July 9, 2021 - The latest ECDC map has marked Croatia fully green, but we should remain cautious given the rising numbers of our tourism neighbors.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has released an updated map of Europe. On this week's map, the whole of Croatia is in the green zone, reports Index.hr.
The surrounding countries are green, as is most of Europe. Important exceptions are Spain and Portugal, mostly in the red zone, which marks the highest incidence.
The ECDC map is updated weekly using data from Thursday at 23:59. Colors for individual areas are determined by combining the number of confirmed cases in the past 14 days per 100 thousand inhabitants, and the percentage of the population tested.
ECDC is a European agency based in Stockholm, and its Covid maps are also an indicator for tourists of whether it is safe to travel to a destination.
If Croatia stays in the green zone, tourism workers believe that we could be much closer to the record 2019 than expected by the end of the season.
"Croatia is a safe destination, and there is a great demand because the government has made all the preconditions for Croatia to be safe, and it is up to us to preserve this situation, to act responsibly, to respect epidemiological measures, to keep the good numbers we have," the Sports and Tourism minister Nikolina Brnjac said on Wednesday, adding that we are facing one of the best possible seasons during covid.
Portuguese tourism finds itself in an unenviable situation as it goes through a new pandemic wave. In the last few days, they have crossed the limit of 3,000 new daily cases, which has not happened since the beginning of February.
France has advised its citizens to avoid Portugal and Spain this summer due to the rapid spread of the Delta Variant.
“Those of you who haven’t booked a holiday yet, avoid Spain and Portugal as your destinations; that’s advice as a precaution,” Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune told public television France 2.
"This is a recommendation that I insist on; it is better to stay in France or go to other countries... The situation is very worrying," he added, noting that travel to these destinations is still allowed. He noted, however, that it is possible to introduce stricter measures in the coming days.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos said France's concerns were "understandable" given the country's deteriorating health situation.
The night curfew set last Friday is still in force in high-risk areas, mainly in Lisbon and the surrounding area and the Algarve tourist region, in the south of the country. Now visitors to restaurants over the weekend must have a negative test or proof that they are fully vaccinated. In hotels, it is a must every day across the country.
Veljko Ostojić from the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT) says we must be careful and learn from Portugal, Spain, and Greece.
"Portugal had a problem because they had a party after winning the World Championship, and they also let the British in. Great gatherings and celebrations always tell. We experienced something similar in mid-August last year. We must be aware that tourists who come to Croatia also know the world's situation and that they will not leave because a fishing evening was not held in a small coastal town or a concert was canceled. Therefore, we have to subordinate epidemiological measures for a long season," emphasizes Ostojić, adding that this season will also be a great challenge.
Faced with a large increase in the number of corona cases among young people, Spain wants to speed up vaccination of that age group to avoid a new wave that would ruin the tourist season and the rise of the economy.
With the arrival of summer and holidays, there are more and more student parties in cafes, discos, and apartments, so the number of infections among young people has spiraled out of control in the last ten days. As a result, the incidence increased to 814 cases per 100,000 people in 14 days for youth between the ages of 20 and 29, or three times the average incidence for the entire population (252).
To stop the increase in the number of infections among young people, the government of Catalonia has announced that it will close clubs for at least 15 days from the weekend. According to official data, the percentage of those between the ages of 20 and 29 who have received at least one dose of the vaccine is only 14.4 percent. Among the total population, 64.1 percent.
At the same time, the vaccination campaign is accelerating - 40.3 percent of the population of about 47 million Spaniards is fully vaccinated, while half (55.9 percent) received a single dose of the vaccine. However, due to the deteriorating situation, several regions, including Andalusia and Catalonia, are considering tightening restrictions this week, after outdoor masks have not been mandatory since June 26.
Greece, which is heavily dependent on tourism, has lifted most restrictions on travel and entertainment and wearing masks outdoors, as the number of those infected has been falling for a long time. But it has been growing rapidly again in recent days, and experts are particularly concerned about the Delta Variant of the virus. On the new Covid map, parts of Greece are in the orange zone.
Many of the newly infected are young, and authorities link the spread of the infection to entertainment, so they decided to return restrictions to restaurants, nightclubs, and bars later this week.
"From July 8, restaurants, bars, clubs, and entertainment venues will only work with seated guests and following legal capacity rules," Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias told reporters, adding that large fines are envisaged for violators, including closing the premises.
Owners of Greek cafes and nightclubs are worried that the new restrictive measures, which allow serving only seated guests, will jeopardize the tourist season but say they accept them if it prevents the spread of the coronavirus.
"It is a step back that will certainly affect tourism, but it seems necessary so that we do not lose the rest of the summer. So we will be patient," said 27-year-old Ilias Babacikos, a beach cafe manager in the Athens coastal suburb of Alimos.
So far, about 38 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. However, the government wants to vaccinate 70 percent of citizens by autumn, offering various incentives, including money and free mobile data for young people.
According to the data published yesterday, 110 new cases were recorded in Croatia in the last 24 hours, and the number of active cases in Croatia was 624. Among them, 121 patients are in hospital, of which 3 are on a respirator.
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 across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.
