Combating the Covid-19 epidemic has cost the Croatian public health service HZZO some 5 billion kuna (€662m) over the last 26 months, state agency Hina said on Wednesday, citing an article by the Jutarnji List daily.

This includes the costs of testing, treatment, sick leaves, and vaccination. It does not include other know-on effects on the economy, the cost of equipment acquired to fight the pandemic, or the cost of converting hospitals into Covid facilities.

On treatments, HZZO spent 1.9 billion kuna (€251m),  on testing 1.7 billion kuna (€225m), on covering the expense of sick leave 290 million kuna (€38m) and on vaccinations 1 billion kuna (€132m).

Jutarnji List said that the total amount spent on Covid by HZZO would have been enough to cover the debt of the perennially indebted public health care system. In addition to the direct medical costs, by far the most expensive measure related to the epidemic was the government’s scheme for subsidizing salaries, which cost 18 billion kuna (€2.38 billion).

In total, at least 23 billion kuna (€3.05 billion) was spent on combating the coronavirus epidemic since the first case was confirmed in Croatia in late February 2020, according to Jutarnji List.

(€1 = 7.55 kuna)