How Croatia Handles Earthquake Impacts Amid The COVID-19 Outbreak

Photo illustration (Andrew Martin / Pixabay)

JAKARTA - In the midst of the struggle to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, Croatia was rocked by an earthquake on Sunday, March 22. Two disasters at once must now be faced.

Obviously not easy for Croatia. This is because their economy is being tested hard by the impact of the lockdown which was taken as a step to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

As reported by Reuters, the 5.3 magnitude earthquake caused 16 injuries, including a 15-year-old who was seriously injured. In addition, the earthquake also damaged 70 buildings.

The quake at a depth of 10 kilometers, whose source is seven kilometers from the capital Zagreb, also caused fires. Electricity in several areas of the Capital City was also turned off.

To that end, Croatian Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic also warned Croats to avoid buildings affected by the earthquake. Davor also appealed to them to keep their distance (social distancing) to curb the progress of COVID-19.

"We are fighting two enemies at the moment. One is invisible (COVID-19) and the other is unpredictable (earthquake)," said Bozinovic.

Korasia Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic called this earthquake the biggest in 140 years. To overcome this, he immediately formed and deployed a paramilitary to help clean up the debris. Authorities also evacuated earthquake victims in a student hostel in the city of Zagreb.

In the midst of the chaos, Plenkovic still reminded the public to be aware of COVID-19. In the latest data compiled, Croatia has recorded 254 positive cases of COVID-19, of which one died.