Addressing the parliament during Question Time on Tuesday, Minister Vili Beros said that the Croatian healthcare system was being successfully adapted to respond to the COVID-19 epidemic.

“We have 20,000 hospital beds, including 14,460 acute care beds and more than 1,450 intensive care beds,” the health minister said.

We also have a relatively sufficient number of specialists, there are more than 1,190 infectious disease specialists, 1,439 internists, 915 anesthesiologists, 182 pulmonologists and we are trying to distribute them so as to respond to the current circumstances, the minister said.

He said that “the formula is clear: if we have 2,500 new cases of the coronavirus infection per day, and if we can forecast that 10% of them will need hospitalisation, we have the necessary number of beds, it only remains to be seen how they will be distributed.”

We are braced for higher numbers, and we will do our utmost to be adjusted to the new circumstances, the minister said while reassuring lawmakers about the preparedness of the healthcare system.

Beros said that there was also the sufficient number of ventilators.

In response to criticism from the Opposition, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic reiterated that all the actions taken by the government and the COVID-19 crisis management team were in compliance with the law and the Constitution and were conducted to contain the epidemic.

He recalled that also during the summer, that is between 23 May and 16 June, when Croatia had a mere 12 infected persons, the Opposition also questioned the constitutionality of the crisis management team and wondered whether there would be enough protective gears.