STA, 10 September 2020  - The parliamentary Health Committee unanimously endorsed on Thursday amendments to the act on communicable diseases under which unvaccinated children would be barred from public or publicly financed kindergartens. The committee however threw out a provision on mandatory vaccination against seasonal flu for health workers.

The bill had been proposed by a group of 38 MPs from the ranks of three coalition parties, the Modern Centre Party (SMC), Democrats (SDS) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS).

The bill is fast-tracked and all the additional amendments were proposed by MPs of the initiator parties. It would require all children who enrol in public kindergartens or private kindergartens co-financed by the state to get mandatory vaccination.

The same rule would apply to students of secondary and tertiary schools teaching health, education and social security courses.

Today's additional amendments specify that mandatory vaccination includes shots against measles, mumps and rubella.

The restrictions would not be imposed on children who cannot get vaccinated due to health reasons. Today, such an exemption was further specified by requiring that health records indicating the reason for missing out on vaccination would have to be submitted.

Unvaccinated children would still be allowed to enrol in primary school since primary education is mandatory under the law.

In August, when the bill was proposed, the Health Ministry said the measure was meant to prevent any unwarranted avoidance of vaccination and to protect citizens.

SMC MP Branislav Rajić, the first signatory of the proposal, said today that the provision that would require all those working in public health and social institutions to get vaccinated against seasonal influenza had been thrown out since experts and the government thought the measure was too excessive.

He nevertheless urged the government and the ZZZS health fund to provide free-of-charge flu vaccination for such workers.

Tina Bregant, the ministry's state secretary, said today that the extra amendments had made the proposal even more efficient, highlighting that the bill aimed to increase the rate of immunisation.

The National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Medical Chamber as well as representatives of paediatricians have expressed support for the proposed changes.

On the other hand, Jani Möderndorfer, an MP of the opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), was critical of the scrapping of the provision under which health and social workers would be obliged to get a flu shot. Experts, the ministry and coalition "do not offer any expert reason for that; all they talk about is how the measure is excessive," he said.

Rajić reiterated that the move followed the guidelines of experts. "My personal view is that a health worker who does not get a vaccine is like a visually-impaired school bus driver who does not want to wear glasses," he added.

Meanwhile, the Social Democrats (SD), New Slovenia (NSi) and the Left called for a strategy that would raise awareness about the importance of vaccination.

STA, 1 September 2020 - For almost 191,000 primary and secondary school students in Slovenia, and their almost 18,000 teachers, the new school year will start on Tuesday the same way the previous school year ended: in-class but with many precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including the wearing of face masks in common areas.

It came as a relief for many parents last week when the government decided that the school year should start in-class rather than remotely, even if the number of new coronavirus cases remains fairly high.

Students will not have to wear masks in class either, but the National Institute of Public Health has recommended that students of all ages wear masks when mixing in common areas, an upgrade of the earlier recommendation that only students 12 and older wear masks.

Schools are advised to follow a number of other precautions, including regular use of hand sanitizer, frequent hand washing, ventilation of classrooms, and keeping a safe distance whenever possible.

To what extent individual schools can follow these recommendations depends largely on school size and architecture. Large schools, for example, can simply not do the recommended distances in classrooms because there are too many children per class, a recommendation that is easier to follow for smaller schools with fewer students.

Education Minister Simona Kustec has said schools should follow the recommendations to the best of their abilities, but stressed that each school should use discretion in adapting the recommendations to the situation on the ground.

"Schools have my full confidence that they will do their best both in prevention and in terms of the teaching process," she has told the STA.

The overarching aim is to conduct as much of the teaching process normally, which means that if a student is confirmed to have coronavirus, the entire class is quarantined while the rest of the school continues instruction in-class.

The decision whether to step up precautionary measures or close schools will depend on the statistics: the daily and weekly number of infections, and the demographic profile of the infected persons, according to Kustec.

Quarantined students will be taught remotely, and the school system is seen as well prepared even if schools should have to close again like they did in spring.

Arnes, a public body which provides internet access to schools and other tools for remote teaching, has upgraded its infrastructure since the first wave of the epidemic.

Using additional state funding, the organisation has increased the capacity of its entire network and upgraded tools such as online classrooms and videoconferencing.

