rapidly spreading in some parts of Croatia, so the measures should be considered at county level. Serious measures are in force, although they are the least restrictive in the European Union, and we will keep this regime only if everyone assumes responsibility."

Božinović said some counties were already tightening restrictions based on their epidemiological situation.

He would not comment on the suspension of vaccination with AstraZeneca in some countries despite there being no proof that some deaths were related to the vaccine. "We always explain the background of our decisions transparently and publicly, including this one to continue to administer AstraZeneca."

The head of Zagreb's Infections Diseases Hospital, Alemka Markotić, said she could not say how big the increase was in the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, adding that the outcomes of the children treated in her hospital were continually good and that the percentage was not high.

"The important thing is that the syndrome has been recognised. Our doctors manage to deal with it well and there are no major problems for now."

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

ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatia has a 26% weekly increase in the number of new coronavirus infections and most epidemiological restrictions will be extended until the end of March but outdoor sports competitions will be allowed, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday.

Most existing epidemiological restrictions will remain in force.

One of the changes is that it will be possible to change the maximum allowed number of attendees at cultural events through recommendations by the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ), without waiting for a decision by the national COVID-19 response team, and outdoor sports competitions will be allowed as well, the team's head, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, said.

Restrictions regarding gatherings, passenger transport, shops' working hours and border crossing will be extended until 31 March and a decision on that will take effect on 13 March, said Božinović.

As for decisions at the local level, restrictions will be extended in Dubrovnik-Neretva County while COVID-19 response teams in counties with a marked increase in the number of new infections will be expected to propose restrictions in line with the local situation.

Share of positive tests 13.8%; Inoculation with AstraZeneca vaccine continues

Croatia today reported 823 new infections of 5,945 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, the percentage of positive tests being 13.8%. The average age of those who have died is 77.5 years and the youngest person was 62, Assistant Health Minister Vera Katalinić-Janković said.

HZJZ head Krunoslav Capak warned that the number of new infections this week was 26% higher than last week.

"Istria County has the lowest incidence, and Dubrovnik-Neretva County the highest. As for the seven-day incidence, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County is at the top, however, epidemiologists say that there are no major hot spots there but rather a lot of small hot spots due to socialising," said Capak.

He also pointed to an increase in the share of positive cases in the number of tests done, which today was 13.8%.

Commenting on reported side effects of the vaccines, he said most reports referred to the Pfizer vaccine, 898, followed by AstraZeneca's vaccine, 337, and Moderna's, 81.

Despite the fact that in some EU countries inoculation with AstraZeneca's vaccine has been suspended, Croatia will continue using the vaccine.

Capak said that the AstraZeneca vaccine Croatia obtained was not from the same series as that obtained by Austria and 15 other EU countries. Countries that have discontinued inoculation with that vaccine have done so until the reported side effects are investigated, he said.

"If it is established that the thromboembolisms reported are not related to the vaccine, countries that have suspended vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine will continue the vaccination process. Croatia did not receive that vaccine series... and will continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine," he said.

He also commented on an announcement that the deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be much smaller than agreed.

"We were to receive 19,200 doses in the third week of March and will receive 7,200. In the fourth week of March, we were to receive 79,568 doses and will receive 9,800," he said.

As for the vaccine of the US company Johnson & Johnson, Capak said that the vaccine will soon be registered in the EU but could not tell how many doses Croatia would obtain considering reports that the US government would first supply the US market with the agreed quantities and then start exports to other countries.

Asked about alternative vaccine imports, Capak said that the documentation requested from the Russian producer had still not arrived, which was a precondition to launch emergency imports.

Meanwhile, the Russian manufacturer has launched the process of registration of the vaccine with the European Medicines Agency and Capak said he believed the process would soon be completed and that Croatia would be able to import the vaccine normally.

As for the Chinese vaccine, not much information is known but the HZJZ today held an online meeting with its producers, Capak said, adding that he would inform the public of the meeting on Monday.

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

ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatian Public Health Institute director Krunoslav Capak on Friday presented the results of a serological study showing that 25% of 1,436 respondents had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, meaning that they had been in contact with the coronavirus.

