Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, 29 October 2020

By , 29 Oct 2020, 04:15 AM News
Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, 29 October 2020 Flickr - Ilkka Jukarainen CC BY-ND 2.0

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This summary is provided by the STA

Slovenia confirms 2,605 new coronavirus cases, highest daily figure so far

LJUBLJANA - A total of 2,605 infections were confirmed in nearly 7,500 Covid-19 tests in Slovenia on Tuesday. Both figures mark the highest daily numbers since the start of the epidemic. The previous daily record was just short of 2,000 and was reached last Friday. The week-on-week comparison shows that the pace of increase may be starting to slow down. While weekly increases of 100% were the norm in the past two weeks, on Monday and Tuesday they were at 87% and 73%, respectively. Almost 35% of all tests came back positive, the highest percentage so far. The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 rose to 612 from 560, while the number of intensive care cases rose by 13 to 99, show data from the tracker Covid-19 Sledilnik. Seven people died in hospital on Tuesday.

Slovenian media pledge not to yield to pressure

LJUBLJANA - Editors of a number of media outlets have issued a statement committing not to yield to pressure, nor change their truthful stance or their obligation to the public. They say that the media, which have in recent months been subject to increased pressure and strong criticism levelled by PM Janez Janša, are aware of their responsibility in the current health crisis, but the latter cannot be a pretence for political interference in media independence. The 22 editors-in-chief who have signed the open letter, including the STA's, say the consequences of attacking the media are detrimental to society and that "this environment hampers the functioning of institutions and individuals and also has a significant effect on the lives of citizens".

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Brig-Gen Škerbinc, ex-Minister Erjavec reach settlement over 2019 dismissal

LJUBLJANA - Brigadier General Miha Škerbinc and former Defence Minister Karl Erjavec have reached a court settlement after Škerbinc took Erjavec to court last year over his April 2019 dismissal as Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) force commander. "We both understand that we were victims of a set of various circumstances and interests," the pair wrote in the settlement, confirmed by the Ljubljana Local Court on 22 September. A part of the settlement was published in October's Slovenska Vojska (Slovenian Army) magazine. Erjavec dismissed Škerbinc upon the proposal of the then chief of the general Staff, Major General Alenka Ermenc, a move that led to a tug-of-war between Erjavec and a soldier trade union and the opposition filing a dismissal motion, which Erjavec survived.

Most Slovenian MEPs welcome Commission's minimum wage proposal

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenian MEPs welcomed the standards for setting adequate minimum wages the European Commission presented to the European Parliament in Brussels. The standards are geared toward ensuring fair payment and decent life for workers, however, the Commission is not allowed to set wages in member states. Slovenian MEPs share the view that workers must receive decent pay for their work, but most believe that the amount of the wage should be left in the hands of individual member states.

UKC Ljubljana struggling to provide enough beds and staff, seeking volunteers

LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša visited UKC Ljubljana, meeting director Janez Poklukar, with the latter saying after the meeting that the hospital was investing massive efforts in providing beds, but the biggest problem was lack of staff. "We need to reorganise other programmes to create internal reserves to tend to Covid-19 patients," Poklukar said. The central hospital in the country is also looking for volunteers as the coronavirus case count and hospitalisation figures continue to rise. The hospital mainly requires the help of students of degrees in health-related fields. UKC Maribor is meanwhile seeking help from youths, appealing to students of all degrees to join the hospital's teams to lend a hand with manual labour tasks.

Employers' Association urges emergency freeze of minimum wage

LJUBLJANA - The Employers' Association called on the government to freeze the minimum wage for at least a year as part of the planned sixth anti-corona package. It also proposes a more flexible and simpler framework for teleworking and retiring upon meeting minimum retirement conditions. Sonja Šmuc, the director general of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), recently said GZS projections showed the minimum wage will rise by at least 9% based on the new formula that puts it 20% above the minimum cost of living. Another organisation that appealed to the government for help is the Chamber of Commerce (TZS), which stressed the lockdown was seriously hurting non-grocery retailers.

President and Ombudsman deem restrictions proportionate

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor received Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina to discussing how human rights were respected and curbed during the coronavirus pandemic. The pair came to a conclusion that anti-corona measures in Slovenia were generally proportionate to the situation and based on experts' views. Despite temporary restrictions one should "aspire to a fully democratic life," Pahor was quoted in his office's press release, while Svetina said restrictions had an effect on human rights. He stressed the importance of the measures being acceptable, proportionate and temporary.

Archbishop urges respecting anti-Covid measures on All Saints' Day

LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore urged people to observe all precautionary measures as they visit graves on All Saints' Day or the Day of Remembrance of the Dead, adding that believers should visit graves in their municipality only and avoid socialising. Just like this year's Easter, the 1 November holiday will be different due to the municipal travel ban, Zore said. But this is "a sacrifice" everyone should make to help contain the spread the epidemic, to prevent hospitals overcrowding and to save people's lives".

Church warns of increasing disregard for human life

LJUBLJANA - The Commission for Justice and Peace of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference has warned in a statement ahead of All Saints' Day that there is a danger of a growing culture of disregard for human life. It expressed support for everybody fighting for human lives in the coronavirus pandemic and criticism of a part of political opposition. "Life takes precedence over ideology and the fight for power," the commission has said, adding that a part of the opposition invests a lot more effort into climbing back to power than in helping save lives and preserve health of Slovenians. Part of the opposition took issue with this, saying that the Catholic Church in Slovenia was undermining its own credibility with such statements.

Slovenian public health expert to join WHO executive board

LJUBLJANA - Kerstin Vesna Petrič, the head of the Health Ministry's public health directorate, has been elected to the 34-member executive board of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the 2021-2024 period, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry said. She will join the executive board in May 2021 after all new members have been formally endorsed by the WHO assembly. The Foreign Ministry said she had convinced the organisation with her expertise and extensive experience in public health, and that she will also be on the executive board during Slovenia's stint as the EU presiding country in the second half of 2021.

Slovenian rider Roglič wins 8th stage of the Vuelta a Espana

LEON, Spain - After losing the overall leader's red jersey at the Vuelta a Espana on Sunday, the defending champion Primož Roglič of Slovenia won the eighth stage of the race around Spain today to climb to the second place overall. In the 164-km stage from Logrono to Alto de Moncalvillo, the rider for the Dutch team Jumbo-Visma was followed by Richard Carapaz of Ecuador, the overall leader, who was 13 seconds behind the Slovenian, which is also the lead he has ahead of Roglič overall.
"There is still a lot to be done until the end," he said as another ten stages are scheduled until 8 November.

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