Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that as of 15 February bars would be allowed to sell everything on their menus but that their terraces, if they had them, would not reopen, the concept being that customers would order a beverage to go.

Speaking to the press after a cabinet meeting, he said the details of the mild easing of COVID restrictions as of next Monday would be provided by the national COVID response team tomorrow.

Plenkovic said the sale of coffee to go, which bars would be allowed to sell as of the 15th, did not mean the sale of coffee alone.

“It’s a synonym for the opening of completely closed establishments. It means they will be able to sell tea, some other drink or beverage. They will be able to sell what they have on the menu. It’s just that there will be no sitting on terraces. You take it to go and walk.”

As for compensation for bar and restaurant owners, Plenkovic said it was too early to say if it would be paid after this month. “If it is possible for them to work, they will work. If the epidemiological situation still isn’t good enough, we’ll continue with the aid.”

He said gyms and fitness centres would reopen on 15 February with epidemiological measures, without crowds, and that betting shops and casinos would have to comply with the same measures.

PM slams the opposition, saying they “keep politicising”

Asked about the opposition’s dissatisfaction with the easing of the restrictions, Plenkovic said he had no message for them.

Two months ago, he said, the opposition demanded the closure of everything and now they are demanding the opening of everything. “That’s politicising that doesn’t surprise me. If they won’t be responsible, we will.”

He also commented on the participation of Alemka Markotic, a member of the national COVID response team, in a religious service in the open with more people attending than the 25 allowed under COVID restrictions.

Plenkovic said it was an outdoor service and that he was confident everyone present took care of distancing. “We have to be realistic in such situations, if they are in the open, distance is kept, people don’t stay there,” he said, adding that there had been many such gatherings and that the restriction of 25 people still applied.

Plenkovic said that event could not be compared to a restaurant in Zagreb which worked recently despite a ban. “Restaurants weren’t allowed to work at all. Being outdoors and indoors is not the same.”