July 28, 2021 - The new ECDC map, which places the Croatian coast in an orange zone, has alerted all localities and tourism boards in the region. Some destinations, such as Zrće beach on the island of Pag, have adopted their own measures and requirements to combat the pandemic effectively and save tourism.
After last week's session of the Government, when it was said that new measures apply to Dalmatian counties this week, which primarily emphasizes the control of the implementation of already introduced anti-pandemic measures, Večernji List interviewed Zrće beach concessionaires and Noa Beach Club owners to find out what this means for them.
The new measures came into force today, what do you plan to actually change compared to the previous measures? Will there be parties on Zrće beach?
"There will be entertainment and tourism, we are not giving up on the season or our business. The catering industry, as well as the organizers of concerts, festivals, and traditional events and musicians, are definitely among the most affected groups. We all struggle with the same problems. Precisely because we knew what all could await us this season, we were ready from day one. For a start, all our 400 employees were vaccinated with two doses of vaccine", says Josipa Žižić, spokesperson for the Noa group, and adds: "We were the last to go to the Noa Beach Club with the opening, to make sure everything was according to protocol. We have 100 people in the security of all entrance routes and 4 teams of medical staff for testing and verification''.
''We adhere to everything that the Headquarters and the Institute point us to. At the moment, we only let people into the facilities who have been vaccinated, have a PCR or Covid antigen test made when entering the Covid free zone. We use the CovidGO mobile application, which reads the correctness of EU digital COVID certificates, and which is impossible to bypass, and if all the conditions are not met, we do not allow entry. We go a step further, we plan to introduce even stricter measures - a quick test will no longer be valid for 48 hours, each entry will mean a new test and a spot check that the test is negative. I think that this direction is good, considering that we have not had any infected people yet and that everything is going according to plan without any complications."
Are there any plans to tighten more measures on Zrće beach, if possible, given that you are already adhering to all the prescribed measures?
"Every day, over 4,000 people enter through our three checkpoints. From 01.07.2021, we test over 1000-1200 people every day at a total of three entrances with over 20 wardens. At the same time, we control the entrance to the beach and the control of the entrance to the clubs, which would mean that each visitor goes through the checkpoints twice, all for the purpose of respecting the measures and quality control of our visitors and their safety. For each entry to the beach, in the Covid free zone, it is necessary to have a Covid passport proving vaccination, ie that they have overcome the disease in the previous 180 days, have a PCR or rapid test. All those who do not have a Covid passport issued for vaccination or overcoming the disease, will have to, according to the next stricter measures we plan to introduce, make a test that is valid only for that one entry", said Sime Oštarić, director of Nasa doo. We also asked what exactly these stricter measures mean: “With each entry, visitors will have to have a new test, so we will even leave the practice of 48 hours of the valid test. There are currently no infected people on Zrće beach, tourism has been taking place here for some time, and there are no hotspots, with these measures I do not know how it would be. Even the Hideout festival was canceled, which was usually attended by a lot of visitors from Great Britain", answers Oštarić.
"This is what we live on, it is in our least interest for anyone to leave Zrće beach infected. We plan to continue to follow the instructions and, I repeat, tighten the measures. If all guests are vaccinated, if they take a test on the spot and if we no longer allow even a 48-hour test, and later we only receive vaccinated on the model of Greece, which has already started to do so, then really the danger of hotspots should not and will not be. So far, we have controlled over 60,000 people and tested over 20,000, and statistics show that 90% of our guests are vaccinated mostly with two doses of the vaccine. Moreover, since the beginning of the season, in total with the city of Novalja, at 6 points, we have tested more visitors than the whole of Croatia", adds Žižić.
One of the suggestions was on-site vaccination?
"As we announced, we plan to soon introduce a measure according to which only vaccinated guests can enter, just as Greece has already done. Regarding vaccination on the spot, we discuss this with the competent institutions, we will be guided by their instructions, recommendations, and possibilities. But this is certainly another method that we are willing to implement and organize so that Zrće beach and Noa remain a safe place as before", Žižić answers.
If you want to know more about Zrće and the island of Pag, be sure to check the Total Croatia guide, where you will find everything you need to know from how to get there, where to stay, where to eat, and what to do on one of the most popular islands of Croatia. Now in your language!
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.
