As for the patients with more serious symptoms, 14 patients are on ventilators - eight in Zagreb, three in Osijek, and one in Rijeka, Split and Dubrovnik. That is, Beros said, three percent of the total number of patients, which is satisfactory as projections had been pointing to five percent of patients.
A total of 3,958 samples have been tested, with 566 tests being done yesterday, which shows that the facilities are functioning well and that the number of tests is on the increase, Health Minister Vili Beros said.
Beros: Tests do not prevent spread of epidemic
Health Minister reiterated that testing could not replace responsible behaviour needed to stop the spread of the epidemic. "Testing is not a method that can safely stop the spread of the epidemic," he said.
As for the elderly man who died from the coronavirus in Istria, he said that his clinical picture had not been severe, that they were still looking into the case, and that according to current information the family had declined the recommendation that he be hospitalised.
Beros also commented on the state in the hospitals. He said that at Zagreb's Sisters of Charity Hospital all doctors, nurses and patients who had been in contact with the infected persons in the intensive care unit had tested negative and that unit was still working at its full capacity.
Capak: Current capacity thousand tests a day
In the healthcare system 19 medical specialists have so far tested positive for the coronavirus, as well as six residents, seven nurses and two dentists, said Krunoslav Capak, the head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.
The average age of patients in Croatia is 49, over 18,000 people are in self-isolation, 2,437 contacts are being closely monitored, and more than 500 healthcare professionals are in self-isolation.
Capak said that there were enough tests and that their current capacity was a thousand tests a day. "We will do as many tests as will be necessary," he said.
Markotic: One patient in critical condition
The head of the Fran Mihaljevic Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Alemka Markotic, said that the average age of patients on ventilators was 61. Most of them are chronic patient, and one of them is in critical condition.
The number of elderly patients diagnosed with the infection is expected to rise.