May 14, 2020 – The third session of the Istria County Tourism Committee was held through a conference call on Tuesday. In addition to the permanent members, it was attended by the Chief of the Istria County Civil Protection Headquarters Dino Kozlevac and the Director of the Istria Institute of Public Health Dr. Aleksandar Stojanovic.
HRTurizam reports that the director of the Istrian Institute of Public Health, Dr. Stojanović, provided information on the epidemiological situation in Istria County, stating that there is no circulation of the virus, and that there had been no positive findings of COVID-19 in Istria for 23 days. However, according to new information over the last two days, two cases of coronavirus infection appeared in Istria. Both cases are related to the flight from Frankfurt to Zagreb, and 19 samples of swabs are currently being examined in the County because of the suspicion of the coronavirus.
Stojanović also referred to two documents that arrived at the Institute for review last week, and these are proposals for epidemiological actions in the ports of nautical tourism – marinas, or travel agencies. Both documents have been agreed with epidemiologists and are ready for submission to the competent ministries and the Central Committee of the Republic of Croatia. During this week, a leaflet will be reviewed, adapting tourist animation to the rules of the Headquarters, as well as a proposal for a protocol of opening water parks.
The issue of readiness of hospital facilities in case of possible infection in guests was also raised, to which Dr. Stojanović said that OB Pula is ready, and currently, there is not a single patient with the coronavirus at the Department of Infectious Diseases. Chief of the Headquarters Kozlevac, on the other hand, commented on the entry of foreign citizens into the Republic of Croatia. According to him, citizens from the EU and third countries such as BiH and Serbia are currently allowed to enter, on 5 grounds:
1.) if you own real estate in Croatia, 2.) if you have a registered company or economic activity whose foreign citizen is the owner or member of the management, 3.) at the invitation of a business entity from the Republic of Croatia for a business interview, 4.) if you are attending a funeral or 5). if you are visiting a sick person.
Also, Kozlevac emphasized that when entering the Republic of Croatia, there are no longer any health measures, such as self-isolation, and that tourist arrivals are currently not possible. MEP Valter Flego added that the European Commission would come up with a more concrete proposal to open the borders (which you can find here). Former MEP Ivan Jakovčić commented on a large survey conducted among Germans and Austrians, which showed that 75% of them want to go on holiday, and of which as many as 65% want to come to Croatia.
The session also discussed the possibilities for the arrival of guests by air, especially in the case of flights of low-cost airlines, which the Croatian National Tourist Board deals with, while the Istria County Tourist Board is in charge of communication with easyJet, said Denis Ivosevic. Furthermore, there was talk about measures to act on the beaches, and it was said that controls would be performed primarily by the State Inspectorate, and then the municipal security guards and the beach concessionaires themselves, with patrols by the police and the Civil Protection Headquarters.
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