Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said on Monday that people who do not adhere to epidemiological restrictions are to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic spreading and he once again called for responsible behaviour.

“I consider that people who do not adhere to the restrictions that are essential to reduce the number of people dying and being infected are to blame,” Jandrokovic told reporters in parliament.

He specified that this was not a criticism of citizens a vast majority of whom were adhering to restrictions but of those who were not and who, with their behaviour, were causing the disease to spread.

“That can be ordinary people, politicians, reporters, writers, workers and anyone who does not adhere to the measures,” Jandrokovic said, stressing that compliance with restrictions was essential for reducing the number of new infections.

He said that the police should sanction anyone who does not adhere to epidemiological measures. “With their behaviour they jeopardise those who are complying with the restrictions,” he said and recalled that COVID-19 is a disease that one or two people can pass on to dozens and hundreds of others and the lack of discipline by one person can cause the death of dozens of other people.

‘Demanding political responsibility at this moment is irresponsible’

Jandrokovic also noted that demanding political responsibility at the moment is irresponsible.

“Germans, too, could demand Angela Merkel’s responsibility, Austrians their chancellor’s or Hungarians their prime minister’s responsibility… This is not just a Croatian problem and phenomenon, yet the level of intolerance is unbelievable as are attempts to create chaos and attack those who are working. I think it’s time to say ‘enough!’, said Jandrokovic.

He went on to say that it had become quite popular in Croatia to accuse those who work, make difficult decisions and invest effort to achieve the best results possible for citizens.

“At the same time you have critics who are demanding responsibility, who have not shed any sweat and who in these difficult times want to debate about responsibility and bring down the system and remove those who, with their hard work achieved brilliant results in the first wave of the epidemic and are now struggling, as is all of Europe, with the second wave,” said Jandrokovic.