Travel without passes within counties likely as of midnight, interior minister says

Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic (Photo: HINA/ Daniel KASAP/dk)

ZAGREB, April 18 (Hina) – Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Saturday the restrictions imposed because of COVID-19 would likely be eased so that movement without a pass could be approved within counties as of midnight today.

“Some measures will be modified, first and foremost these with e-passes. We’ll see with the county (civil protection) authorities how to organise travel within counties without the use of e-passes. In all this, it’s necessary to take into account the specificities of each county and the epidemiological situation. We think that perhaps at the moment that won’t be too much of a risk, because any easing carries the risk of an increase in the number of patients,” Bozinovic told N1 television.

However, we cannot live forever in a regime in which the economy does not work, which is why the exit strategy must by prudent, gradual. This means that, when something is eased, a certain number of days have to pass to see how it has affected the number of patients, said Bozinovic, who heads the national civil protection authority tasked with managing the COVID-19 situation.

The government will adopt every measure in agreement with epidemiologists, he added.

We are at the stage when the measures can be extended for 15 days but, depending on the situation, they can be extended for seven or 15 days, he said.

The only measures which will stay for 30 days are the ban on entry into Croatia, because such a decision has been made at EU level, and the decision on truck transport, but there will be no more convoys, said Bozinovic.

“There’s no reason to wait for 50 or 100 trucks to gather at the border. This can go faster and police will control it. The basic thing is keeping a physical distance because close contacts are the biggest danger.”

He said that in comparison with last week, when retail shops worked longer hours and farmers’ markets were opened because of Easter, the epidemiological situation did not deteriorate.