ZAGREB, 4 March 2021 - Of 350 COVID samples taken that have been sequenced, 99 are positive to the British, 2 to the African and 4 to the New York variant, Health Minister Vili Beroš said during a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The Croatian Institute for Public Heath (HZJZ) has sent the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control over the past month 10% of its positive COVID samples for sequencing and so far the results for 350 of about 1,000 samples sent have arrived, explained Beroš.

"In the past two weeks we are again recording an increase in the number of new cases on the week. The number of active cases has increased by 24% on the week. The number of hospitalised patients is still showing a positive trend of a mild decrease, however their number follows the trend of new cases with a certain time delay," underscored Beroš.

A shipment of 318,680 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in Croatia so far and 242,666 doses have been administered - one dose to 121,330 people and two to 60,668.

A total of 1,210 reports of side effects have been recorded, mostly with mild and transient symptoms.

Božinović: 600 tonnes of coronavirus protective equipment in warehouses

Interior Minister and head of the COVID response team Davor Božinović recalled that the current restrictive measures are in force until 15 March and they include a limited number of people gathering, restrictions at border crossings, special working conditions in stores and in public transport.

He underscored that the logistics centre and regional warehouses currently have 600 tonnes of coronavirus protective equipment available.

He recalled that the border regime was being extended, which means that citizens of countries on the HZJZ special list have to provide a negative PCR test no older than 48 hours to be allowed to enter Croatia and they are obliged to go into 14 days of self-isolation, which can be shortened if another PCR test is conducted on the seventh day at their own cost and it proves to be negative.

Transit passengers are automatically ordered into self-isolation if they don't leave the country within 12 hours.

ZAGREB, 3 March, 2021 - The Civic Liberal Alliance (GLAS) party said on Wednesday Health Minister Vili Beroš and the government have once again put people in a situation where they do not know whether the medicines they need will be available or not, and the hospitals will again have to pay millions in court and debt enforcement costs.

"Debts for the goods delivered are not being repaid for more than 365 days, which is six times longer than allowed by law, and have now reached HRK 6 million. Even more tragically, the drug wholesalers must pay their dues to the state - taxes and contributions - in time," the party said in a statement.

Commenting on this situation, Minister Beroš, as usual, denied the amount of the debt and shifted the blame onto the citizens, claiming that they were not paying enough while using health services too much, GLAS said.

It recalled that the citizens contribute HRK 30 billion to the healthcare system annually, with the insurance policy holder with an average monthly wage paying HRK 1,600 monthly towards health insurance. For that money the citizens have the right to expect at least the minimum health service and they certainly do not need anyone to criticise them for contributing too little, the party said.

GLAS called on the health minister to thoroughly analyse the healthcare system and present the structure of costs to the public to see where the vast sums of money were going.

ZAGREB, 3 March, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Wednesday that during his talks with a Russian delegation he had called for expediting the delivery of documentation on the Russian COVID-19 vaccine so that Croatia's HALMED regulator could evaluate the vaccine's safety and efficiency.

"The meeting yesterday with the Russian ambassador does not indicate that we are abandoning the European Commission's common procurement but is rather a sign that we are looking for complementary methods that will be in line with the EC and Croatian regulations," the minister told a news conference.

He said that it was possible to obtain the vaccine without the approval of the European Medicines Agency and that the analysis by HALMED would take some time, but that he was talking about days and weeks, not months.

Yesterday's meeting was held at the proposal of the Russian ambassador, it was pleasant, constructive and friendly and focused on possibilities of obtaining the vaccine, Beroš said.

It was stressed that procuring the vaccine from Russia was a possibility and that it had to be in line with EU and Croatian regulations, Beroš said.

He noted that the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry has sent a note to the Russian Embassy specifying the 11 documents HALMED needed in order to be able to evaluate the safety of the vaccine.

"I thank our Russian friends for their efforts to help us in the fight against the pandemic because vaccination, along with restrictions, is the main weapon in preventing the spread of the infection," he said.

He noted that it had already been said that HALMED could evaluate the efficacy of the vaccine without the approval of the European Medicines Agency if so requested by Croatian health authorities, in order to secure emergency vaccine imports.

"I believe it is a legitimate government effort to ensure for citizens everything that science can offer, but the main criterion must be safety, efficacy and quality," he stressed.

As for the debt to drug wholesalers, which have limited drug deliveries to hospitals because of their debts, Beroš said that it was a problem that had persisted for decades and that it should be dealt with through a reform of the health system as well as talks with drug wholesalers.

He said the government would do its best to secure an unobstructed supply of drugs for citizens and that it would hold talks with drug wholesalers.

