Croatia not to impose restrictive COVID measures on Chinese passengers

ZAGREB, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Croatia will not impose restrictive COVID-19 measures on Chinese passengers entering the country, Bernard Kaic, head of the Department for Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases at the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), said on Wednesday.

"Since we do not consider mandatory inspections an efficient method for the prevention of the COVID-19 variants into the country, we do not intend to impose mandatory inspections, as long as it is not a requirement of all EU (European Union) member states," Kaic, authorized by the Croatian Ministry of Health, told Xinhua in an interview.

Croatia will not follow the examples of some Western European countries to take restrictive COVID-19 measures on Chinese passengers, Kaic said, noting that the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has said that it is "unjustified" and unnecessary to impose mandatory inspections on passengers from China.

As the COVID-19 virus is already present in Croatia and all over the EU, "it is no big deal if a Chinese passenger with COVID-19 virus enters Croatia," Kaic noted.

Croatia welcomes Chinese tourists and "we look forward to their arrival and there are no obstacles for that," Kaic added.

"We warmly welcome Chinese tourists, because they are our dear guests," said Kristijan Stanicic, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), adding that the CNTB will do everything to facilitate the arrival and stay of Chinese tourists in Croatia.