COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia

[2] On 22 March 2020, Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, was hit by the strongest earthquake in 140 years, causing problems in the enforcement of social distancing measures set out by the Croatian government, as the country engaged in a period of lockdown in the later part of the first half of 2020.

[11] Beroš adopted a decision to establish a quarantine unit at the Hospital for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljević" in Zagreb on 21 February, for suspected or confirmed infected persons with coronavirus.

[16] Strict measures, early detection of spread routes, prompt government reaction, extensive media coverage, and citizen cooperation have been credited for successful containment of the pandemic in Croatia.

[21][22] On 11 March, the Rijeka Film Festival and the Role of Cultural Heritage in Socioeconomic Development and the Preservation of Democratic Values conference were both postponed until further notice.

[24] The same day, the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb decided, in collaboration with the daily newspaper 24sata, to allow citizens access to cultural content through a YouTube channel,[25] which will feature daily performances from the branches of opera, ballet and drama, and the viewers will be able to watch some of the most popular performances of the Theater, such as One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away, Swan Lake and Ero the Joker.

[31] On 14 March, the Government banned price increases and set the 30 January price as the highest possible for the following products: flour, milk, milk powder, eggs, sugar, salt, rice, pasta, fresh meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, canned meat, canned fish, edible oil, baby food, baby diapers, drinking water, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, soap, as well as water disinfectants, space disinfectants, hand sanitisers including concentrated alcohol, hazmat suits and other protective clothes and shoes, goggles, protective gloves, protective shoe covers, protective masks, respirators/transport fans, medication, medical products and bed covers for medical system; to avoid price increases amid panic buying.

[32] Prime Minister Plenković informed President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen of the Government's decision a day later.

[35] The government proposed short-term economic measures, like postponement of tax payments and loans for struggling businesses for at least three months in response to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

[43] On 19 April, the Institute of Economics stated that Croatian public debt would increase to 90% of GDP in the "most favorable" case, but only if the crisis ended in the next three months.

[47] On 14 March, Split City Museum limited its activity and closed the Cellars of Diocletian's Palace and Gallery Emanuel Vidović for visitors.

By the end of August, however, the infection rates grew so much that epidemiologists started to express concern about autumn and the coming flu season's effect on the health system.

[62] On 2 March, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra issued a statement that their joint concert with Filarmomica di Milano conducted by Daniele Gatti, set to be held in Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall on 10 March, had been cancelled due to the Italian orchestra coming from the affected Italian area which would've increased the risk of exposure to the virus.

[23] On 13 March, Serbian popstar Jelena Karleuša postponed her performance in Zagreb nightclub H2O, set to be held the same night, due to "her fans' safety and her own responsibility".

[69] Celine Dion was set to perform on 5 June in Arena Zagreb as part of her Courage World Tour; however, the concert was postponed on 24 April.

[70] During April 2020, there had been widespread media speculation that the 2020 Croatian parliamentary election would be called earlier than originally planned, due to the uncertainty created by the still-ongoing worldwide pandemic.

[71] Namely, though the spread of the virus had been brought under control by that time, fears still persisted that the number of infected cases could once again begin to rise in autumn and that this could, therefore, impede or even prevent the holding of the election.

[73] All parties drew major criticism for not wearing masks or keeping social distance in their headquarters,[74] most notably the winning Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) whose members hugged and sang together.

[75] Archbishop of Zagreb Josip Bozanić supported the removal of holy water from church entrances and handshakes from the Mass, and recommended believers to receive the communion bread from priests into their own hands instead of directly into their mouth.

He also recommended believers who had symptoms of respiratory system infection, had visited affected areas, had been in contact with a carrier of the virus, were elderly or had chronic illnesses not to attend the Mass.

[78] On 9 April, on Maundy Thursday, Civil Protection Directorate allowed the inhabitants of the island of Hvar, which had no active cases, to hold five centuries old night procession Za križen under the condition that only fifteen people take part in it.

Groups of fifteen cross carriers exchanged between settlements of Jelsa, Pitve, Vrisnik, Svirče, Vrbanj and Vrboska, while locals kept up from their balconies and front yards.

[79][80] On 1 July, brotherhood of Jelsa that organizes the procession presented the Prime Minister Plenković with a thank you note for allowing them to preserve the annual tradition.

[85] The same day HNS announced that Croatia national football team would not play its friendly games against Switzerland and Portugal scheduled for 26 and 30 March in Doha due to the virus pandemic in Qatar.

The same day, it was announced that Atlético Madrid and Croatia player Šime Vrsaljko donated 62,500€ to General Hospital in his hometown Zadar for purchase of two respirators.

[98] The same day, Real Madrid player and Croatia captain Luka Modrić donated 100,000€ to Zadar General Hospital for purchase of an X-ray generator.

[99] On 1 April, KK Cibona fired all of their employees apart from the players due to inability to pay their wages, including even the coach Ivan Velić.

[119] On 15 March, Croatian Institute of Public Health director Krunoslav Capak confirmed citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia would not be obliged to stay in self-isolation.

[120] However, later the same day, it was confirmed by Police Department of Brod-Posavina Chief Antun Valić that since the previous night passengers entering the country from Bosnia and Herzegovina were obliged to stay in 14-day self-isolation.

[126] Two cases of xenophobia were reported in the media at the onset of the pandemic; On 15 February 2020, during a Croatian Table Tennis Superleague match which was played in Dubrovnik between the local team Libertas Marinkolora and guest team STK Starr from Varaždin, a number of insulting comments were posted on the official Libertas Marinkolora Facebook page towards a Croatian player of Chinese origin, Tan Ruiwu of STK Starr which referenced the coronavirus.

This included a comment by the manager of Libertas Marinkolor Marko Habijanec in which he instructed one of his players (who was facing Tan in the next match) to "Beat this virus."