The Croatian health system is financially unsustainable and the crisis year 2020 accentuated the negative financial effects due to an increase in health spending as well as the cost of procuring the COVID-19 vaccine, which amounted to more than two billion kuna last year, said Beroš.

ZAGREB, 3 March 2021 - By this morning 36,013 people have registered online to be vaccinated, which indicates that citizens have recognised that vaccination is an unavoidable step in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic, Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Wednesday.

More than 50% of those who registered for vaccination were from Zagreb, followed by Split-Dalmatia and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties. There were also 948 phone calls by people interested in getting vaccinated, Beroš told a regular press conference by the national COVID response team.

The head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) Krunoslav Capak underscored that in the first three days of this week there were 11.7% more new cases of coronavirus compared to the same period last week.

The share of positive cases among those tested is 10.2% while in the past seven days that was 7.9% and in the past 14 days that share was 7.2%.

Croatia ranks 3rd in the European Union with regard to the incidence rate, with Germany and Denmark recording lower incidence rates while the Czech Republic has the highest rate.

The HALMED medicines agency has received 1,186 reports of side effects - 891 to the Pfizer vaccine, 222 to AstraZeneca and 71 to the Moderna vaccine.

Asked why fairs are not allowed, Capak said that that was being considered and added that it was not the same to have a farmers' market fair in downtown Zagreb and the usual village fairs where pigs are roasted on the spit and the festivities continue until late into the night.

The head of the response team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said that measures were being relaxed gradually. He added that the measure to limit the number of people at funerals to 25 had brought about results.

There are some deviations and we are trying to respond to that in situations of funerals or some other organised event. Anyone organising such an event needs to do everything they can to keep it under control, said Božinović.

He added that as far as spontaneous gatherings like those in Zagreb are concerned, he recalled that a decision was adopted yesterday which is not repressive but rather preventative and that messages are being sent that large gatherings are not a good idea.

ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Thursday today was one year since the first COVID-19 case was registered in Croatia and that over 28,000 COVID-19 patients had been hospitalised and that a little under 13,000 health workers had been infected.

"The health system was ready for the virus and continued healthcare has been ensured through good reorganisation and adjustment," he said at a cabinet meeting.

"The health system's resilience is also characterised by the ability to plan for and adjust to unplanned circumstances in order to maintain a vital activity. Although occasionally significantly overwhelmed, the health system remained stable and vital functioning was not in danger. That shows the strength of our profession, the medical personnel and organisation."

Beroš went on to say that last year saw a rise in cancer hospitalisations and that this showed the health system's special care for those patients.

251,070 vaccine doses in Croatia to date

Regarding the current epidemiological situation, he said there was a mild increase in new coronavirus cases.

To date 251,070 COVID-19 vaccine doses have arrived in Croatia and 135,756 people have been vaccinated - 77,245 once and 58,511 twice. In Zagreb, 926 older persons and chronic patients have been vaccinated as part of the second vaccination stage.

To date 991 side effects to the vaccines have been reported, mainly mild and passing reactions, Beroš said.

ZAGREB, 11 February, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Thursday that owing to the favourable epidemiological situation, hospitalisations at Zagreb's KB Dubrava were decreasing and the number of beds in intensive care for COVID-19 patients was reduced.

Consequently, the need for medical staff has also decreased and conditions have been met for those temporarily assigned to KB Dubrava to return to their hospitals, he said at a cabinet meeting.

The Health Ministry has launched a series of activities to care for post-COVID patients, including the establishment of an expert commission for the treatment of patients with pathologies resulting from COVID-19, Beroš said.

The commission's task is to draft guidelines for treatment, care, prevention of all COVID consequences and the organisation of post-COVID inpatient and outpatient capacities, with emphasis on respiratory rehabilitation, psychological and psychiatric support.

As for vaccination, 107,080 doses were administered by 10 February, with 44,344 people receiving the second shot, including 54,483 doses administered in hospitals, 41,544 in care homes and 6,418 in earthquake-hit Sisak-Moslavina County.

"The second vaccination stage has begun and 4,635 doses have been administered, primarily to people with chronic conditions and older people," Beroš said.

By 10 February, Croatia received 156,450 doses - 122,850 of Pfizer's, 16,800 of Moderna's and 16,800 of AstraZeneca's vaccines. Suspected side effects have been reported 699 times, mainly mild and passing reactions.

Beroš said that according to the Croatian Institute of Public Health, there was no upper age limit for the AstraZeneca vaccine, reiterating that all three vaccines were safe and highly successful in preventing serious illness.

