ZAGREB, 7 Aug, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 233 coronavirus cases and one COVID-19 death have been registered in Croatia, the national crisis management team said on Saturday.

There are 1,201 active cases and 166 hospitalised patients, including 18 on ventilators, while 4,130 persons are self-isolating.

To date, 2,345,366 persons have been tested for the virus, including 7,832 in the past 24 hours.

Croatia has registered 364,832 coronavirus cases to date, including 8,271 deaths and 355,360 recovered patients, 170 of whom have recovered in the past 24 hours.

Croatia has vaccinated 40.9% of its total population, including 49.2% of adults, 44.89% of whom have completed vaccination.

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ZAGREB, 4 Aug, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 271 coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia and there have been no deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Wednesday.

The number of active cases is 1,147, including 153 hospitalised patients, 12 of whom are on ventilators, while 3,925 persons are self-isolating.

Croatia has registered 364,244 coronavirus cases to date, including 8,267 deaths and 354,830 recoveries, of which 135 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,324,297 persons have been tested for the virus, including 7,996 in the past 24 hours.

Croatia has vaccinated 40.7% of its population, including 49% of adults, 44.48% of whom have completed vaccination.

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

ZAGREB, 3 Aug, 2021 - Croatia has registered 186 new coronavirus cases and one COVID-19-related death in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Tuesday.

The number of active cases currently stands at 1011. Of them, 149 people are receiving hospital treatment, including 11 on ventilators.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic in the country in late February 2020, a total of 363,973 people have been registered as having contracted the virus, of whom 8,267 have died and 354,695 have recovered, including 127 in the last 24 hours.

Currently 4,114 people are self-isolating.

A total of 2,316,301 people have been tested to date, including 7,341 in the last 24 hours. 

By 2 August, 3,091,467 doses of vaccine had been administered, with 40.7 percent of the total population and 48.9 percent of the adult population having been vaccinated.

A total of 1,650,326 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose, while 1,493,859 people, or 44.33 percent of the adult population, have been fully vaccinated.

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ZAGREB, 1 Aug, 2021 - Croatia has registered 143 new coronavirus cases and four COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Sunday.

The number of active cases currently stands at 1,102. Of them, 150 people are receiving hospital treatment, including 12 placed on ventilators. 4,029 people are self-isolating.

A total of 2,305,717 people have been tested to date, including 6,017 in the last 24 hours.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic in the country in late February 2020, a total of 363,758 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 8,263 have died and 354,393 have recovered, including 155 in the last 24 hours.

By 31 July, 3,078,364 doses of vaccine had been administered, with 40.6 percent of the total population and 48.8 percent of the adult population having been vaccinated. A total of 1,646,466 people have been inoculated with at least one dose, while 1,483,687 people, or 44.02 percent of the adult population, have been fully inoculated.

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ZAGREB, 28 July, 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 198 new cases of coronavirus and two people have died as a consequence amid 1,042 active cases, the national COVID response team reported on Wednesday.

There are currently 143 hospitalised patients and 11 of them are on ventilators.

A total of 146 people have recovered over the past 24 hours and 3,267 people are currently self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the contagion was identified in Croatia, there have been a total of 363,039 people infected with the novel coronavirus, of whom 8,249 people have died and 353,748 have recovered, 125 of them in the past 24 hours.

To date, a total of 2,281,574 tests have been conducted, including 6,141 taken in the past 24 hours.

By 27 July, a total of 3,031,563  doses of vaccines had been administered, with 40.1% of the total population or 48.2% of the adult population having been inoculated.

Altogether, 1,628,084 people have received at least one vaccine dose, of whom 1,450,537 have been fully inoculated (1,403,476 persons have received two doses and 47,058 have received the single-dose Jannsen vaccine), which makes up 43.05% of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 27 July, 2021 - Croatia has registered 193 new coronavirus cases and no COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Tuesday.

The number of active cases currently stands at 971. This includes 143 people who are receiving hospital treatment, 13 of whom are on ventilators. A total of 3,267 people are in self-isolation.

Since late February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 362,841 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 8,247 have died and 353,623 have recovered, including 146 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 2,275,433 people have been tested for coronavirus to date, including 7,393 in the last 24 hours.

By 26 July, 3,018,451 doses of vaccine against COVID-19 had been administered, with 40 percent of the total population and 48.1 percent of the adult population having been vaccinated. A total of 1,623,475 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose and 1,440,370 of them have been fully vaccinated (1,394,976 have received two doses and 45,394 have been inoculated with the single-dose Jannsen vaccine), which makes up 42.76 percent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 24 July, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 191 coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Saturday.

