Croatia Tightens COVID-19 Measures, Closes Night Clubs, Casinos

November 20, 2020 — Considering the epidemiological situation and potential for transmitting COVID-19, everyone in the Republic of Croatia is obliged to adhere to strict measures of physical distancing, all prescribed epidemiological measures, special recommendations and instructions of the Croatian Institute of Public Health and necessary epidemiological measures prescribed by this decision. NOTE: This is a translation from the official post on koronavirus.hr, which can be found here.

The necessary epidemiological measures which have been issued are:

• A ban on holding all public events and gatherings attended by more than 25 people in one place.
• A maximum of 15 people may be present at wedding ceremonies.
• A maximum of 25 people may be present at funerals, final farewells and urn-laying, and condolences to the bereaved must not be expressed through close contact.
• A maximum of 10 people may be present at other private ceremonies.
• All stores and shops must clearly display at their entrances a notice which states the largest possible number of customers who can be in the store at the same time. This is in accordance with the recommendations and instructions of the Croatian Institute of Public Health regarding strict adherence to the permitted number of customers.
• All shops, stores and shopping centers must take additional measures to deal with the anticipated arrival of large numbers of customers (discounts, rebates, pre-holiday purchases, etc.). They must ensure that more customers (A/N more than the permitted capacity) do not remain on their premises at the same time and to ensure compliance with epidemiological measures.
• Suspension of catering facilities such as night clubs, night bars and disco bars.
• Suspension of casinos and slot machine clubs.
• All catering facilities which have not been suspended must clearly display at the entrance a notice for the largest possible number of guests who can be in the catering facility at the same time. This is in accordance with the recommendations and instructions of the Croatian Institute of Public Health and strict adherence to the capacity of the space.
• Sports competitions can be held only without spectators and with strict adherence to all prescribed epidemiological measures and special recommendations and instructions of the Croatian Institute of Public Health. The organizers must ensure that all competitors and necessary technical staff adhere to prescribed epidemiological measures.
• Public events and gatherings and ceremonies of all kinds may last until 22:00 CET.
• A ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages from 22:00 to 6:00 CET.
• Mandatory use of face masks or medical masks outdoors when it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least 1.5 meters.

Control measures do not apply to:

• Professional art performances and programs here (in Croatian).
• Cinema screenings here (in Croatian).
• Religious rites here (in Croatian).
• Exhibitions in museums, galleries and other exhibition spaces here (in Croatian).
• Sessions of representative bodies.

At gatherings and ceremonies, the number of people present is limited according to the size of the space, in such a way that at least 4 m2 of net area must be provided for each person present, in strict compliance with all prescribed epidemiological measures and special recommendations and instructions of the Croatian Institute of Public Health. At the entrance to the facility where the gathering or ceremony is held, a notice must be clearly displayed about the largest possible number of people who may be present in the facility at the same time.

The organizers of the gathering must ensure that the premises where gatherings are held are regularly ventilated, that no more people than the allowed number are present at the gathering or ceremony. The must also make sure that all present adhere to all prescribed epidemiological measures and special recommendations and instructions of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

The epidemiological measure referred to in Point III, as an exception, does not apply to gatherings organized to mark holidays and non-working days in accordance with the Law on Holidays, Memorials and Non-working Days in the Republic of Croatia.

Employers in Croatia are required to:

• Prohibit employees who have fever and respiratory problems, especially dry cough and shortness of breath, from coming to work.
• Reduce physical contact between employees, whenever possible.
• Implement work from home options, when possible, given the nature of the job.
• Introduce staggered working hours where possible.
• Organize work in shifts, i.e. in groups where possible.
• Reduce the number of in-person meetings to a minimum.
• Regularly ventilate the areas where employees normally work.

This decision will go into effect on November 22, 2020 and applies until December 15, 2020.

Limitation of Working Hours for Catering Facilities

This Decision temporarily regulates operation and limits the working hours of catering facilities and other providers of catering services during the declared COVID-19 epidemic. NOTE: This is a translation from the official post on koronavirus.hr, which can be found here.

Catering facilities that have not been suspended by a decision of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia may operate from 6:00 to 22:00 CET.

The stated working hours also apply to providers of catering services in household and family farms, except for accommodation services.

The stated working hours do not refer to catering facilities from the groups “Hotels”, “Camps” and “Other catering facilities for accommodation”, except for catering facilities from other groups which work within them.

At the proposal of the county headquarters for civil protection, the working hours of catering facilities and other providers of catering services may be additionally limited for the area of ​​an individual unit of local and regional self-government.

The control of the implementation of this Decision will be carried out by inspectors of the Directorate of Civil Protection, inspectors of the State Inspectorate, police officers and members of civil protection.

This Decision will go into effect on November 22, 2020.

Follow our COVID-19 page for updates on the pandemic and translations of important Government and Civil Protection measures and decisions in Croatia.