ANDREJ PLENKOVIC, the Croatian Prime Minister, has to go to self-isolation. He has to do it according to the criteria established by his government, i.e., the Croatian Coronavirus Task Force as a government body to fight against the COVID-19, because he was near a large number of infected people on a tennis tournament in Zadar, and on multiple times he was in close physical contact with some of them.
There are many photographs showing Prime Minister patting Novak Djokovic's shoulder, a tennis player who tested positive for COVID-19. From the beginning of the pandemic, many people have been sent to self-isolation even because of the slightest suspicion of being in contact with the infected, and even if they just came from the countries that are considered being at risk.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Plenkovic was at the same place as many people infected with COVID-19, touching them, and there is no reason at all for him not being in self-isolation. But there he is, in Primorje-Gorski Kotar Country, on a pre-election campaign tour.
Plenkovic's coronavirus test result is negative, but it doesn't mean he's not infected
The government stated that Plenkovic underwent testing and that the result is negative, but it doesn't mean he's not infected. The virus doesn't have to be immediately detected in the infected person's sample, and especially if the sample for testing is taken right after the contact with the infected person. The Prime Minister may not have COVID-19, as many people in self-isolation don't have, but as a person in a responsible position, as he claims to be, he should avoid contacts with a large number of people. But he's in contact with people big time.
Beros: Close contact means direct contact - shaking hands, touching
Besides that, the Health Minister Vili Beros explained, "according to the rules of the health organization," that a close contact means "a face-to-face contact longer than 15 minutes with a distance less than 2 meters in open public spaces, and more than 15 minutes without contact or with direct contact - shaking hands, touching, in enclosed public spaces."
We'll repeat that once again - "or with direct contact - shaking hands, touching." Besides that, it's clear that the Prime Minister wasn't in the company of a COVID-19 positive person for a short time. Many photographs are showing their encounter, and they weren't taken in five seconds.
Zadar Coronavirus Task Force told that everyone who was in close contact with the infected people has to self-isolate
It should be recalled that the Zadar Task Force, after its announcement of a Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov tested positive for COVID-19, made an appeal to everyone who was in close contact with Dimitrov to self-isolate for 14 days, and contact the competent epidemiologist and their doctors.
Also, the Task Force asked all the parents from the Zadar County area, whose children were in contact with the tennis player, not to go to schools and kindergartens, and the rest of the people, if they were in close contact with the infected people, to self-isolate for 14 days.
Plenkovic doesn't care; the government announces the continuance of his election campaign tour in Croatia
While this text was being written, the editorial board got an email with information that Plenkovic is going to attend the opening of the "Stellar Summer" in front of the Karlovac theatre "Zorin Dom" accompanied by the Croatian Minister of Veterans' Affairs, Tomo Medved.
The Prime Minister will, therefore, as a true Croatian Democratic Party's president, once again demonstrate the inequality among citizens: while he forces others to self-isolate, even in cases when there's no proof that people saw the infected person, he will joyfully continue his election campaign tour across Croatia and promise an equal distribution of welfare and virus across Croatia. All of it after literally touching Novak Djokovic, the tennis player who was today confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus.
Plenkovic won't self-isolate
But, despite everything, Plenkovic won't self-isolate, not even after Novak Djokovic, to whom he was in contact with in Zadar, was diagnosed with coronavirus, and after it became clear that Plenkovic touched Djokovic.
The government's spokesman told Index that the Prime Minister doesn't have to self-isolate because his contact with Djokovic isn't considered to be a close contact.
"According to the opinion of the epidemiologists and the Croatian Public Health Institute, the Prime Minister doesn't have to self-isolate because there was no close contact. Given that the Prime Minister spoke to Djokovic for less than three minutes and didn't shake hands, there was no close contact - therefore, self-isolation is unnecessary. According to the definition of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, a close contact implies the contact of a person, who was in contact for longer than 15 minutes in an enclosed public space, with an infected person. The Croatian Public Health Institute made a very clear announcement about that yesterday," said the government's spokesperson Marko Milic.