30 new Covid-19 cases in Croatia in last 24 hours, including 10 nuns

Zagreb (Photo: HINA/ Edvard ŠUŠAK)

ZAGREB, June 23, 2020 (Hina/CW) – There were 30 new COVID-19 cases reported in Croatia in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 2,366, the national crisis management team said in a statement on Tuesday. 

The new cases were reported in Osijek-Baranja (12), Brod-Posavina (1), Dubrovnik-Neretva (2), Grad Zagreb (12), Zagreb (2), and Istria (1) counties. 

There were no new COVID-19-related fatalities reported in the last 24 hours. The current death toll stands at 107. There have been 2,142 recoveries to date. 

Currently, there are 117 active cases in Croatia. There are 16 people in hospital with no patients currently on a ventilator. 

Since late February, Croatia has conducted 73,093 tests, including 347 in the last 24 hours.

Ten nuns in Djakovo positive for COVID-19

Ten nuns in a Djakovo monastery have been infected with COVID-19 after two returned from a trip abroad, Croatian Institute of Public Health director Krunoslav Capak said on Tuesday.

“Two nuns from that monastery stayed abroad and upon returning they evidently didn’t adhere to the measures and what happened is that ten nuns are infected,” he told N1 television.

Epidemiologists are on the scene and will classify everyone who has been at risk of infection.

What is not good is that ten persons are positive and 300 people come there every day as it is a big monastery with many nuns, said Capak.

“That’s a sort of gerontology centre and the information is that they also have a kindergarten. Therefore prompt, urgent and good epidemiological processing is necessary so that everyone who has been in contact with those ill is put into self-isolation and so that everything else that is epidemiologically necessary is done in that monastery.”

According to the first reports, the nuns probably visited Kosovo.

New hotspots requires immediate response

The head of the national civil protection authority, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, said on Tuesday that with every new case of COVID-19 it was necessary to immediately take action and trace contacts, adding that the pandemic was not over.

“The most important thing now is to immediately put out any new hotspot. The good thing is that no one is on a ventilator in Croatia at the moment, the number of those hospitalised is under ten, so the situation is good,” he said in Sisak.

Bozinovic said that thanks to the good results achieved so far, restrictions were relaxed, “which has its consequences.”

“The measures so far have shown that we can be a country without new infections. We have turned towards reviving the economy and tourism, but the social life as well. I’m optimistic about that,” he added.