With the arrival of low temperatures, the number of coronavirus infections has risen again in Croatia, hitting a peak of 3,000 cases in one day. The new wave, in a country where less than 50% of the population has been vaccinated, is raising old debates about whether or not to shut down non-essential businesses, to vaccinate children over the age of 12, or to introduce a Green Pass to access restaurants, bars, and shopping centres.
The research results of the Polyclinic of the City of Zagreb for the Protection of Children and Young People were published in March 2021, with the title “One year later. Results of the mental health screening of children in Zagreb” (available in English here). The study involved over 22,000 minors (two-thirds under the age of 15), to learn how the first year of the pandemic and the March 2020 earthquake in Zagreb impacted children's mental health.
The study reads, "most children have been affected in some way by the pandemic, both through their own direct experiences and through the experiences of people close to them". These experiences don't necessarily mean having the coronavirus infection (only 11% of the children involved in the study had Covid-19); more than one out of five children (22%) had the disease in their family, and 26% knew a close person outside the family with Covid. Furthermore, 61% of children experienced quarantine at least once during the research period, as did 43% of their family members, and 35% of the people close to them (friends, teachers, relatives, etc.).
For more on the lessons learned, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress in the (post)pandemic era, read the full article here.