Speaking of the British virus mutation, he said Croatia was developing its own sequencing capacities and that it had agreed to send 200 samples weekly to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, with the first 200 sent yesterday.

"With certain oscillations, the number of new infections is falling by the week. We are monitoring the evolution of fast-spreading variants. They are the reason for increased caution. They are a new threat but we have the chance to be proactive," Beroš said, adding that vaccination and complying with the measures were the tools for success.

Today is World Day of the Sick which has special significance in the context of the epidemic and special emphasis has been put on emotional support to those who are sick, he said, thanking medical staff for their dedicated work.

February the 11th, 2021 - Croatia's numbers have continued to tumble as the country gets a grip on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but with measures due to be reviewed over the coming days and the discovery of the new British strain of the virus in Croatia, could plans to re-open be put back on ice again? Health Minister Vili Beros set a few things straight following a recent meeting.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, following the conclusion of a meeting of the Scientific Council of the Croatian Government, at which scientists discussed with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic a possible easing of the country's anti-epidemic measures in light of yesterday's discovery of the new so-called British strain of coronavirus in Croatia, Health Minister Vili Beros made a statement.

"The measures weren't the main topic of our conversation, we were focused on the presence of this new strain of coronavirus in Croatia and the kind of danger that might be incurred as a result of it, so we should be careful. We ended up discussing the vaccines. Everyone emphasises that we need to be vaccinated with the vaccine we have on our hands. All of them are safe for use,'' assured Health Minister Vili Beros.

"There is no significant spread of the epidemic at this moment in time, so we will base our further decisions on common sense. We all agree that the measures shouldn't be further tightened,'' said Beros.

When asked whether there will be mitigation of any of the existing epidemiological measures, Health Minister Vili Beros said that there is currently no unambiguous answer to this question and that it will be discussed later.

"There's no significant spread of the coronavirus epidemic here at this time, we're going to base our decisions on the epidemiological data and of course on common sense. We all agree that the measures should not be further tightened, but relaxation should also be considered very, very carefully. I think that we'll make certain decisions that will be based on the situation and how it all unfolds in the coming days,'' Beros concluded.

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February the 6th, 2021 - Minister Vili Beros is clearly feeling confident about Croatia's continued excellent trends when it comes to the epidemiological picture, as the infection rate remains low. He stated that he ''believes'' Croatia's current anti-epidemic measures could start being relaxed as of the 15th of this month.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, new strains of the novel coronavirus have now been confirmed in 70 countries, while they haven't yet been found in Croatia. When asked if we were just extremely lucky in that regard, Minister Vili Beros answered for RTL Direct:

"I don't know how crazy our luck has been, but I know that we made sure to look at everything, including our measures at the borders, so that this new strain wouldn't manage to arrive. Back in December last year, the British Consortium for the research of the genome of COVID-19 detected that there were several variants of the virus circulating. We know of the British B117 strain, which is now present in 45 countries, and there is local transition in 13 countries.

The spread of this virus is somewhat more rapid and therefore we believe that the regions where the incidence of newly infected people is highest can be identified and this could indirectly indicate the existence of such new variants of the virus. There is also the South African variant which is present in 11 countries and in some of our neighbouring countries. All of this leads to extra caution. We're taking all of these elements into account when determining any measures.

There's no clear data that there is such a hotspot in Croatia in which the infection would spread faster and thus indirectly indicate the presence of new variants. But we can only find out by sequencing, and we're just adapting to the need for that sequencing. We've engaged a number of healthcare and scientific capacities to do the same. The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention will provide sequencing for Croatia and all other European countries, in the form of 200 samples per week. They're also bearing the cost of transport and evaluation. We don't have the clinical parameters that would indicate such a thing,'' Minister Vili Beros explained.

He also referred to neighbouring Slovenia's failure to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"I'm not full aware of the details of their epidemiological situation. It's clear that there's no universal recipe for solving the issue of this epidemic. From day to day it's necessary to evaluate a number of parameters, medical and non-medical ones, and to balance between those measures aimed at preserving health and those aimed at preserving economic activities. That balance is extremely difficult to find. I believe that is the cause of what's going on there. I believe that Slovenia is just as responsible as Croatia,'' he said.

He then answered the question of whether he is planning evaluate some illogical things, such as the big crowds on Sljeme etc.

"Everything that is determined through the introduction of any measures makes some sense. But overall compliance and non-compliance represent a spectrum in the epidemic. This isn't typical only for Croatia but for all European countries. In other countries, too, illogicalities are present. When we talk about coffee ''to go'' options for coffee shops and petrol stations... Well, are petrol stations a place to hang out, talk and sit around? No, they’re for refueling vehicles, and we can take coffee to go there, too, but after that we leave.

