Croatia importing 250 ventilators, says health minister

(Photo: HINA/ POOL/ CROPIX/)

ZAGREB, March 30 (Hina) – Twenty-seven COVID-19 patients are currently on ventilators, Croatia has 803 ventilators and 250 new ones will be imported gradually, Health Minister Vili Beros said on Monday.

The are offers of ventilators from the East but the machines must be inspected first, he said at a press conference of the national civil protection authority.

“Our fate is in our hands. The number of patients can be lower by the day. It’s all up to us, to me, to us all,” Beros said.

Persons ordered to self-isolate must notify sanitary inspectors or epidemiologists when self-isolation measures end.

The terms under which a patient can be discharged from hospital to isolate at home are being reviewed, said Alemka Markotic, head of Zagreb’s Fran Mihaljevic Infectious Diseases Hospital.

Initially, more patients were young or middle aged and they recovered more quickly, she said, adding that those infected “are positive for coronavirus about 24 days and they will be under supervision 28 days because they aren’t expected to be positive after that period.”

Capak commends police for overseeing compliance with measures

Croatian Institute of Public Health head Krunoslav Capak said most citizens were complying with protection measures. He commented on an incident which occurred in Split on Sunday, when police arrested three citizens for failing to comply with measures defined by the national civil protection authority.

“I think it’s necessary that the police enforce supervision, perhaps even bring someone in sometimes or call a sanitary inspector. Sometimes some people don’t comply with the measures, which are necessary in the interest of us all,” Capak said.

He said his estimate yesterday that protection measures in Croatia would be in force until early June was his personal estimate.

Bozinovic: Internal control will examine Split incident

Commenting on the incident in Split, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said internal control would examine the actions of the officers involved.

“The police have internal controls for possibly suspect conduct by police officers. Everything will be examined,” he said, adding that citizens could rely on the police who, he said, oversaw compliance with measures and warned citizens in case of gatherings. “Not to enforce discipline but for the sake of us all.”

Bozinovic said the police acted about 2,000 times a day with regard to compliance with COVID-19 protection measures and that six officers were positive to date.

Asked about the lack of protective equipment, he said that was distributed via county civil protection authorities and that state institutions distributed then from the top down.

There is no curfew, but stay home

Following the incident in Split, reporters asked if movement in one’s home town was restricted. Bozinovic and Capak said there was no curfew but that citizens were advised to stay home if they did not have to go to work or to obtain supplies.

“Going out is allowed, but without approaching others. People can go for a walk if they keep a social distance, but I would advise them to stay home and comply with recommendations,” said Capak.

“Only by complying with measures will it be possible to slow the spread of the infection and then to ease the measures. For now we must keep a distance and see to personal hygiene. If everyone ordered to self-isolate stayed home, we would have milder measures today,” said Bozinovic.