ZAGREB, 28 May 2021 - The European Investment Fund has approved a €35 million guarantee to the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), allowing it to originate a portfolio of €50 million to mitigate the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, HBOR said on Friday.

HBOR will approve loans at interest rates reduced by 0.403 percentage points or only with bills of exchange and promissory notes as collateral.

The EIF guarantee stems from the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), a €25 billion guarantee facility set up by the European Investment Bank Group in 2020 to accelerate the post-COVID-19 recovery of the European economy.

The EGF guarantee will allow HBOR to offer loans to Croatian SMEs and small mid-caps under more favourable terms, including reduced interest rates or lower collateral requirements. The loans will available to SMEs and small mid-caps operating in some of the hardest hit sectors of the Croatian economy, including tourism and manufacturing.

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated business section.

ZAGREB, 26 May, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 538 new coronavirus cases and 21 related deaths, the national COVID-19 response team reported on Wednesday.

That number is a little higher than yesterday, when there were 323 new cases and 21 deaths.

There are currently 3,112 active cases in the country and 1,034 hospitalised patients, 102 of whom are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the novel coronavirus was detected in the country, there have been 354,921 registered cases of the contagion and 7,971 fatalities.

A total of 343,838 people have recovered, 424 of them in the past 24 hours.

There are currently 12,360 people in self-isolation.

A total of 1,988,226 people have been tested for COVID-19, including 6,830 in the past 24 hours.

As at 25 May, 1,608,291 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, with 1,197,164 people having received at least one dose and 411,127 having received both shots.

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

ZAGREB, 25 May, 2021 - In the past 24 hours 323 coronavirus cases and 21 deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 response team said on Tuesday.

There are 3,019 active cases, including 1,109 hospitalised patients, 109 of whom are on ventilators, while 12,207 persons are self-isolating.

So far Croatia has registered 354,383 coronavirus cases, including 7,950 deaths, while 343,414 persons have recovered, 546 of whom in the past 24 hours.

To date 1,981,396 persons have been tested for the virus, including 7,695 in the past 24 hours, and 1,605,287 vaccine doses have been administered, with 1,195,088 persons receiving the first shot and 410,199 both doses.

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

ZAGREB, 23 May, 2021 - Demand for new cars in the European Union was much higher in April 2021 than in April 2020, when the pandemic had just started, but it was still lower than before the pandemic, a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) shows.

In April 2021, 862,226 new cars were registered in 26 EU member states (excluding Malta), which is more than triple than in April last year, when governments started to introduce strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Compared with April 2019, there were 300,000 fewer registered cars, the ACEA said.

In Italy demand was 34 times higher in April 2021 than in April 2020, in Spain it was 19 times higher, in France it was nearly seven times higher, and in Germany it nearly doubled.

Compared with April 2019, it dropped by 38% in France, by 36% in Spain, by 34% in Germany, and by a quarter in Italy.

In Croatia 4,147 new cars were registered in April 2021, nearly four times more than in April 2020. Compared with April 2019, the number decreased by 18%.

Jump in first four months

From January to April this year, demand in the EU was a quarter higher than in the same period last year, and 3.4 million new cars were registered.

Italy saw the biggest increase (+68.4%), followed by France (+51.0%), Spain (+18.8%), and Germany (+7.8%).

In Croatia, 14,621 new cars were registered in the first four months of 2021, a third more than in the same period last year.

For more on lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more news about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 23 May, 2021 - In the past 24 hours 251 coronavirus cases and 20 COVID-19 deaths have been registered in Croatia, with the number of active cases at 3,881, the national COVID-19 response team said on Sunday.

Of 1,202 hospitalised COVID-19 patients, 123 are on ventilators.

Croatia has registered 353,986 coronavirus cases to date, including 7,903 fatalities, while 342,202 persons have recovered from it, including 711 in the past 24 hours.

Currently 14,645 persons are self-isolating.

