There were 116 new COVID-19 cases reported in Croatia in the last 24 hours, the most in a 24-hour period since the first recorded case back in February, the national crisis management team said in a statement on Friday.

As Jutarnji reported, the Civil Protection Headquarters have reintroduced a number of restrictions, including the obligatory wearing of face masks in shops.

As of Monday, 13 July, wearing protective masks is mandatory for all medical staff, persons visiting their relatives in hospitals, workers in the hospitality industry, people using public transport and in shops.

Guests in catering facilities will not have to wear masks.

Speaking to NOVA TV the Interior Minister, Davor Bozinovic, said that “masks in shops will be obligatory from the beginning of next week. It doesn’t have to be a medical mask, but I reiterate, autumn could be a more serious challenge, and then the measures could be a little tighter.”

“We have also discussed the situation on the border. It has improved significantly but considering the worsening of the epidemiological situation in neighboring countries, we will definitely make criteria for entry into Croatia stricter and introduce 14-day self-isolation as well as shorter periods of self-isolation if a person takes a PCR test,” said Health Minister Vili Beros.

According to the Croatian Institute of Public Health, 3,672 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the country since February 25.

As of Friday afternoon, 118 patients had succumbed to the disease, and 2,377 had recovered. The National Civil Protection Headquarters said on Friday that 91,486 people had been tested since February, 1,722 of them in the last 24 hours.

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Four thousand tickets for RegioJet’s direct line between Prague and Rijeka sold on Thursday night alone, which surprised the company itself.

RegioJet spokesman Aleš Ondrůj told Jutarnji list that the Czechs’ interest in this line is huge, revealing that the two lines were already sold out in July. He held out the possibility that RegioJet can increase the number of lines during the summer.

Sales were partially driven by, among other things, the operator’s announcement that it will be possible to buy tickets on this line for the price of 22 euros one way, making it one of the cheapest transport connections on the market.

“The interest is really high, so after we sold four thousand tickets on Thursday, we started selling the rest gradually, in order to satisfy the interest of passengers,” Ondrůj said. “By the way, this is the biggest interest and jump in ticket sales recorded throughout history by our reservation system.”

The sale shows that Czechs are definitely interested in a holiday in Croatia and that they perceive our country as safe.

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Asked if there is a possibility that the company if the interest remains so high, will increase the weekly number of lines between the Prague and Rijeka, Ondrůj told us that the company will make estimates next week, depending on the pace at which to reserve and sell seats on the train.

As things stand, the line between Prague and Rijeka should run three times a week between June 30 and Sept. 26, with Pardubice, Brno, Bratislava, and Ljubljana on the way from larger cities, which means that the Czech railway the operator reckons that Slovak tourists will also show interest in this line.

The line from Prague to Rijeka will depart on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and the return from Croatia will take place on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Mondays. If they wish, Croats will be able to travel by train this summer.