November 12, 2020 - Drive-in COVID-19 testing at the Split port will soon begin, and rapid tests should soon arrive at the Institute of Public Health, the director of that institute, Zeljka Karin, announced.

Index.hr reports that there are about 900 patients a day being tested, and drive-in testing will soon open in the port of Split, which should relieve the queues at the hospital and the county's Public Health Teaching Institute. Split should receive rapid tests that will need to be validated first, she said, adding that these tests will be done in closed collectives where a quick result is important.

"These tests are valid for a person who has a strong clinical picture to see if it is positive. A negative result says nothing or is not relevant. We will use this where we have a large number of people with a clinical picture so we can immediately put all people in self-isolation," Karin explained.

She reiterated that residents of Split-Dalmatia County could order testing online or through a family doctor. Citizens can now be tested at the Split Clinical Hospital in Krizine and the Teaching Institute for Public Health, and in two weeks, the port of Split.

Apart from Split, testing is done in Vrgorac, Imotski, Makarska and Sinj, and on the islands of Hvar, Brac and Vis.

Regarding the county's epidemiological situation, the head of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, Dr. Ivo Ivic, said that the numbers they can handle are satisfactory and that the situation - if such a trend continues - can be well controlled. They have planned for many patients and can activate an additional 30 to 40 beds within one day.

"We have not yet filled the capacity, but we are ready for an additional increase. We currently have 170 beds; if necessary, we will expand within Krizine. The epidemic is no longer at the pace it has been in the previous two weeks. This can be seen by the number of new cases in the country. A plateau has been reached, and this is not because the virus has changed. We need to be aware of that," he said, adding that he believes the measures have paid off.

Regarding the new vaccine against coronavirus, Ivic said that it is great and that its effectiveness will be achieved only when enough people are vaccinated. He pointed out that in the next six months, we will do everything we can to protect, reduce gatherings, and prevent the spread of the virus wherever possible. When asked what he thinks about Advent events, he answered that it will be better to have fewer of them and that the measures should be strictly followed.

"It is impossible to stop life; a lockdown can be done once and never again. I mean, then it must really mean that we are preparing for a catastrophe," Ivic concluded.

To read more about coronavirus in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

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