The head of the Vukovar-Srijem County Public Health Institute, Kata Kresic, has warned members of the public against going to Vukovar on Vukovar Remembrance Day, November 18, due to the deteriorated epidemiological situation, calling on them to mark that holiday by lighting a candle at home.

Kresic said that the epidemiological situation in the county was serious and noted that the number of positive coronavirus cases in the total number of tests had been 30% on average in the last 14 days, but that what was worrying was the share of positive cases, which in the past seven days had risen to 36% from 28% the week before.

She underlined that over the past week the epidemiological situation in the area of Vukovar had deteriorated significantly and that in the last 14 days alone more than 220 new cases had been registered in the city alone, with more than 140 new cases registered in the last seven days, which is 25% of persons infected in Vukovar-Srijem County in that period.

“Many of the new patients do not know where they have contracted the disease, which indicates horizontal transmission and that the virus is transmitted very easily, notably in places of gathering… as for Vukovar Remembrance Day, we are asking citizens to stay home, light candles and put them in their windows and pay tribute in a dignified way to our fallen defenders and victims of Vukovar,” Kresic said.

The national coronavirus response team last Monday amended the decision on epidemiological measures regarding public gatherings, under which public gatherings marking events under the Holidays, Remembrance Days and Non-Working Days Act would be exempt from restrictions on public gatherings until November 30. Such gatherings can be held only if they comply with the epidemiological framework designed by the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ).

HZJZ head Krunoslav Capak said on Tuesday that the number of participants in the commemorative walk in Vukovar for Vukovar Remembrance Day was capped at 500.

The decision by the coronavirus response team to allow the commemoration in Vukovar in the current epidemiological situation has been criticised by the Croatian Association of Hospital Doctors and Croatian scientist Ivan Djikic.