Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday called for patience and caution in bringing the life and the economy back to normal, and said that there would be no hesitation in relaxing the anti-epidemic rules provided that 'the trends were good.'

“We are trying to overcome these (remaining) weeks of the winter and in the spring, immunization, the responsible behaviour of citizens and the measures we are taking will make it possible for us to have a normal life, to bring the economy to life and to have a tourist season, also,” the premier said at the start of his cabinet’s meeting.

Plenkovic said that he had understanding for frustration and discontent, however, he called on Croatians to have patience for some time still and then they could be looking forward to a normal life.

He explained that 15 February will be a new date for the assessment of the whole situation and if the trends were still good, restrictions could be relaxed.

Commenting on Wednesday’s protest rally, when several thousand restaurateurs and business owners gathered to protest against the restrictions which they deemed discriminatory, Plenkovic recalled that many European Union countries had tightened their restrictions, while Croatia was able to gradually ease some of the measures and allow the return of students to schools.

“Protests and demonstrations are normal in a democracy, the government is at ease with that,” Plenkovic said.

“However, the same protagonists who recently tried to pressure the government into imposing a total lock-down now want the immediate reopening of everything. This is impossible, not because we do not want that, but because it is not realistic,” Plenkovic said, according to state agency Hina.