Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Monday evening that this morning's protests outside the university hospital centres in Zagreb and Split had not been announced in line with rules and that even if they had been, they wouldn't have received a permit.

“I wouldn’t say those were large protest rallies. They were staged at just a few locations in Croatia,” Minister Bozinovic said in Nova TV’s news programme on Monday evening.

He said police were now working on identifying those people and that they had requested video surveillance footage, noting that the procedure is clear if it’s proven that they violated the law.

Asked about the protest announced for tomorrow, Bozinovic said: “At the moment, we know a bit more about a possible protest tomorrow, so the tactic of police action will be adjusted.”

Minister Bozinovic said the deadline for free testing against coronavirus had not been set. “I don’t understand that people who choose the health profession have a problem with elements of medicine, and it is certain that public health and vaccination have helped us all to be on the planet today and live our lives,” he said.

The inoculation helps to prevent people from developing a severe case of the infection, including a fatal outcome, the minister said.