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This summary is provided by the STA:
Slovenia confirms 37 new coronavirus infections, a four-month high
LJUBLJANA - The number of new infections reached a four-month high, as 37 out of Thursday's 937 tests came back positive, with most new cases coming from Croatia. According to the national tracker covid-19.sledilnik, there are currently 213 active cases in the country. Interior Minister Aleš Hojs tweeted a "stricter regime for entry to Slovenia, probably in the next week already", in relation with the infections coming from Croatia, adding the hashtag #quarantine.
Projection warns Covid-19 doubling time shortening, BRN exceeds one
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's top research institute, the Jožef Stefan Institute, projected that in the next short-term period, the daily number of new coronavirus infections will range from 15 to 50 and noted that the basic reproductive number (BRN) is considerably higher than one. The epidemic is spreading with the doubling period of around eight days, the projection says. However, it will only be clear in the coming days whether the high number of positive tests in recent days was a consequence of a single jump in the daily number of positive tests due to an increase in imported cases, or whether this is a harbinger of a worrying exponential growth which would require measures to be taken quickly.
Pompeo says 5G declaration important decision and step in right direction
BLED - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the STA that the signing of a joint 5G security declaration is an important decision and a step in the right direction for the entire Europe. As Slovenians and Europeans love their privacy and have their information protected, they have to have trusted networks, so it has been agreed that the nations joining the declaration would have trusted networks for information flow, he said. "This was an important decision ... so that we collectively can have a system, a network, telecommunications infrastructure that is protected from the national security apparatus in China that intends no good for the people in the region."
Huawei surprised by US-Slovenia 5G declaration
LJUBLJANA - Chinese tech company Huawei said it was surprised by the joint declaration on security of 5G networks which Slovenia has signed with the US, stressing that any kind of discrimination and restrictions to the free market always have a negative impact. Huawei Slovenia representatives reiterated that the company respected all standards in cyber security and posed no threat to Slovenia. They denied any involvement of the Chinese government in the company, saying employees were the owners of the company and that there was no room for the government.
Infrastructure Ministry official says Slovenia will remain nuclear country
LJUBLJANA - Speaking about a potential second nuclear reactor in Krško, Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Blaž Košorok told the STA that Slovenia is and will remain a nuclear country. While the government recently placed a new nuclear reactor in Krško on the list of strategic projects for post-coronacrisis recovery, Košorok said this did not mean a final decision on the project had been made. "We are talking about some kind of guidelines, but fact is that Slovenia is and will remain a nuclear country. We've been living with this for more than 40 years and will probably continue living with it," he said.
Construction down 5.6% in H1 y/y
LJUBLJANA - The value of construction work completed in the first six months of 2020 was 5.6% lower than in the same period last year, the Statistics Office said. In June it decreased by 7.1% on the monthly level and by 15.3% year-on-year. The June decrease was the fourth consecutive monthly decrease recorded over the previous month as well as in the year-on-year comparison - in April it decreased by 6.9% year-on-year and in May by 15.3%. The monthly decease in May was 2.7%
Passengers gradually returning to Ljubljana airport
BRNIK - Passengers are returning to Ljubljana airport after most of the coronavirus measures have been relaxed and air traffic ban lifted, as its operator recorded almost 21,000 passengers in July, over four times more than in June. The numbers are still much lower compared to the peak summer season last year, though. The Jože Pučnik Ljubljana Airport saw only 111 passengers in May and 4,991 in June, while the number was up to 20,992 in July, Fraport Slovenija told the STA. Airlines are also returning to the airport, with nine providers currently offering direct flights to ten destinations.
Procedural issues in centre of DeSUS power struggle
LJUBLJANA - After the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) executive committee called on the party's council to leave the dismissal of party president Aleksandra Pivec to the congress, council chair Tomaž Gantar told the STA it was well in the purview of the council to take a vote of no-confidence in the president. In early afternoon, the executive committee called on the council to call a congress as soon as possible, at which Pivec would ask for a vote of confidence. Gantar said he would get a legal opinion and would only not put the dismissal to vote on Thursday if the opinion did not support his position.
Environment ministry launches unprecedented procedure for Mokrice project
LJUBLJANA - The Environment Ministry has for the first time ever launched a procedure to allow other public interests to prevail over nature conservation. The unprecedented procedure was launched for the Mokrice hydro plant on the Sava river on 5 July and is soon to be launched for a series of hydro plants on the central Sava, the newspaper Dnevnik said. "This is the first such case in Slovenia ... It's a legal option that the European habitats directive allows for," the ministry said.
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