In the last 24 hours, of 12,294 tests conducted for coronavirus, 3,918 - or 32% - have returned positive, and there have been 85 COVID-related fatalities bringing the death toll to 2,955, Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

There are currently 22,445 active cases, of whom, 2,943 patients are receiving health treatment, including 287 patients placed on ventilators.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in Croatia on 25 February, as many as 920,509 tests have been conducted, and 186,963 people have contracted the virus.

So far, 161,563 people have recovered from this infection.

A total of 55,777 people are self-isolating currently in Croatia. 

Slight decline in new infections in the last week

Health Minister Vili Beros said on Thursday that Croatia had registered a slight drop in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the past week and that this was not a moment to relax, calling on citizens to put off family gatherings, celebrations and travel ahead of Christmas.

The pressure on the hospital system is still slowly growing and according to the latest official data, 2,907 people are being treated in hospitals, 294 of whom are on ventilators.

There are 1,376 active cases among health workers and 806 are in self-isolation, while 9,253 health workers have recovered.

In University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb’s KB Dubrava hospital and the Special Hospital for Pulmonary Diseases in Zagreb additional capacities for the admission of patients are being prepared, which has also been requested from other hospitals in Croatia’s capital.

Yesterday, the handover of 70 High Flow ventilators started, and in the next two days they will be delivered to health facilities across Croatia.

Beros announced that a meeting with four associations of family doctors would be held today at the Ministry of Health to discuss the organisation of COVID-19 vaccination.

He said that they had started conducting rapid antigen tests in retirement homes. In the first week, 1,663 staff members and 1,598 beneficiaries were tested, with 18.2% beneficiaries and 2.3% members of staff testing positive.

“Lives can be saved only by implementing and adhering to epidemiological measures. The epidemiological situation will not improve without personal responsibility. In addition to the vaccine, that is the only tried and tested formula for the desired outcome,” the health minister said.