Government to finalise exit strategy for lockdown by week's end

Bozinovic, who chairs the national coronavirus crisis management team, said that the government would finalise the exit strategy which would include a few stages, by the end of this week and after that, all of its elements would be agreed with experts and specialists.

"It is important for us to have all elements harmonised in order to meet the needs of all stakeholders in society and to have risk assessments made by epidemiologists, Bozinovic told a regular daily news conference by the crisis management team has held on a daily basis since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic on 25 February.

Stringent lockdown measures were imposed in mid-March.

As for requests made by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for the relaxation of restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak, including the reopening of almost all retail shops, Bozinovic said that "this situation will not end so soon."