The head of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljevic", Alemka Markotic, said on Wednesday that the current situation with the number of Covid-19 patients in Croatia is stable, there is a slight increase in the number of patients, but not in the number of those hospitalised and deceased.

The current situation with the number of coronavirus patients is stable, and this is the situation in most European countries, Markotic said after the opening of the renovated Pathology building at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”.

“Now a new variant of Omicron is being monitored, which has slightly more mutations than the previous ones. For now, there is no relevant data that it causes a more severe clinical picture or that these variants could not be detected by existing tests and that existing drugs or vaccines do not work,” she said.

There is no new variant of Omicron in Croatia

According to the official website koronavirus.hr, 153 new coronavirus cases have been recorded in Croatia in the last seven days, 272 cases are currently active, and five people have died. No new strains of the virus have been recorded in Croatia.

Markotic emphasised that the situation is being monitored and that the World Health Organisation and the European Centre for Disease Control will probably recommend additional vaccination.

She estimated that the situation will continue as it has in the last two years – that the existing drugs will work for a vast majority, that vaccines, including the new generation of vaccines, will protect a part of people from the disease and the majority from more severe forms of the disease, although not one hundred percent from infection.

“Currently at risk are those who have always been the most vulnerable, immunosuppressed patients, the elderly, especially those over 80 years old with numerous chronic diseases,” Markotic said.