Certain relaxations may be expected if by 15 February the coronavirus epidemic continues to decrease and new strains do not appear, Jutarnji List daily said on Tuesday.

The plan is to reopen gyms and fitness centres and to allow bars to work if they have outdoor terraces and serve coffee to go, the newspaper learned off the record from the national coronavirus response team.

The head of the team, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, spoke to that effect without revealing which restrictions would be relaxed.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation. We’ll see if corrections are possible. We all hope they are. We can’t fully come out of this situation while the epidemic is active and while there are examples of accelerated spread in Europe. If the indicators are good, if the numbers keep falling, we certainly won’t be against reacting because our aim to achieve a balance between everything, with emphasis on protecting health, has resulted in Croatia having the least strict measures in Europe,” said Bozinovic.

Although many disgruntled bar owners said they would reopen despite a ban on their work, this has not happened and it seems they will wait until mid-February, when a review of the restrictions is expected.

If some changes are not made for bars, which are not allowed to even serve coffee to go, some owners are likely to take to the streets, at least in Zagreb, Franz Letica, head of the Zagreb association of bar and restaurant owners, told Jutarnji List.

He said allowing bars only to serve coffee to go would hardly be enough and that they are counting on the reopening of establishments with outdoor terraces which, combined with warmer weather, would help many businesses to survive.