There is also money to buy up to 4,000 computers for students and teachers who do not have their own devices, and during the summer holiday dozens of online courses were organised to teach teachers how to use online tools in class and remotely.

As school starts, experts warn kids can become major vectors of infection

STA, 1 September 2020 - Children have not been considered a major factor in the spread of coronavirus, and they rarely develop severe symptoms. As school starts in-class for all students in Slovenia, experts warn that there is potential for children to not only spread coronavirus but become primary sources of infection in the family.

Mateja Logar, an infectologist at the UKC Ljubljana's clinic for communicable diseases, said on Tuesday that studies conducted after schools started to reopen in late spring shed new light on the role of children in the spread of coronavirus.

While children had initially not been considered a major source of infections, more recent studies have shown that older children and teenagers are much more likely to spread the disease.

"We have to realise that it is possible children develop only mild symptoms but infect other family members," she said.

The latest findings are probably a result of the fact that schools closed around the world when coronavirus first hit, which is why children were not a major factor in the spread.

But as schools reopened more data and more studies poured in showing that "children do get sick as well, it is only that they have different symptoms than adults."

The younger children are, the less specific their symptoms. While the most common symptoms in adults are fever and cough, children tend to develop digestive problems such as diarrhoea or vomiting.

Under the current guidelines for schools, children are not required to wear masks in class but have to put them on while in common areas. Social distancing, frequent hand washing, use of hand sanitizer and ventilation of classrooms is advised.

Logar said it was important that these guidelines be followed as much as possible, in particular since coronavirus spreads much more easily indoor than outdoors.

STA, 28 August 2020 - Slovenia's health authorities have recommended that all primary school children wear face masks in corridors and shared premises as the new school year starts next week. The relevant minister has suggested that the government will respect any new recommendations the National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) may give.

The most recent recommendation from the NIJZ is an upgrade to the earlier recommendation that only students of the age of 12 and older were to wear face masks in shared premises in school.

The NIJZ has decided for the move because "the average daily number of confirmed cases in local transfer in the last seven days in the country exceeded 20", says Friday's press release.

It has also recommended that children up to and including the age of five do not use masks in shared premises in kindergartens, and that children aged 6-11 use them in healthcare institutions and in public transportation.

Children aged 12 and older should use face masks in accordance with the government ordinances valid for adults.

The NIJZ told the STA that these were recommendations for next week, and that instructions for the use of masks in schools would from now on be made weekly based on the epidemiological risk assessment.

Education Minister Simona Kustec told the STA earlier that as the epidemiological situation had deteriorated somewhat on Thursday, she would not be surprised if the NIJZ provided additional guidelines before the start of the new year. "If it does, we will simply need to respect them," she added.

The ministry has already informed primary schools and music schools about the new recommendations.

STA, 27 August 2020 - Slovenian primary and secondary school students will start the new school year in classrooms on 1 September, the government decided on Thursday after assessing the current epidemiological situation.

The decision means all students will start instruction in class, though they will have to observe guidelines issued by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

Schools and teachers are ready, Education Minister Simona Kustec told the press after the government session.

Slovenia has had several possible scenarios for return to school depending on the extent of the coronavirus epidemic and the one confirmed now is known as model B.

It involves social distancing for pupils from different classes, regular washing of hands and regular ventilation of classrooms.

Classes are recommended to be divided into smaller groups, if possible.

Face masks will not be obligatory in classroom for pupils, whereas teachers will have to wear them if an adequate distance could not be maintained.

The University of Ljubljana (Univerza v Ljubljani) has issued a warning that a number of individuals, the majority from India, have been sent fake letters of acceptance, along with a request for tuition to be paid.

If you did not apply to the University of Ljubljana, then any acceptance letter you receive is false. If you did apply but the letter you received seems suspicious, then you’re advised to look out for these four warning signs:

• Does the letter ask you to send money to certain account? The University never sends letters that ask this.
• Is the name of the faculty or academy correct? There’s a list of the official names here if you are not sure.
• Are any email addresses for the University correct? All official email addresses have the suffix @uni-lj.si.
• Is the letter signed by Vice-Dean Gabor Janos Vamos? The University has Vice-Rectors, and no Janos Vamos works there.

