Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) Assistant Director Marija Bubaš has said that the epidemiological situation in Croatia is good but that caution is necessary as the number of new infections has been on the rise.

“Everyone adhering to epidemiological restrictions is contributing to keeping the situation under control, and we cannot relax entirely. Quite the contrary, we must comply with restrictions and get vaccinated as it takes more than one week to start developing immunity in a satisfactory way,” Bubaš told Hina on Saturday.

She noted that now was the right time to protect public health, the situation in the tourism sector and the economy.

This particularly refers to the coastline considering that coastal counties have lower vaccination rates, with Dubrovnik-Neretva and Split-Dalmatia counties being the most exposed, with a large number of tourists staying there. In some destinations, the number of visitors exceeds the number of local residents by five times.

“We cannot be certain that tourists who have entered Croatia with a negative test were not in a period of incubation when they got tested. Such people can develop the disease in Croatia and spread it further. We need to comply with epidemiological restrictions because the situation may escalate. We have to be aware that regardless of the measures taken, we are part of a larger environment where the infection is still spreading,” Bubaš said.