Twelve new coronavirus cases were reported in Croatia on Wednesday morning, bringing the country's total to 81, including eight in doctors from Zagreb's major hospitals, including the first case in Croatia's southern region of Dalmatia, in the city of Zadar.
Also on Wednesday, the government launched a dedicated coronavirus hotline, available by dialling 113, a day after an accompanying official website koronavirus.hr had been launched, featuring latest updates and advice.
The Parliament also passed laws giving more power to civil protection authorities, and a new decree imposing tighter restrictions designed to slow down the spread of the disease is expected to be announced later in the day.
These are likely to include a ban on all public events, closing down of all restaurants, bars, museums, gyms, shopping malls, and all other places where groups of people normally congregate. The new bans, enacted by governments all over Europe, are expected to deal a crushing blow to the country’s hospitality and tourism industry.
Health Minister, Vili Beros, told reporters on Wednesday morning that the health care system is “well and sufficiently organised” and that it is capable of quickly re-distributing health care staff should the need arise.
“I talked this morning with heads of hospitals in (the major cities of) Split, Osijek, and Rijeka. They all took our orders seriously,” Beros said.
So far, Croatia has tested little over 1,200 samples, and more than 10,000 people have been ordered to stay at home and avoid contact with others.
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Elsewhere in the region, health authorities also updated their caseloads on Wednesday morning: Serbia confirmed 11 new cases, bringing its total to 83. Bosnia reported seven new cases on Wednesday, bringing its total to 34, including a local government minister in Serb-dominated half of the country.
Slovenia reported 275 so far, including one fatality and five people currently in intensive care. Slovenia’s Health Minister, Tomaz Gantar, said on Wednesday that the likely number of infected people is likely “five times higher,” state agency STA reported.
Bosnia reported seven new cases on Wednesday, bringing its total to 34, including a local government minister in Serb-dominated half of the country. Montenegro confirmed its first two cases on Tuesday, and the latest reported figure from North Macedonia is 31 confirmed cases.
Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci, signed a decree on Wednesday proclaiming state of emergency after Kosovo health authorities reported 19 confirmed cases.
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