All restaurants, cafes and other catering facilities throughout Croatia remain closed till the 15 February

All restaurants, cafes and other catering facilities in Croatia remain closed. This was confirmed by Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic. "So far, there is no consideration of easing the measures," said the minister, explaining that the abolition of lockdown is currently out of the question because in some European countries the arrival of the third wave of the epidemic is announced. In addition, it is not yet known how the new strain of the virus is behaving and whether it has arrived in Croatia.

It is not known when the restaurants and cafes could reopen. The lockdown, which began on November 28 and was due to be lifted just before Christmas, on December 21, has been extended.

The last news says till the 15 of February.

But caterers fear that it will last until spring and that in that case the consequences will be catastrophic for many of them. They were particularly struck by the inability to do business during the holidays, when they normally work full steam. Some have already announced the definitive closure of their facilities, and some will decide in the next few weeks. In order to retain staff and at least partially compensate for the damage suffered, many restaurants began preparing meals for delivery. This works to some extent in larger cities, but in smaller communities there are not enough customers for this kind of service.

The restaurant lockdown also affects food producers, and especially small family farms that have no one to sell their products to. Even if some of them have managed to organize online sales and delivery of goods to the doorstep, a few can independently provide the logistical support necessary for this kind of business.

Unfortunately, as in most European countries that have introduced the lockdown, Croatian caterers together with their business partners will suffer severe economic consequences due to this pandemic.