To date 1,970,997 persons have been tested for the virus, including 5,612 in the past 24 hours.

Through 22 May, 1,581,292 vaccine doses have been administered, with 1,179,998 persons receiving both shots and 401,294 one.

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

For more news about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 21 May (Hina) - Of 5,829 tests performed for coronavirus in Croatia in the last 24 hours, 525 (9%) have returned positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Friday.

The COVID-related death toll has risen by 28 to 7,856.

Currently, there are 4,633 active cases including 1,331 hospitalised patients of whom 131 are placed on ventilators.

 Also, 16,591 people are self-isolating.

Since the first registered case of the infection with coronavirus on 25 Februar 2020, nearly 1.96 million tests  for coronavirus have been performed. They have shown that 353,217 people have caught the virus, and of them, 340,728 have recovered to date, including 948 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Since the start of the implementation of the national COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan, more than 1.5 million vaccine doses have been administered.

Thus, 1,149,941 people have been given at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine and of them 357,412 have been fully vaccinated.

The share of the inoculated population is 28.3%, and when it comes to the adult population, 34.2% of them have got vaccinated to date.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centers up and down the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and choose your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 19 May, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 1,000 new cases of coronavirus infection and 27 related deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Wednesday.

The number of active cases today stands at 5,223. There are 1,508 COVID patients in hospitals, 163 of whom are on ventilators, and 17,102 people are in self-isolation.

To date, 1,946,021 people have been tested for the novel virus, including 8,426 in the last 24 hours.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia confirmed its first case of the infection, 351,997 people have been registered as having contracted coronavirus, 7,792 of them have died, and 338,982 have recovered, including 621 over the past 24 hours.

As at 18 May, 1,406,279 doses of vaccine have been administered. A total of 1,078,103 people have received one dose and 328,176 have received both doses.

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

For more news about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 18 May (Hina) - In the last 24 hours of 8,004 tests taken for coronavirus in Croatia, six percent, that is 491, have turned out to be positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Tuesday.

The COVID-related death toll has risen by 27 to 7,765.

Currently, there are 4,871 active cases of the infection with this novel virus, and of them 1,566 are hospitalised patients, including 166 placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the infection on 25 February 2020 in the country, Croatia has conducted more than 1.93 million tests.

As many as 350,997 have been diagnosed with this infection, and of them 338,361 have recovered including 886 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

To date, Croatia has administered about 1.37 million doses of COVID vaccines. A total of 1,052,032 people have been given at least a one dose of the vaccine, and 317,937 have been inoculated with both shots of the two-dose vaccine.

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

ZAGREB, 16 May, 2021 - In the past 24 hours 480 coronavirus cases and 21 COVID-19 deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 response team said on Sunday.

There are 6,232 active cases and 1,675 hospitalised patients, including 181 on ventilators, while 20,160 people are self-isolating.

To date 350,390 people have been registered as infected, the death toll is 7,708 and 336,450 people have recovered, including 1,113 in the past 24 hours.

To date 1,927,262 people have been tested for the virus, including 6,946 in the past 24 hours, and 1,346,991 vaccines have been administered, with 1,039,233 people receiving the first shot and 307,758 both.

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

ZAGREB, 14 May, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 6,587 tests performed for coronavirus, 926, that is 14%, have returned positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Friday.

In the last 24 hours there have been 41 more deaths linked to COVID-19, bringing the COVID-related death toll to 7,664.

There are currently 7,214 active cases of  whom 1,752 infected patients are receiving hospital treatment, including 207 patients placed on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia's health authorities confirmed the first registered case of the infection with the novel virus, more than 1.91 million tests have been conducted.

As many as 334,206 patients have recovered to date, including 1,537 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Currently 21,530 people are self isolating.

More than 1.26 million vaccine doses against COVID have been administered in Croatia since the beginning of this year. Over 980,000 people have been given at least one shot, and more than 288,000 have received both shots of the two-dose vaccine.

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