Varazdin and Istria counties are among the most successful European regions in fighting the spread of the coronavirus, according to data released by the Belgian Foreign Ministry.

Apart from the two Croatian counties, also described as epidemiologically safe regions are one Swedish region, four Polish regions, two Bulgarian and two Italian regions.

County head: We identified challenges, set up response system on time

According to available data, the northern Varazdin County also has the lowest COVID-19 mortality rate in the country. Of 80 hospitalised patients, by October 5, one had died, the county authorities said.

County head Radimir Cacic said they had identified the challenges on time and set up a system to deal with them, being constantly one step ahead in the implementation of measures designed to contain the virus and detect potential hotspots.

The county was among the first, after Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Osijek, to start testing for COVID-19, Cacic said.

Since the start of the epidemic, 240 infections have been identified in the county, plus 16 people whom the county also has in its statistics because they have permanent residence in Varazdin County, he said.

Kozlevac: This is result of cooperation between citizens, competent institutions

The head of the Istria County COVID-19 response team, Dino Kozlevac, said that Istria County set an example to all other Croatian counties owing to its results in the fight against the coronavirus.

That was possible thanks to cooperation and understanding between citizens and competent institutions, Kozlevac said, recalling that Istria residents had been wearing masks indoors for three months and that this was producing results and proving to be the most efficient measure of prevention.

He noted that face masks were not obligatory only for school children.