May 10, 2020 — The third phase of relaxed measures brings the greatest normalization of life to date, according to Jutarnji List. Starting Monday morning, citizens can go to their favorite cafe, order coffee and leaf through the newspaper. Or go to a restaurant for lunch, and some children will return to school.
Shopping malls will reopen and inter-county transportation and domestic flights will resume. National parks will open for excursionists, and groups can increase from five to ten people.
Besides these already-announced concessions, driving schools can start working. Quarantine and self-isolation for international transport drivers will also cease.
Also, after May 11, it is possible that there will be a complete abolition of e-passes, allowing Croats to roam the country unabated.
Croatian officials decided catering businesses such as restaurants and cafes can use indoor spaces under certain conditions. Previous rules locked out businesses without terraces or limited space.
Also, working hours can go until 11 p.m., two hours more than originally planned. But the extra time will go as much towards meeting new hygiene standards as it will to serving guests. The rules sound nearly militaristic.
All tables must be empty by the time guests arrive. Utensils arrive after guests sit. Presumably, they’ll already know their orders. The menus should stand out prominently at the entrance or other visible place in an appropriately plasticized cover.
Croatia’s Civil Protection Directorate suggests guests enter only after when a previous group leaves the premises. The physical distance between individual groups of visitors must be at least one-and-a-half meters.
Social distancing rules will limit the number of visitors and leave vast chunks of unused space. The tables should sit one-and-a-half meters apart. Larger groups of guests can sit together at tables, and the distance between them and other groups must be at least one-and-a-half meters.
Visitors can also order a meal or drink in the restaurant to-go. When ordering, the physical distance of at least one-and-a-half meters between customers waiting in line still applies.
It is also possible to serve standing guests if they keep a physical distance.
After the departure of each group of guests, the table, chairs, and other surfaces that the guests touched must be wiped with disinfectant. Snacks cannot sit in communal bowls, nor can salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, and other spices stay on the tables.
As for employees, they must adhere to all measures, hand-washing, and disinfection rules. They must notify the employer of any signs of illness or fever and not come to work.
As for schools, lower grades start on Monday, and kindergartens are opening as well. The distance between the children should be two meters. There should be up to nine children in a class and one educator or teacher, or some other configuration limited to ten people.
Here is a full list of new, loosened restrictions:
Cafes and Restaurants
Can work from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Not limited to terrace-only businesses
Tables must be 1.5 meters apart
No limit to the number of people who can sit at one table
Sitting at the bar is prohibited
The waiter should disinfect his hands before serving each new table
Authorities recommend air conditioners remain off
After the departure of each group of guests, the tables should be disinfected, and the tablecloths changed
No snacks on the tables
Salt and pepper containers must not be on the table, but new, disinfected ones are brought for each group of guests
Employees must take their temperature every morning before coming to work
It is recommended that employees wear protective masks and gloves
Schools and Kindergartens
Classes start for students from 1st to 4th grade
A limit of 9 students in a class
Parents who can still keep their kids home should do so
Employees must maintain a distance of 2 meters from each other and try to do the same in relation to children
In the class and kindergarten group, the maximum number of persons can be 10 (nine students and a teacher, eight children and two educators, etc. …)
After the formation of the group, no new children are admitted to the groups/classes for the next 14 days
As much time as possible is spent outdoors
Parents hand over their children in front of the kindergarten building and do not enter the facility
Classes for children begin at different times to meet as little as possible
Recess is also staggered to avoid overlap between classes
Children have lunch in the classroom, food is delivered to them at the classroom door and the teacher shares it
Teachers should have their temperature measured when arriving at work and keep special records
Children should not wear masks
Shopping Centers
Maximum 15 customers for every 100 square meters
The distance between customers should be strictly observed
15 customers can enter the store for every 100 square meters of net area
If it is difficult to determine the total area, the maximum number of customers allowed in the store is obtained by dividing the total area by 10
In textile shops, it is recommended to sell without trying on clothes, especially those worn over the head
If the clothing is tried on, it must be quarantined for five days before it can be put back on sale
The number of baskets in the store must be equal to the maximum number of customers allowed
Staff must wear protective masks
Customers are advised to wear a mask
Disinfectants must be placed at the entrances to the center and each store, the use of which is mandatory
Employees must measure their temperature before coming to work
Inter-county public transport
Plexiglas should be placed between the driver and the passenger or the first row of seats should be left empty
One person should sit in a row in buses, in such a way that they sit alternately on the left and right seats
In trains that have seats in rows as a bus, one person should sit in a row in such a way that they sit alternately on the left and right seats.
It is recommended that passengers wear masks
The conductor must wear a mask and gloves
The driver is recommended to wear a mask
Hygiene of the driver’s cab should be maintained
Vehicles should be regularly ventilated and surfaces that are frequently touched should be disinfected
Drivers must disinfect their hands after placing their luggage in the luggage compartment
Contactless payment should be encouraged
National Parks
Mandatory distance between visitors
Adapt the park program to the new conditions (abolish panoramic rides during which it is not possible to ensure a distance, etc.)
Driving Schools
First aid courses without artificial respiration
Provide disinfectant in the car
It is recommended that both the candidate and the instructor wear masks
There should be a 15-minute break between classes and the driver’s and front passenger’s areas should be disinfected
Hold theoretical classes with strict adherence to the physical distance of 1.5 meters between students
Keep records of the presence of participants
