Plenkovic calls for caution after 11 new cases of coronavirus identified in Zagreb

"After two months of restricted movement and with the arrival of better weather, citizens have probably become a little more relaxed, however, these numbers tell us that caution continues to be necessary," said Plenkovic.

The coronavrius pandemic is not subsiding and the daily number of new cases in the world has never been higher than over the past few days. Yesterday alone, more than 140,000 people around the world were diagnosed with the disease, which is twice as much as at the beginning of April, when the first wave of the epidemic in Croatia was at its peak, added Plenkovic.

The pandemic is deteriorating in our neighbourhood. The number of people infected in the past month in North Macedonia has increased from 370 to 2,500, in Albania from 175 to 600 and in the past ten days the number of active cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina has jumped from 450 to almost 800, while in Serbia it has increased from 220 to 750 cases.

"These are all reasons for increased caution. The majority of the new cases are our citizens returning from Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia, and one case was imported from Slovenia. Therefore I appeal to all our citizens to be very careful as has been suggested the entire time," said Plenkovic.

We have to maintain key measures to prevent infections

It is in the interest of the economy and tourism for the state to function normally so we can reactivate the economy as much as possible. This includes reopening the border towards countries with a similar epidemiological situation, he added.

"However, we have to maintain key measures to prevent the disease and that in particular relates to avoiding handshaking, washing our hands, and to disinfection," Plenkovic said and added that these are basic preventative measures that are the most effective.

He announced that next week the government would hold a special thematic debate on preparations for further defence against the coronavirus pandemic.

Plenkovic said that public consultation on the bill on Zagreb's reconstruction had been concluded and 391 comments had been submitted. The relevant portfolios have been engaged to examine all the comments from numerous institutions and citizens, he said.

An application has been launched in the e-citizen system for subsidies of HRK 12,000 from the Construction Ministry and so far 1,070 applications have been received by the Energy Efficiency Fund for condensation boilers. A growing number of applications are being submitted for rental subsidies, and they are being dealt with by the Ministry of State Assets, Plenkovic said.