"Everything is ready to activate the Arena. It can be activated in 24 hours, which isn't necessary at the moment," said Health Minister Vili Beroš.
He said an agreement had been reached in Brussels on an additional 747,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for Croatia and that the delivery was expected to be arranged today.
Solution found for drugs for cancer patients
Beroš also commented on the problems of expensive drugs for cancer patients after wholesale suppliers suspended deliveries to hospitals due to the state's debts.
He said "a concept has been found to satisfy everyone. The solution is direct payment of medicines for oncology patients by cession so the delivery of medicines to those most in need can run smoothly. Talks on that are currently under way between the HZZO (Croatian Health Insurance Fund) and wholesale suppliers."
Beroš said he had no information about any of those patients being in danger because of the suspension.
The head of the response team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said 43,500 people had entered Croatia on Thursday, of whom 60% were in transit, and compared this with 2 April 2019, when over 130,000 people entered the country.
Speaking of the epidemiological situation, he said serious measures were in force at national level and stricter ones in counties where the situation was worse. He did not rule out the imposition of stricter measures at national level.
Božinović appeals for adherence to COVID measures in churches
He said that despite the holidays, the control of compliance with COVID measures would not be reduced, adding that gatherings of multiple households posed a risk.
Speaking of religious services over Easter, Božinović said the recommendation was for them to be held in the open whenever possible.
Commenting on Germany's putting Croatia on the red list of COVID countries, he said Germany did so when the number of new daily cases in a country crossed 2,000.
"We are at the start of April. If we make an effort in April and May, I'm sure we'll lay the foundation for a more successful tourist season," Božinović said.
Text: Hina