Social Democratic Party MPs said on Thursday the number of coronavirus infections and COVID-19 deaths would escalate on Christmas, and asked the prime minister and the national COVID response team to apologise for inconsistencies in the adoption of anti-COVID measures.

The mortality of COVID patients in Zagreb’s Dubrava hospital is 31%, while the average in 275 hospitals around in the world is 19%, MP Matko Kuzmanic told the press a day after a parliamentary debate on the imposition of fines for those flouting the measures.

The likelihood of dying in a Croatian intensive care unit is 71%, as against 30% in the world, he said, adding that these numbers were easily verifiable.

Kuzmanic said the latest measures were imposed too late and would not prevent an escalation of infections and deaths for Christmas. He accused the prime minister, the government and the response team of postponing them due to intra-party elections in the ruling HDZ and the Vukovar Remembrance Procession.

MP Andreja Maric called for a consensus as well as a clear plan and strategy in adopting measures, saying that so far the measures were imposed to suit the prime minister.

The SDP MPs said the response team, due to erratic work, had lost people’s trust.

We expect the prime minister and the response team to apologise to citizens and that we start communicating better with citizens about how to curb the epidemic, said Maric.