Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday that he believed Croatia would remain orange on the new COVID-19 map, noting that the government's scientific council had reached a consensus that it was essential to additionally encourage citizens reluctant to get vaccinated to do so.

“A high degree of consensus has been reached about the importance of additionally encouraging citizens who have certain reservations towards vaccination to get vaccinated,” Plenkovic said after a meeting of the council which he chaired.

He said that everyone was agreed that inoculation was the best protection against COVID-19 and the council supported the measures implemented by the national COVID-19 response team to slow down the spread of the disease.

“There are much fewer hospitalised patients now and fewer fatalities,” he stressed and added that vaccination had definitely contributed to that, as evidenced by recent trends in the country and elsewhere.

Asked whether Croatia would remain orange on the new map, to be released tomorrow, Plenkovic said that he was not one hundred per cent sure but that the competent experts said that it would.

He added that he believed that the measures in force were sufficient and that he was now relying on citizens’ responsibility.

That is important for the tourism season, the aim being to achieve a little more than 65% of the revenue and turnover of the record season 2019.

Plenkovic said that it was already obvious this year’s season would be better than the 2020 season but that that was not enough.

Asked to comment on the Personal Data Protection Agency’s view that employers should not have to ask their employees if they have been vaccinated, Plenković said that the matter could be regulated by law so employers do not suffer any consequences if they request a COVID certificate from their employees.

About Lauc: ‘We do not oust people’

Asked whether Gordan Lauc, a member of the scientific council, would be removed from the council, as requested by the HUBOL association of hospital doctors, because of his posts on social networks about COVID-19, Plenkovic said that he did not wish to comment on Lauc’s posts.

“This is a free country and everyone can say what they want. I don’t deal with that. Our position is that vaccination is good and protects people,” said Plenkovic.