The parliamentary opposition party Homeland Movement (DP) said on Tuesday it was opposed to a new lockdown because of the coronavirus epidemic as that would jeopardise Croatia's economy and the mental health of its people.

Stricter measures that are being introduced through the back door are aimed at further restrictions on freedom and would lead to a recession which the domestic economy would not be able to recover from for years, with the risk of grave psychological mental consequences for children and adults, DP said in a press release.

Biologist Miroslav Radman recently warned that about 50,000 people die in Croatia each year, which is about one percent of the total population. He questioned why 300 deaths were more important than 50,000, DP added.

Yet at the same time, in an atmosphere of general hysteria and fear of the virus which we still know very little about, radical measures are being implemented on Croatian children. “Corona terror with masks in schools has resulted in parents revolting and warning that children’s rights are being violated and that their physical and mental health is being jeopardised,” the press release notes.

Many businesses, restaurant and cafe owners, tourist workers, event organisers and many other economic sectors too are the victims of the corona hysteria. A new wave of panic and hysteria would reduce consumer spending and result in a drastic fall in living standards. It is one thing to act responsibly and another to be shut up in a house and to force numerous trades, hospitality establishments, gyms and the like to put the key in the lock, the party said.

DP called on the government for new measures in the fight against the coronavirus to be reasonable and for the government to listen to experts and the people without any influence from Brussels and other foreign lobby groups.