The number of active cases is 1,013 and there are 121 hospitalised patients, including 15 on ventilators, while 3,194 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 362,496 coronavirus cases and 8,245 deaths, while 353,238 persons have recovered from COVID, including 135 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,242,487 persons have been tested for the virus, including 6,118 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,997,335 vaccine doses have been administered, with 39.9% of the population vaccinated, including 47.9% of adults.

One dose has been administered to 1,617,306 persons, while 1,423,795 persons have been fully vaccinated - 1,380,029 who have received both doses and 43,766 who have received the one dose of the Janssen vaccine.

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ZAGREB, 22 July, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 3,929  tests performed for coronavirus, 4.5%, that is 179, have turned out to be positive, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

Currently, there are 918 active cases, of whom 124 are hospitalised patients, including 14 placed on ventilators. Also, 3,186 people are self-isolating.

In the last 24 hours, there has been one more COVID-related death, bringing the death toll to 8,245.

Since the first registered case of the infection with this novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, as many as 2.231 million persons have been tested and 362,129 people have caught the virus. Of them, 352,966 have recovered to date, including 98 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Vaccine roll-out developments

Croatia has to date administered nearly three million vaccine doses. Thus, 1.604 million people have received at least one dose of vaccines against COVID-19 and 1,401,029 have fully been vaccinated (1,360,822 have been double-jabbed plus 40,207 who have received the single-dose Jannsen vaccine), and this makes up 41.614% of the adult population.

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July 22, 2021 - With the overall struggle to get Croatians to take the coronavirus vaccine, it is often overlooked regarding Roma people COVID-19 vaccination in Croatia.

Despite coronavirus infections being low at the moment, the situation is tense. On July 5, as TCN reported, only 35% of the Croatian population was vaccinated as the Delta strain spreads globally and in the country.

"Unfortunately, we aren't satisfied with the percentage of vaccinated people we hoped to have. We all wanted to vaccinate more than 50 percent of the total Croatian population during June, but sadly our numbers in that regard are much lower. Only about 35 percent of the total Croatian population has been vaccinated, which isn't enough for them to be calm and to be able to live according to the old normal,'' said epidemiologist Dijana Mayer back then. This was punished with the Croatian coast no longer being in the green, and without bigger vaccination interest, things can turn red. As TCN wrote, there are 5-6 Positive Cases at Split Airport every day, and new measures are introduced to British tourists as the Delta strain is booming there (but in a less fatal manner because of vaccines). Stricter measures, in general, can be excepted by the end of the month in Croatia too.

Fortunately, things got better in July. As reported on Wednesday, „Croatia administered nearly three million vaccine doses. Thus, 1.6 million people have received at least one dose of vaccines against COVID-19, and 1,388,674 have fully been vaccinated (1,349,652 have been double-jabbed plus 39,022 who have received a single-dose Jannsen vaccine), and this makes up 41.24% of the adult population“.

But, disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines is vividly spread (just as disinformation about COVID-19), leaving Croatian fact-checking site Faktograf knee-deep in debunking work. Many Croatians sadly believe the fake news of the anti-vaxxers, and the situation culminated to the point where the Croatian officials (as officials in many other EU countries that also struggle with anti-vax propaganda) seriously discuss obligatory vaccination. Will it happen? Some politicians are up for it, others no, but overall, the situation is uncertain as the fourth infection wave approaches, and the season could potentially be in jeopardy in mid-August, as 24 Sata writes.

COVID-19 vaccine © Pixabay

In summary, there are currently more vaccines in Croatia than there are people interested in. It's hard to believe how things progressed from the start of the year when we witnessed a delay in vaccine shipments, outrage by the public when people such as Zagreb University Rector Damir Boras received the vaccine ahead of time and schedule. From the malfunctioning Cijepi se (Vaccinate yourself) website where you had to register for an appointment (which took forever to get) to a family doctor being able to sign you up, all the way to be able to take a shot without an appointment today, vaccines truly became accessible for everyone. There were even buses bringing vaccines and performing vaccinations in remote villages. So vaccines are for everyone to take, but is it really so?

