AUSTRIAN conservative newspaper Oberösterreichisches Volksblatt (OV) published an article titled “Coronavirus: Croatia is walking on the razor’s edge,” thematizing the attempt of saving the tourist season in Croatia and the increased number of coronavirus cases.
The newspaper stated that “Croatia is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic” but at the same time “is attempting to attract foreign tourists by trying to keep the political balance between restrictions and relaxing the measures.” They stated that the coronavirus situation is “still tense” and, according to official records from the European Centre for Disease Control, Croatia has 28.5 infected per 100,000 people as of Wednesday.
OV: The spread of the virus is two times faster in Croatia than in Austria
“The spread of the virus is two times faster than in Austria, which had 14.5 infected per 100,000 people in the last 14 days,” OV wrote. They pointed out that the highest number of the infected is in Zagreb and in “eastern border areas towards Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina,” while the number of the infected on the Adriatic coast is low.
“The Croatian government is concerned about the warnings from abroad,” so they implemented mandatory mask-wearing indoors, according to the newspaper. At the same time, Croatia shows that it “doesn’t give a damn about the recommendations by the European Commission, which is warning that one should be especially careful when allowing travel for citizens of non-EU countries,” they stated in the article.
OV: Croatia isn’t careful
OV refers to the Croatian government’s decision from July 11, according to which tourists from all around the world only need to show a negative coronavirus test not older than 48 hours upon entering the country. “By doing that, Croatia isn’t longer among the most careful EU countries,” the Austrian newspaper stated.
In the end, they pointed out that there are currently two times fewer tourists in Croatia than in the same period last year, and that a new wave of arrivals from Scandinavia, the UK, and France is expected this weekend.
It should be pointed out that Oberösterreichisches Volksblatt is one of the oldest Austrian daily newspapers and owned by the Austrian People’s Party, a provincial branch of the ruling party of chancellor Sebastian Kurz.