Croatia has registered 23 cases of the Indian/Delta variant of coronavirus in five of its counties, the head of the Croatian Institute for Public Health (HZJZ) and member of the national COVID response team, Krunoslav Capak, said on Friday, adding that if the new variant continues to spread, the authorities will introduce stricter epidemiological measures.

“The Indian variant has been identified in the Medjimurje, Sibenik-Knin, Varazdin, Split-Dalmatia, and Zagreb counties. Naturally, we are concerned,” Capak said at a regular press conference.

Indian variant spreads 30 to 40 times faster

“The Indian variant spreads 30 to 40 times faster than the original and the UK variant which have dominated in recent time. Indications exist that the contagion is more serious and that it affects younger people. If it starts spreading among us, we will have to apply stricter measures,” said Capak.

Croatia has registered 118 new COVID cases over the past 24 hours, slightly more than last week, however the number over the entire week decreased by 25 percent. The highest incidence rate is in the Adriatic Zadar County, as a result of recent celebrations following a basketball game when fans did not adhere to epidemiological measures. As a consequence, 70 percent of new cases registered in Zadar County are in people younger than 40.

“That is a warning for all of us,” Capak said.

According to the 14-day incidence rate, Croatia ranks 11th among EU countries, and 20th for the fatality rate, Capak added. The current rate of positive cases among those tested is 2.9 percent, he said.

COVID certificate verification app downloaded more than 3,000 times

The head of the COVID response team, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, said that the COVID verification application has been downloaded more than 3,000 times. It is currently available in the Apple store and should soon be available in the Google store as well.

Bozinovic called on local authorities not to allow uncontrolled mass gatherings so as not to lose control of the epidemic.

Testing criteria to be changed

Considering that Digital Green Certificates enter into force on 1 July, the national criteria for testing as proof of recovery from COVID will change.

“As of 1 July new testing criteria will enter into force so that fast antigen tests that come back positive will need to be confirmed by a PCR test. More than 45,000 people who were confirmed positive with antigen tests will as of next week be able to obtain COVID certificates,” said Capak.

Even though the vaccination rate has slowed down and the set target of 55 percent of people inoculated by the end of June will not be achieved, Capak is convinced that that target will be reached soon.

Asked how they intend to convince 25 percent of the population that refuse to be vaccinated, Capak said that inoculation will mean that you can attend certain events, they will be rewarded with concerts and in other ways and employers will be allowed to demand that employees who are not inoculated “be constantly tested.”

EU citizens from green zones do not need quarantine or testing

Capak said that EU citizens coming to Croatia from green zones do not need to go into quarantine or to be tested and can freely enter the country.

The most important thing is that Croatia, which largely depends on tourism, needs to remain in the green zone. In that case everyone will be able to return to their countries without additional restrictions. We need to remain in the green. That is in the interest of Croatia’s health and economy, said Bozinovic.