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.

ZAGREB, 16 July 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday that Croatia had not yet achieved the target of sufficient number of people being vaccinated and warned of the spread of the Delta variant throughout Europe.

The prime minister once again called on everyone to get vaccinated while announcing that all those without healthcare cover could be vaccinated free.

"We have 46.8% vaccinated with one dose. We are gradually coming to 50%, while 39% of the total population have been double-jabbed. That is still not enough," said Plenković at the start of the cabinet meeting, warning of the fast spread of a much more contagious, Delta variant in Europe.

He underscored that vaccination protects against the most serious cases of illness and that those who are not vaccinated are more susceptible to contagion.

"For those who are not inoculated, one in 44 infected persons is likely to die," said Plenković, claiming that that remaining unvaccinated is an enormous and unnecessary risk.

Plenković once again called on citizens to get vaccinated, particularly elderly persons and those with chronic diseases, recalling that 8,233 people have died of COVID in Croatia and 92% of them were above 60.

He recalled that the government had done everything for the economy to not cave in during the coronavirus crisis, lay-offs, bankruptcies...

"This is a challenge and threat in which individual attitudes are insufficient. This is a situation in which we depend on each other and the more citizens are protected, the better," concluded Plenković and announced the possibility of free vaccination in Croatia for all citizens regardless of whether they have healthcare cover or not and which part of the world they come from.

"Croatian citizens can come to Croatia and get vaccinated free, and others can do so too. We have that many doses available and want to protect whoever wants to be protected," he said, adding that that was a contribution to global efforts to suppress COVID-19.

Health Minister Vili Beroš said that the government's decision to this effect enabled all people residing in Croatia, no matter what their citizenship is and whether they are covered by healthcare insurance or not, to get vaccinated free of charge.

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ZAGREB, 29 May 2021 - Czech tourists will be able to enter Croatia without additional restrictions within 22 days of receiving the first COVID-19 vaccine shot, the foreign ministers of the two countries said on Saturday.

The decision should enter into force next week, when "the details are finalised at expert levels," Gordan Grlić Radman of Croatia said at a press conference.

The agreement between Croatia and the Czech Republic is "a great pattern for further bilateral agreements with other states," he added.

Croatian Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac said she would discuss this subject with her Austrian counterpart on Monday and that all tourist-generating markets would be contacted.

Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said Croatia was excellently prepared for the coming tourist season and that a Czech train which arrived today was just the beginning, as it would bring Czech as well as Slovakian and Hungarian tourists every day from now on.

He said Croatia had allowed children under 12 to enter without restrictions and that this was very positive for many Czech families.

Kulhanek announced that as in previous years, two Czech consular offices would be open this year, in Split and Rijeka, and that Czech police officers would arrive for joint patrols with Croatian police.

He said Prague supported Croatia's entry to the Schengen area because, he added, Croatia deserved it.

ZAGREB, 25 May, 2021 - Montenegrin Health Minister Jelena Borovinić Bojović said in Zagreb on Tuesday that Croatia's donation of 10,000 vaccine doses was significant for Montenegro's efforts to inoculate its population against COVID-19.

In early May the Croatian government decided to donate 30,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines to Bosnia and Herzegovina and 10,000 doses each to Montenegro and Kosovo.

After meeting with her Croatian counterpart Vili Beroš, Borovinić Bojović thanked Croatia for that "big friendly gesture and great solidarity."

The donation of 10,000 doses will be "very significant in the process of mass inoculation that is currently underway in Montenegro," she said.

Croatia's Health Minister Vili Beroš underscored that Croatia's care for its neighbouring countries.

"I hope that we will contribute at least a little in the fight against this disease," said Beroš.

The two ministers discussed cooperation in the transplantation programme with Borovinić Bojović underscoring that Croatia has "shown especially good will to help us in resolving that problem."

She added that they discussed the signing of a memorandum of understanding that would enable Montenegrin doctors to come to Croatia for further training regarding transplantation surgeries.

The Croatian transplantation programme has been recognised beyond the borders of our country, said Beroš.

He underscored Croatia was willing to help Montenegro in that regard.

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ZAGREB, 15 April, 2021 - The head of the national COVID response team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said on Thursday that the epidemiological measures in force until midnight tonight would be extended, underscoring that the restrictions would not be tightened at the national level, but as necessary from county to county.

Speaking to the press after a meeting of the government's Scientific Advisory Council, Božinović said that meeting mostly focused on the current situation with the spread of coronavirus.

County response teams, he added, will adopt stricter measures depending on the epidemiological situation which at the moment will not be ramped up at the national level.

He said that the situation varies from county to county, adding that currently Primorje-Gorski Kotar has the strictest measures.

Vaccines no longer doubtful in Croatia 

Božinović announced that an additional 50 million doses of vaccines were arriving in the EU in the second quarter and he expressed hope that the number of doses for Croatia would not be brought into question.

He added that the experts had different opinions regarding school lessons but there is no reason now to change the decision for schools to go online as the number of those infected is not falling but actually increasing.

Asked what number would be required to ramp up restrictions according to the experts, Božinović said that some countries that introduced so-called traffic lights had tied their own hands in some situations.

"We are referring to trends here. We are monitoring the situation on a daily basis and applying measures on a county to county basis. I think that we won't refrain from that approach as it has shown to be correct so far," he underscored.

Croatia has not registered the experiences with AstraZeneca's vaccination like in other countries

As far as mistrust towards the AstraZeneca vaccine is concerned, Božinović said that reports by the HALMED medical agency and the Croatian Institute for Public Health "have not had any experiences that are being referred to in other countries."

However, it will be necessary to improve the trust in that vaccine through communication with the public, recalling that government members, including the Prime Minister, were inoculated with that vaccine.

"It is important for the overall public to realise that the pandemic has affected all four corners of the earth and that we will come out of this situation when an adequate solution is applied in all the countries affected by COVID," Božinović underlined, adding that it was important for the vaccine to be available everywhere.

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

ZAGREB, 14 April, 2021 - In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 3,099 new coronavirus cases while 41 people have died as a consequence, the national COVID response team reported on Wednesday.

That is a significantly higher number of infections and deaths compared to Tuesday when 1,936 new cases and 25 deaths were registered.

There are 13,880 active cases in the country, including 1,955 hospitalised patients, of whom 185 are on ventilators. There are currently 27,528 people in self-isolation.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of coronavirus was detected in Croatia, there have been a total of 297,973 people infected with the virus and 6,399 people have died as a consequence. A total of 277,694 have recovered from the disease, including 1,274 in the past 24 hours.

To date a total of 1,663,542 have been tested for the virus, including 11,017 in the past 24 hours.

As of 13 April a total of 605,423 doses of vaccines have been administered, inoculating 491,601 people. Of that number, 375,993 people have received the first dose and 113,822 have received both doses. For 1,786 people there was no data on which dose they received.

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

ZAGREB, 12 April (Hina) - The Zagreb School of Medicine said on Monday that Croatia was finally represented in the European Advanced Translational Research Infrastructure in Medicine (EATRIS), which will give it faster access to new medicines, diagnostic tests and vaccines.

EATRIS's aim is the accelerated transfer of fundamental discoveries into clinical practice to improve healthcare and the transfer of know-how from clinical practice into the development of medicines, diagnostics and medical products, the school said in a press release.

Croatian scientific institutions will now be included in the development of new diagnostic tests, innovative drugs and advanced vaccines, which will benefit the academic community as well as Croatia's economy and society.

The press release underlined the Science and Education Ministry's support in achieving representation in EATRIS and that Croatian representatives are already sitting in EATRIS bodies.

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ZAGREB, 21 March 2021 - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković is prepared to be publicly vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, the speaker's office confirmed to Hina on Sunday.

"Croatian Parliament Speaker Jandroković is also prepared to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, together with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Health Minister Vili Beroš, as it has been about six month since he contracted coronavirus," the speaker's office said.

Jandroković will be vaccinated soon, when he consults with doctors, and depending on their assessment, when it is the optimal time for that given the period that has passed since his recovery.

The Croatian government has confirmed that PM Plenković and Health Minister Beroš will be publicly vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

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

ZAGREB, 15 March, 2021 - The Croatian Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices (HALMED) said on Monday that a preliminary inspection of documentation on the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine was underway but that for the time being there would be no emergency imports of the vaccine.

HALMED today received documentation from the Health Ministry on the Russian vaccine and a team of ten HALMED experts in individual areas are conducting a preliminary inspection of the documentation to determine if the delivered documents comply with what had been requested.

The agency said that so far there had been no requests for emergency imports of the Russian vaccine and that there would not be any procedures of that kind for the time being.

HALMED will thoroughly inspect the documents forwarded by the Health Ministry and if necessary, request additional documents from the producer to ensure readiness for emergency imports should the need for them arise, the agency said.

The Russian vaccine is currently also being evaluated by the European Medicines Agency.

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

ZAGREB, 13 March 2021 - Croatia has ordered "more than enough" COVID-19 vaccines via the European Commission's centralised system but is faced with late deliveries because manufacturers are not honouring what has been signed, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has told France 24.

He was speaking for "Talking Europe", a programme on French national television, while visiting Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

"We ordered more than enough, but the vaccines are distributed pro rata, that is how much vaccine you ordered from which company."

He said he came to Brussels because Croatia was faced with late deliveries. "That's the main reason I'm here... I insist that what we signed, what we ordered, be delivered."

"I talked about it with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her team. We ordered the vaccine via the centralised system set up by the Commission."

Regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine, Plenković agreed with Rome's decision to block a delivery of 250,000 doses to Australia. He said he supported the Italian authorities' move to send "a concrete signal" to AstraZeneca that "it must honour what has been signed."

That is in no way against Australia, but it's necessary to remind companies that they must adhere to signed agreements, he added.

Since Croatia has vaccinated only 5% of its population and has, alongside France, one of the lowest vaccination rates in the EU, he was asked if he was willing, like Hungary, to buy the Russian vaccine without the approval of the European Medicines Agency.

"Every government must approach with the utmost caution matters concerning public health, people's safety and vaccination. The EMA and the Croatian medicines agency are filters, and experts must help governments make wise decisions. To me as prime minister, public health and the safety and protection of our citizens will always come first."

Regarding the suspension of vaccination with AstraZeneca in a number of European countries due to allegedly serious side effects, including blood clots, Plenković said no such cases had been registered in Croatia.

"We haven't noticed any of the side effects after the administration of AstraZeneca/Oxford that may have occurred in other countries. On the contrary, we believed from the start that this vaccine is good also for our citizens older than 65," he said.

"At this moment, according to the information we have, we have neither reason nor grounds to apply that measure and will continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine," he added.

Speaking of the Commission's proposal to introduce so-called COVID passports, whereby travellers would certify that they are vaccinated or have a negative PCR test, Plenković said it could be part of a strategy to bring tourists back to Croatia.

He said "it could serve as an aid to enable free travel. That's something we should consider."

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