Interior Minister Davor Božinović revealed on Thursday that Croatia was not considering new Christmas and New Year measures, saying that the goal was to keep Croatia open.
“We are not considering new measures for Christmas and New Year; the fact is that our numbers have been falling for a couple of weeks now,” Božinović told RTL as reported by Slobodna Dalmacija.
“With the anti-epidemic measures that have been adopted and are being implemented, our goal is to keep Croatia open, unlike the vast majority of EU members,” the minister added.
Referring to the position of President Zoran Milanovic when it comes to Headquarters’ measures and Covid-certificates checks in his Pantovcak office, Božinović said that the fact was that everyone in the presidential office was vaccinated and that President Milanović himself showed his position on vaccination by being vaccinated with three doses.
“He sent a message that he understands that this is a serious health threat and that people need to be protected, and there is no better protection than vaccines. Moreover, because it is completely clear from all analyzes and statistics, in countries where more people are vaccinated, fewer people die,” said Božinović.
He pointed out that he thought it would be suitable for all those who were vaccinated “who can and have an impact on at least part of the Croatian public space, to explain the reasons why they were vaccinated and to recommend it to others.”
Referring to MOST’s collection of signatures for a referendum that would regulate the work of the National Headquarters and abolish Covid-certificates, Božinović said he thought the issue was already legally communicated and that the government was doing what was best for Croatian citizens to protect health and slow the spread of the epidemic.
Asked by reporters whether and when the third vaccine dose would mean an unlimited duration of Covid certificates, Božinović warned that the question remained open as long as there was no relevant evidence of the booster dose protection.
“There is a difference between ‘unlimited’ and, at the moment, ‘no limit’, which is logical, because at the moment there are no analyzes that could relevantly prove how long booster dose protection lasts,” he said.
“It is known that it increases the body’s immunity 25 times, but no one knows how fast it will decrease at the moment, and no one can determine a date or time when a booster dose certificate will be valid, so it’s an open story,” Božinović added.
Minister Božinović is in Brussels, where he participated in meeting the interior ministers of the member states. Asked by reporters how he commented on the actions of police officers filmed beating migrants, he said he could not comment on ongoing disciplinary proceedings. When asked whether Croatia would pay compensation or appeal the decision in the case of the dead Medina girl, the minister said that lawyers are already working on it. External legal experts will be hired to see all the circumstances of the tragedy.
For more on COVID-19, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.