However, coffee can be taken ''to go'' from a bakery in the city, and so you end up with 20 people standing in front of it with coffee, the journalist pointed out and asked: Why is that allowed, and those from who have cafes aren't allowed? Are you going to revise some of these things on February the 15th to make more sense?

"I believe that the epidemiological situation will continue to be stable and that there will be no new outbreaks or variants and that we'll as such be able to evaluate all these elements and continue to slowly relax the measures. However, we do need to remain extremely careful because there can be no room for impatience. Everything needs to be done very carefully and with a lot of thought in mind. It isn't the goal of any of us to act restrictively. We act on those segments of life that the epidemiological profession deems to be risky,'' concluded Minister Vili Beros.

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ZAGREB, 15 January, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš on Friday visited the Sisak General Hospital, situated in the earthquake-affected area, saying he was satisfied with the situation there.

Since 5 January, 223 patients have been hospitalised there and 1,927 patients have been examined in the outpatient clinics. "These figures show the will of the staff and director of the hospital to provide adequate medical assistance," Beroš said.

He said that the ministry had contributed to the health system's response in terms of redistribution of patients after the 29 December earthquake, adding that there had been no major problems with the transport of patients to other hospitals.

Beroš said that at today's meeting they had discussed plans for the revitalisation of the Sisak hospital. He said that the provision of healthcare was currently complicated by the fact that the hospital's wards had been moved to three different locations.

"Now is the time after this tragedy to sum things up, determine the further course of action and present the best ideas for this area," the minister said, adding that the government would support such ideas. 

Speaking of the coronavirus situation in the country, Beroš said that the government had decided to keep the current restrictions in place until the end of the month, citing the increased mobility of people, a rising incidence in some countries and the emergence of a new strain of the virus. As for the earthquake-affected area, he said that they had expected a larger number of coronavirus cases but that that had not happened.

January 15, 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beros spoke about relaxing measures in Croatia on February 1 and the magic number needed to get there. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Headquarters has successfully avoided giving a heads up of when something will open or close.

However, Minister of Health Vili Beros knows best about what will open, when, and what we can hope for and revealed that magic number to RTL Direct on Thursday night.

The magic 14-day incidence rate is 300 per 100,000 inhabitants.

"More precisely, we are at 344 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days, so we are not below 300 yet. This is why our epidemiologists avoid this famous traffic light. Precisely because the number of newly infected is not the only parameter. It’s not the same if you open in the winter or summer, it’s not the same if you have a mutated virus in the environment, it is not the same if the incidence is different in the environment and it is growing in some neighboring countries. Therefore, there are a number of parameters," Beros said.

However, the main epidemiologist Krunoslav Capak stated that something would change when the number falls below 300.

"Insisting on a certain orientation number, it is around 300, but at the moment, caution is needed above all. This good epidemiological situation offers optimism, but it is also encouraging the path we must take. The situation in Europe is not good, the virus mutation is not good, all these are factors that we must take into account when deciding on relaxing measures," Beros said.

The question remains when the measures will be relaxed. This is of particular interest to parents whose children are athletes.

"We have been saying since the beginning that it is necessary to monitor the epidemiological situation from day to day and make decisions. Therefore, at this moment, I cannot say that we will relax measures on February 1. This will depend exclusively on the epidemiological situation and several other factors that will be relevant in those days. If we do relax measures, it will be gradual, at this moment, we still do not have an order," said Beros and added:

"We can say that this will be one of the first activities, especially if these activities take place outside, in conditions that are epidemiologically satisfactory."

Croatia has the biggest decline in the number of new infections in Europe.

"We always say that it takes some time for the measures to take effect. There is also the responsibility of citizens, which is extremely important, and I think they increasingly realize that it is a serious disease that leads to death. Responsible behavior of citizens, as well as measures, have yielded these results," the minister said.

Vaccination in many countries is not going according to plan.

"Given that we are a small country, not so economically powerful, it is fortunate that we are a member of the European Union. It is on the principles of solidarity and fairness that ECDC has determined the dose for all EU countries using the Eurostat methodology. There is no dose war. We have a large number at our disposal, but the problem is that running in production is not easy. All producers have this problem, and later when it develops, it is a bit easier," Beros said, adding:

"Basically, I've been talking about spring, but it's more realistic to expect herd immunity by summer because 70 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated for it."

He also explained the course of vaccination, i.e., when young people should be vaccinated.

"We have seven priority groups in our plan. The seventh group is younger people who do not have any health problems, and, realistically, they will start getting vaccinated at the end of March and the beginning of April," Beros told RTL.

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