The University also provides two examples of false letters, PDF form (False letter 1; False letter 2).

STA, 24 August 2020 - In Kočevski Rog, a vast forest area riddled with chasms in the south-east of Slovenia, known for being a site of post WWII-executions, archaeologists have retrieved the remains of about 250 victims from a mass grave uncovered in May. Most of the victims were young men, mainly civilians, killed in the autumn of 1945.

Presenting the findings in Ljubljana on Monday, the government commission for mass graves said that the remains had been retrieved from Chasm 3, as the grave has been termed, in July.

Archaeologist Uroš Košir said that his team found a large amount of ammunition in the chasm and along its outer edges, leading them to believe that executions were conducted on the spot.

Analysis of entry and exit wounds found on sculls has show that the victims had been killed with automatic rifles. Remains of at least six different hand grenades were also found in the chasm, as well as several unexploded devices.

Related: Mass Concealed Graves in Slovenia, an Interactive Map

Bodies were covered with rocks and debris, however, the excavation team also found bodies on top of these. "We suspect these were captives tasked with covering the chasm, but later ended up inside as well," said Košir.

Preliminary anthropological analysis results show that the remains belonged to about 250 individuals, mostly civilians. All victims were over 15 years old, quite a few were in their early 20s.

Most of the victims were men. While female remains have been found, the team believes there were no more than five women in the grave.

About 400 buttons were found, mostly civilian, some textiles, spoons, combs, mirrors, personal belongings, rosaries and lockets, mostly Slovenian. Newspaper scraps were also found in the grave, said Košir.

Pavel Jamnik, the head of the police campaign dubbed Reconciliation, said today that they had first been made aware of this grave in 2002, but had then been looking for it some 500 metres away.

Zdravko Bučar, the head of the Novo Mesto Cavers' Club, said the 14-metre chasm was found due to a map deviation.

Jamnik said that an analysis of prisoner records in relation to local prisons by the former Yugoslav security and agency OZNA showed that in September of 1945 a selection was made among Novo Mesto prisoners. While some were freed, others were taken to be killed, some of them had definitely been taken to this site.

While selections were made by OZNA, transports were carried out by KNOJ, Jamnik said. The commission had previously talked to a former member of KNOJ, a corps of the Yugoslav Partisans in charge of internal security, who had transported prisoners to designated locations, where they were handed over to Partisans speaking Slovenian and other Yugoslav languages.

Jože Dežman, the commission president, said that the Kočevski Rog killings had taken on new dimensions in recent years. While the chasm Pod Krenom seems to be the grave of Serbian and Montenegrin victims, the chasm in Macesnova Gorica seems to hold Slovenian victims.

Dežman believes that Chasm 3 could provide some indication as to what had happened to the Novo Mesto Homeguard, a group of several thousand who failed to flee after World War Two.

You watch a discussion on post-WW2 massacres in Slovenia featuring the authors of Slovenia 1945: Memories of Death and Survival After World War II here

STA, 24 August 2020 - More than 200 firefighters battled what seems to be yet another waste site fire this weekend on the outskirts of Ljubljana. The fire at the illegal dump site just off the city's southern ring road was reported late in the evening on Saturday and it took hours to put out.

The fire enveloped a surface area of 8,000 square metres of fenced-off land owned by the company Varnostni Sistemi, the Ljubljana municipality and several individuals.

While Ljubljana police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, the Environment Inspectorate said on Monday that procedures had been running against the waste site operator for years and that the person was charged with environmentally-harmful waste processing earlier this year.

While the police investigation is expected to take a while, preliminary estimates are expected in the coming days.

Valentin Sitar, the director of Varnostni Sistemi, which owns nearly half of the land, told public broadcaster Radio Slovenija that the company had terminated years ago the lease with the former lessee - company Avtoodpad (literally translating as car waste).

He said Avtoodpad shut down in 2011, while his company sued it to have the material removed. When this proved in vain, Varnostni Sistemi also sued a physical person, Sitar said, adding that the inspection services and the criminal police had also been informed.

Sitar said that, to his knowledge, nothing had happened since 2018, when the authorities inspected the site.

The Ljubljana municipality meanwhile said it had lodged a lawsuit against the user of the property in 2013.

