Confirmed COVID-19 cases rise to 12 in Croatia

(ilustracija)

Another person in Croatia has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of the people infected to 12, the national civil protection authority said on Saturday morning.

The newly-infected person is a close family contact of the second person who tested positive for COVID-19 in the northern city of Varazdin, the Fran Mihaljevic Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Zagreb confirmed. This latest case has been the fourth case of the positive test in that northern city.

Apart from Varazdin, in Zagreb, there have been three patients to date and five in Rijeka.

Last Thursday, Health Minister Vili Beros declared a danger from the epidemic of infectious disease as an administrative measure at the recommendation of the Croatian Public Health Institute. The measure will enable the minister to reallocate people and equipment in the healthcare system as necessary.

According to the data provided by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), on Friday there were over 5,500 cases that have tested positive in the 27 EU member-states, Great Britain and in the European Economic Area countries.

Both Croatia and the European Union currently have sufficient resources to respond to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, however, it remains to be seen how long this crisis will last, Croatian Minister Beros said in Brussels on Friday after an extraordinary meeting of the European Union’s health ministers over the COVID-19 virus.