Week on week there is a 42 percent increase in coronavirus cases in Croatia, so hospitals are again expanding their dedicated Covid units. In addition, "everything is ready" to again convert Zagreb's Arena sports hall to start accepting Covid patuents, "if necessary," the national coronavirus task force said on Friday.

“Everything is ready to activate the Arena. It can be activated in 24 hours, but this is not necessary at the moment,” Health Minister, Vili Beros, told reporters. He said Brussels agreed to send Croatia another 747,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and that the delivery was expected to be arranged today.

The head of the task force, Interior Minister, Davor Bozinovic, reported that 43,500 people had entered Croatia on Thursda, 60 percent of whom were only in transit through the country. This is markedly down from 2 April 2019, when over 130,000 people had entered the country on the same day.

Croatia, whose economy is heavily dependent on tourism, is hoping visitors would flock to the country during the Easter holidays, which usually marks the beginning of the tourist season.

Speaking of religious services over Easter, Bozinovic said that the task force recommends holding services in open air “whenever possible.”

“We are in early April now. If we make an effort in April and May, I’m sure we’ll lay the foundation for a more successful tourist season (in the summer),” Bozinovic said.