Treatment centres and platform for monitoring coronavirus to be established in Croatia

(Photo credit: HINA/ Edvard ŠUŠAK)

ZAGREB, March 19 (Hina) – The Croatian government made a decision at its session on Thursday to designate respiratory intensive care units for treating patients infected with the coronavirus and to develop a digital platform and establish interoperability between authorities to monitor the virus.

“The situation in Croatia and neighbouring countries calls for taking new, urgent measures aimed at establishing respiratory intensive care centres to be used solely for treating patients infected with the coronavirus, and this has been planned in Croatia, depending on the development of the epidemic,” Health Minister Vili Beros said.

In the Clinical Hospital Dubrava a primary centre for Zagreb and the surrounding area is being established, with a capacity of 300 beds, and part of the hospital’s capacity will be urgently adjusted to accommodate patients, while the hospital’s main building remains a backup option in case the epidemic escalates, Beros said.

Similar primary centres will be established in Rijeka, Split and Osijek, depending on the development of the epidemiological situation, and preparations are for the main part complete, Health Minister said.

The government also made a decision to develop a digital platform and establish interoperability between the authorities of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, the local (regional) public health institute, namely that of the City of Zagreb, the State Inspectorate, the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) and the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) to monitor and suppress infectious diseases.

Developing a digital platform will enable authorities a better identification and triage in cases of pronounced symptoms of infectious diseases and in cases when people are not yet showing symptoms but have been at risk of infection, Beros said.