Krunoslav Capak explained why the next two to three weeks are crucial

Croatia recorded 47 new cases of coronavirus infection today, with a total of 1,126. Four people died in Osijek last night, bringing the death toll to 12, the National Civil Protection Headquarters reported on Saturday.

The director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health and a member of the National Headquarters, Krunoslav Capak, spoke about the current situation in our 6 PM news program.

He once again urged citizens today to adhere to the measures and not to go out unless absolutely necessary.

The next two to three weeks are crucial. Why?

We still have many people in self-isolation, around 20,000 people, many of whom have been in contact with infected individuals, and new positive cases are emerging from this group. It is very important that they adhere to the self-isolation measure to create a buffer zone and prevent new people from getting infected. It is very important that we do not relax now and that we reduce social contact as much as possible.

We also have asymptomatic carriers and those who have the coronavirus but do not know it among those in self-isolation. If we manage to contain this, we will have a favorable epidemiological situation.

How are people in self-isolation monitored?

People in self-isolation report to epidemiologists, and epidemiologists also contact them. It is very important that this contact is established. Those who develop symptoms should be tested. There are other methods of control – the police also have an electronic database and the possibility of imposing fines, misdemeanor or criminal, if they find someone from that database outside.

How are we doing with testing?

It is difficult to estimate the optimal number of tests; some have tested a lot but have not been successful in combating the virus. Italy is an example of this. Nela Sršen says that in Italy, there were those who tested negative and then moved freely, but it does not mean that after one negative test, they will not be positive the next day.

We are acting in accordance with WHO recommendations; we do not believe widespread testing is necessary, but we are testing healthcare workers more to protect the healthcare system from the entry of infection, and to protect cancer and chronically ill patients.

There is a great demand for permits. Many want to move from one municipality to another...

The National Headquarters is trying not to halt what is essential for the basic life of citizens, nor to halt the economy. The epidemiological aspect – we introduced this measure due to the migrations that occurred during the earthquake, with exceptions, of course. We believe that at this moment, we should not relax the movement restriction measures because the next few weeks are crucial for curbing the spread of the infection. After that, we will analyze the situation and gradually relax the introduced measures according to priorities.

A message to citizens?

I would suggest to citizens to be patient and to follow the Headquarters' recommendations. I would recommend that they be patient for some time, and when the epidemiological situation is favorable, we will allow some of the measures to be lifted to make it easier for citizens as well. Our goal is not to restrict citizens but to curb the infection, Capak concluded.