Nothing in the world is perfect, and neither is Croatia. From time to time, we can see that some groups in Croatian society do get discriminated against or suffer negative stereotypes. For example, with significant progress in accepting the LGBTQ community, sadly homophobic attacks still happen. The tensions with the Serbian minority vary from the day-to-day political agenda, but it is safe to say no one has it worse than the Roma people in Croatia.

As TCN previously wrote, following the 2020 report by Human Rights House in Zagreb, Roma people in Croatia are still facing many obstacles in achieving their rights, which include employment, access to services, and adequate living standards, and there is still segregation in the education system too. Either perceived as thieves, criminals, beggars or completely ignored in Croatia, the question of how many Roma people in Croatia received the vaccine and how many Roma people want the vaccine in the first place, can't be left aside, as it shows how much the vaccine rollout truly is fair for every citizen in the country.

Disinformation crippled 80% of those willing to get the vaccine

Veljko Kajtazi, a member of the Croatian parliament, elected as a representative of the Roma community, says that official research of percentage of vaccinated Roma people hasn't been conducted, but he frequently goes „to the field“, and sees that the situation isn't good.

„If 45% of the Croatian population is vaccinated, I can say that Roma people are a very small percentage of that number“, commented Kajtazi, then on a relevant number of vaccinated people.

He supports the talk of obligatory vaccines and finds disinformation and fake news regarding vaccines to be the cause of low interest.

Veljko Kajtazi, screenshot / Hrvatska radiotelevizija

„Roma people have a very social culture, love gatherings, and live in big families. When the pandemic started, I cooperated with authorities in ensuring that social distancing measures are respected in Roma settlements and that we educate people on the dangers of coronavirus“, recalled Kajtazi.

While Roma people can be found living anywhere, the majority is often ghettoized. An example is in Zagreb, where the Kozari Bok neighborhood on the east side of the city is famous for its big Roma population. When looking outside of the capital city, there are many Roma villages and settlements which count more people than other Croatian villages.

One such place is Piškorovec in Međimurje, which the Lupiga news site referred to as „the biggest Croatian ghetto“. Their article detailed both living in Piškorovec and tensions with the nearby town of Čakovec underlining incidents and division between Roma and Croatians (as Roma People are often perceived as thieves or beggars).

„Last year 80% of Roma people wanted to take the vaccine, but today, they are scared and believe various conspiracy theories. People are not informed, and social networks spread so much disinformation“, Kajtazi pictured how wishing for a vaccine turned sideways.

In the end, he added that he is regularly in contact with the government and institutions to provide information on vaccines to the community. Katja also hopes the vaccine buses will come to Roma villages too.

Questions for HZJZ

The lack of information, geographical isolation, and the overall achievement of social rights (such as health insurance) like other Croatian citizens that the Human Rights House in Zagreb expressed in their report left a lot of open questions regarding Roma people vaccination. Particularly, are there any statistics on how many people vaccinated that the health officials might have, what is the mood towards vaccines in Roma communities in their view, and can buses come to isolated areas to vaccinate Roma people? The inquiry was sent to the Health Ministry and to the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ). Health Ministry very quickly forwarded the inquiry to the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) as these questions are part of their domain. The health ministry even forwarded the questions directly to the HZJZ headmaster Krunoslav Capak himself and other close associates on e-mail addresses not visible on the HZJZ website. But, HZJZ hasn't responded yet. Whether I tried to remind them and ask when can they answer via e-mail or phone calls, none left a response (although a phone call with HZJZ PR service confirmed there are experts in HZJZ that deal with the health of vulnerable social groups, which includes Roma People).

When the answer that can be expected for the moment remains unknown, but TCN will publish HZJZ's response when we receive it.

In the meantime, as we can see, despite vaccine skepticism being strong, there is nevertheless a slow but steady daily rise of vaccinated people in Croatia. 

Let's hope for the sake of public health that disinformation and fake news that turn people away from the vaccines will lower its influence on all the cultural groups and identities you can find in Croatia.

Editor's note: HZJZ response

Learn more about travelling to Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic on our TC page.

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ZAGREB, 20 July, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 146 coronavirus cases and three deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

There are 739 active cases, including 121 hospitalised patients, 11 of whom are on ventilators, while 3,573 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 361,759 coronavirus cases, including 8,243 deaths and 325,777 recoveries, 89 of which in the past 24 hours.

To date, Croatia has tested 2,223,324 persons for the virus, including 4,612 in the past 24 hours.

Also, 2,930,768 vaccines have been administered and 39.3% of the population has been vaccinated, including 47.2% of the adult population.

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