December 9, 2020 – The National Civil Protection Headquarters held a press conference at 11 am on Wednesday. Interior Minister and Head of the Headquarters Davor Bozinovic announced new COVID-19 measures for shops in Croatia.
“Today is the 289th day since the virus appeared in Croatia. In the last 24 hours, we have 4520 new cases. The number of positive cases to date is 159,372. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 837,619 people have been tested. In the last 24 hours, we have 12,596 tests, which gives a positive percentage of 29.96. 2703 were hospitalized, and 377 were admitted. There are 277 patients on ventilators, which is 23 additional compared to yesterday. 268 people were released from hospitals. In the past 24 hours, we have 69 new fatalities, which gives a figure of 2367 deceased from the beginning,” said the Headquarters, as reported by Index.hr.
Capak added: “Our weekly average has risen by 3.7% in the last week while we had a 17.4% increase last week, so this week our increase is less. Our incidence is still high; I’m talking about a 7-day incidence per 100 thousand people. At the moment, it is 582.1; the worst is in Međimurje and Varaždin with more than 1000,” said Capak.
“When we look at the EU incidence scale, then we see that Croatia is in 26th place and only Luxembourg has a higher incidence. As for mortality, we are now 15th out of 27, and the rate is 547.8 per million people,” Capak said. “As for the share of positives in testing, only two countries are worse than us.”
“As we discussed on Monday in institutions dealing with COVID patients, today, we will emphasize the importance of caring for health professionals, whose experiences surpass all previous experiences badly. At KB Dubrava, there is permanent psychological and psychiatric care for all health professionals,” said Health Minister Vili Beros.
“We are also trying to prevent the so-called burn out syndrome, and workshops and webinars with the idea of psychological help are organized. An active form of intervention has also been developed, where target groups are being helped in various ways, primarily by health professionals. I would not like to omit the efforts of the Croatian Psychological Chamber; they have established a network of emergency telephones and hired more than 150 psychologists who assist citizens,” said Beros.
Questions from journalists followed
We still have week-to-week growth. What is the plan for further introducing measures? What are the new rules for shopping centers, and if this continues, what are the next steps?
“We discussed, in general, the criteria for strengthening or reducing measures. The direct answer is that on the 21st, we will consider which measures are appropriate; on the 21st, we will consider the situation. In case we get worse, of course, we will consider strengthening the measures. In all the measures we adopted about 10 days ago, there is a possibility that we further limit the number of gatherings and economic and social activities. Still, the 21st is the date when these measures cease to apply, and we amend the situation or the need to tighten measures,” Capak said.
“As for the organization of shops and shopping centers, we have prepared a decision that is likely to be signed during the day and relates to the special organization of shops from this Saturday to January 10. In terms of this decision, stores and shopping malls are grouped according to the retail space’s net area. The number of customers who can be in the store at the same time will be limited in such a way that in stores that have up to 10 square meters of retail space, there can be only one customer.
From 11 to 100 square meters, the maximum number of customers that can be in the store at the same time is determined so that there must be at least 10 square meters per customer. In spaces up to 200 square meters, there must be at least 12 square meters per customer. In shops up to 2000 square meters, there must be at least 16 square meters per customer, and for those larger than that, there must be at least 20 square meters per customer.
For shopping malls, the maximum number of customers will be determined to be at least 16 square meters for each customer. Stores and malls will need to make this clear at the entrance and strictly adhere to it. All stores are to take additional measures during the expected arrival of a larger number of customers so that more customers do not stay in the premises than allowed. For stores with more than 2,000 square meters and shopping measures, new measures are being introduced that include organized transportation of customers and the introduction of stewards who will prevent the entry of too many customers, obligations to remove or disable seating in common areas of shopping centers and remove or disable entertainment devices. The obligation to warn customers is also being introduced, and the competent civil protection service will have to be given information on the ventilation system,” said Bozinovic.
“Representatives of stores will certainly do everything to ensure that these measures are respected, because if not, then there is the part concerning sanctions, which we are trying to avoid. It is in everyone’s interest here to engage to the maximum. And that figure determined by the size of the space is appropriate to the situation, not only epidemiological but also the average number of store entries during the epidemic. If citizens see that the queues are large, they may give up or go to another store. We cannot prescribe all life situations. This is a rational decision to keep such an important activity open,” Bozinovic added.
“We will make this decision during the day; it will be valid until January 10, so we plan to keep stores and shopping centers open until then. This is now a special decision for stores, and we anticipate that they will work safely until January 10. No one can say whether there will be any sudden deterioration or improvement, but keeping in mind all the elements and assessments, we made this decision,” Bozinovic concluded.
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