April 4, 2020 – Is there any such thing as good COVID-19 news? Great news for Croatia’s premier island, as the only Hvar corona case has made a full recovery.
There are certain moments on all our memories when the COVID-19 reality got a little more real and closer to home.
A big one for me came on March 20, 2020 when I reported on something I hoped I would never have to report on – the first Hvar corona case in gorgeous Vrboska, just 3 km from my front door:
According to local media reports, the man had recently returned from Austria, where he has been working as a waiter. During his travels in Croatia, he used the train twice, the bus once, and the Jadrolinija ferry, Zadar.
Local media report that he followed all the rules on self-exclusion, and when he noticed the first signs of the disease, he contacted the doctors, and when the tests turned out to be positive, he was transferred to a hospital in Split.
And if one case had come, how many more cases and infections would there be. A mild panic set in.
Dalmatia is never the best place to establish facts, and rumours abound. I am apparently the regional section chief of MI6, for example. And the CIA. And Mossad. And while it might be true that I run one of them, I clearly cannot do all three, as there would be no time left for blogging.
I digress.
Thankfully, I have reliable local sources in Vrboska, and so am able to work through the rumours.
I got information today that the Vrboska man who had the infection is now fully recovered. Great news!
As well as the fact that all his immediate family and close circle were put in isolation, and none has shown any symptoms.
In some ways, this has been a good thing for Hvar, for the case brought it brutally home that Hvar corona was something that was real and could spread. I have been REALLY impressed at the success of restricted movement on the island, and I obviously feel a lot safer now for my family with this news.
But I also want to say a big thank you to the man who was infected. TCN’s Joe Orovic did a brilliant piece yesterday on the social stigma now being attached to people who are corona positive in the community.
According to my information, the 40-year-old man was working as a waiter in Austria when the bar he was working in closed due to corona. He had little option but to return home.
At the Croatian border, he received instructions on travel and self-isolation. He wore a mask and gloves all the way home, staying apart from others as much as possible by shutting himself away from the rest of the family in an attic room.
When he showed symptoms, he was taken to Split, and all his contact circle put into isolation.
It is certainly not his fault that he contracted the virus, and I applaud his sense of responsibility which – fingers crossed – seems to have been effective.
If everyone else does the same, the chances of success will be all the higher.
I will sleep a little easier tonight.
For the latest on the corona crisis, follow the dedicated TCN link.
