The Delta variant of coronavirus could become prevalent in Europe by the end of August, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said at a press conference on Friday.

A European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control report shows that the Delta variant is becoming prevalent in Europe, accounting for 25 to over 70 percent of cases in some states, said Alemka Markotic, director of Zagreb’s Fran Mihaljevic Infectious Diseases Hospital.

Delta rapidly spreading among youth

She said Delta was rapidly spreading among youth and that the situation was worst in Portugal, Cyprus and Spain.

Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) director Krunoslav Capak said the Delta variant accounted for 43% of the coronavirus cases in Croatia, underlining the need to be vaccinated with both doses against COVID.

Capak commented on data from Zagreb’s Dubrava Hospital on the death of eight COVID patients who had been vaccinated with both doses, saying it was unacceptable that HZJZ had not been notified.

He said that until now HZJZ had not recorded any death of a person vaccinated against COVID with one or both doses, and that Dubrava had yet to establish the primary cause of those eight deaths.

Number of COVID deaths will be known only in September

Capak said the exact number of COVID deaths would be known only in September when the national statistical offices released the relevant data.

Asked about the possibility of making vaccination mandatory, Capak did not rule it out but said it required a broad debate.

He dismissed disinformation on social media on the effect of COVID vaccines on reproductive health. “There is no proof of that at all.”

Commenting on the low vaccination rate in Croatia, Health Minister Vili Beros said the anti-vaccination movement was very active, and called for getting vaccinated now to prevent a fourth wave of the epidemic in the autumn.

He said a certain number of people “don’t want to get vaccinated. There are sociological and psychological elements. We must ensure the healthiest working conditions possible.”

COVID certificates allow travel across EU

The head of the crisis management team, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, said COVID certificates allowed travel across EU and that Croatian citizens who had them could return to Croatia without any conditions at any time, including from EU countries on the red COVID list.

Capak said the current incidence in Croatia was 28.4, ranking Croatia 12th in the EU, while the mortality rate ranked it 20th.