"The focus must remain on reducing its impact on human lives, in terms of the number of those infected and dead, as much as possible," said Zeljko Plazonic, a state secretary at the Croatian Health Ministry, following a video conference of European health ministers.
Plazonic said it was very important to secure a comprehensive testing of the population and protect the most vulnerable groups.
He added that through cooperation and coordination among the 27 member states, it was necessary to step up research efforts to find a vaccine.
The European Commission on Wednesday presented a plan for a gradual easing of restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, taking into account three criteria. The spread of the pandemic must slow down significantly, health systems must have sufficient capacity and the spread of the disease must be monitored better, which can be achieved through increased testing.
Some EU member states started "returning to normal" at the start of this week, but not Croatia.
Croatia will be ready to do so once all relevant parameters, notably epidemiological, allow the so-called relaxation of the existing measures, Plazonic said.