A similar study carried out last spring revealed that only 2.2% of 1,088 respondents were positive for COVID-19 antibodies.

"In the first study, 24 out of 1,088 respondents tested positive for immunoglobulin antibodies, which is 2.2%. In the second study, 360 out of 1,436 respondents were positive for immunoglobulins, which is 25.1%," Capak said at a press conference of the national COVID-19 response team.

"It should be noted that the blood samples were taken in late December, in January and an in early February. No major impact of the vaccination could be seen because only a small number of people were vaccinated at the time. The first study covered a smaller number of counties where we took the blood samples, while the second study covered all the counties," he added.

Antibodies were evenly present in all age groups. Their presence was lower in people aged over 70 years and in children aged under 10, whose proportion of positive cases in the study was 19.2%.

The study also showed that 75% of the persons positive for immunoglobulins were immune to COVID-19.

Capak said that this sample was representative and showed that 25% of people had been in contact with the coronavirus.

"There are 240,000 people in Croatia who have been infected with the coronavirus to date, while four times as many have come into contact with the virus, which is a million people," Capak said.

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

ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, 823 people in Croatia have contracted coronavirus and 12 have died, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Friday.

There are currently 4,522 active cases of the infection, 811 COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospitals, and 78 of them are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the infection was recorded in Croatia, the country has registered 249,661 people infected with coronavirus and 5,647 people have died.

A total of 239,492 people have recovered, including 578 over the past 24 hours.

There are currently 17,012 people in self-isolation.

To date, 1,416,328 people have been tested, including 5,945 in the last 24 hours.

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

ZAGREB, 10 March, 2021 - In the last seven days, new coronavirus infections in Croatia rose by 25% compared to the week before that, and the existing anti-epidemic measures will be extended even after 15 March, the country's COVID-19 crisis management team said at a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday.

The team's chairman, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said that he hoped that the restrictions would not have to be ramped up.

The numbers are growing, however, there are not any particular hotspots, he added.

Croatia's coronavirus update: 962 new cases, 4 deaths, 334 recoveries

In the past 24 hours there were 7,499 coronavirus tests conducted, and 12.8% of them, that is 962, have returned positive. The death toll linked to COVID-19 has increased by four more fatalities to 5,625.

Currently, there are 3,981 active cases, including 807 hospitalised patients 82 of whom are placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the coronavirus infection in the country on 25 February 2020, more than 1.4 million tests have been conducted, and 248,061 of them have turned out positive. To date, 238,455 people have recovered from this infectious disease.

Weekly rise of 25% ascribed to private gatherings

The head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), Krunoslav Capak, said that a weekly rise of 25% was mainly due to family and private gatherings.

He added that 429 samples of 1,200 sent from Croatia to the European Centre for Disease Control had to date been sequenced, showing that 123 samples contained the British variant of the novel virus and 115 with the Czech variant. More results are expected next week.

50% of Croatian population may be immune to virus by this summer

A serological research carried out by the HZJZ covering 436 samples of people who caught coronavirus in the second wave of the pandemic has shown that 25% of them, that is one on four, have antibodies, Capak said.

The continuation of inoculation at the predicted rate could enable Croatia to have at least half of its population immune to coronavirus by this summer, according to his estimates.

Health Minister Vili Beroš announced a shipment of another 743,376 doses of COVID vaccines by the end of this month.

He expects the immunisation of one-fifth of the population with the first shot of the two-dose vaccine during this month.

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

ZAGREB, 9 March, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, 491 people in Croatia have contracted coronavirus and 12 have died, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Tuesday.

There are currently 3,357 active cases of the infection, 785 COVID patients are being treated in hospitals, and 78 of them are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the infection was recorded in Croatia, the country has registered 247,099 people infected with coronavirus.

A total of 5,621 people have died and 238,121 have recovered, 476 of whom over the past 24 hours.

There are currently 13,687 people in self-isolation.

To date, 1,396,129 people have been tested, including 8,183 in the last 24 hours.

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