The Environment Inspectorate said it found in 2016 that various types of waste were being collected at the site, assessing at that time that 100,000 cubic metres of waste, mostly car parts, building materials, wood and insulation material, were located at the site.

The inspectorate also found that the waste site operator did not have the needed environmental permissions and also did not have the permission of land owners to use their plots. He was ordered to clear the site and was later issued fines worth thousands of euros for failing to comply.

Several inspections followed in 2017 and 2018, a number unsuccessful, because the site was locked. However, the inspectors did find that disused cars had been brought there from Austria by unknown persons.

In 2018, the inspectorate also reported the operator to the police. He told them that Nigerians he did not know occasionally worked at the site. They allegedly entered the premises by breaking the lock, prepared shipments for Nigeria and installed a new lock, when leaving.

Over the past few years, several legal waste facilities caught fire around Slovenia, causing serious environmental concerns. In May 2017, an extensive fire broke out at the Kemis hazardous waste processing plant south of Ljubljana, causing environmental damage and worsening the relationship between Kemis and the locals.

This is an emerging story, and updates may be added later today

STA, 18 August 2020 - As things stand now, all primary and secondary school children will return to school as the new school year begins on 1 September, yet all preventive coronavirus recommendations will have to be observed, Education Minister Simona Kustec announced at a news conference at Brdo pri Kranju on Tuesday.

"But if the epidemiological situation worsens considerably in the next 14 days, we will have to take that into account," the minister added.

She said the situation should be clearer after Thursday's government session, at which Health Minister Tomaž Gantar will present the epidemiological situation.

Kustec expects that based on that assessment of the situation, "the best possible solutions" will be adopted.

"I myself will back all the decisions leading to a safe return to school for all primary and secondary school pupils."

The development comes after four scenarios were prepared taking into account various Covid-19 situations and following calls for all children to return to classroom.

The Education Ministry-prepared models for the coming school year envisage fully opened and fully closed schools as the two extreme options.

The two middle options would see a combination of lessons in class and distance learning, with younger children being prioritised for the former.

At today's conference of head teachers at Brdo pri Kranju, the ministry presented a special publication with the four possible models for 2020/21 with instructions of how to act when applying either of the models.

It is model B that envisages the return to classrooms for all primary and secondary school children while recommendations to prevent infections are simultaneously observed.

The space and staff restrictions imposed as part of model B are such as to still allow for schooling in classroom, Kustec believes.

Social distancing for pupils from different classes will have to be maintained, hands regularly washed and classrooms regularly aired.

Classes are recommended to be divided into smaller groups, if possible.

Face masks will not be obligatory in classroom for pupils, whereas teachers will have to wear them if an adequate distance could not be maintained.

Pupils will have their morning meal in the classroom, while lunch will be served in the dining hall with the maximum number of pupils allowed to be in it at a time to be set.

Parent-teacher meetings should be held remotely.

Kustec said that if some of the restrictions, which had been harmonised with all stakeholders, proved unrealistic, they would be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

National Education Institute director Vinko Logaj believes the recommendations are feasible, but he admitted that some would require much more communication and coordination.

Both urged all stakeholders, including parents and pupils, to help create the optimal conditions for the full return to school. Kustec said that only healthy children and teachers should come to school.

STA, 17 August 2020 - The Slovenian contact tracing app #OstaniZdrav (#StayWell) has been green-lit by relevant authorities and is already available to be installed in GooglePlay, said Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik on Monday, announcing more details would be unveiled on Tuesday.

The minister moreover shared a link where the app can be installed free of charge on Android mobile devices.

More details are to follow tomorrow at the daily coronavirus briefing.

Government Covid-19 spokesman Jelko Kacin said more than a week ago that the app would be available in AppStore for users of devices running on the iOS mobile operating system by the end of August.

The app has been localised on the basis of the German Corona-Warn-App under the contract the government signed with developer RSteam. It has been deemed operational and tested by the Public Administration Ministry and the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

The app is voluntary, although it was initially planned that it would have to be installed by all persons with confirmed infections and those ordered to quarantine.

You can get the Android app here. The latest statistics on coronavirus and Slovenia, and the latest police news on red, green and yellow list countries. All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia