The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 3 April 2020. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Govt using coronavirus to push its own agenda

STA, 3 April 2020 - Commenting on the government's actions in the light of the coronavirus epidemic, the left-wing weekly Mladina argues that Prime Minister Janez Janša is capitalising on the coronavirus crisis and driving his own political agenda by proposing extreme measures that use people's fears to appear warranted.

One would hope that Janša has learned his lesson after three "thunderous falls from power", that he "finally knows he must respect democracy, the existence of different opinions, that experts' opinions are professional even if people have different political beliefs, and most notably, that in this country one cannot rule this way".

When he started showing first signs of doing just that, driving disproportionate measures to bend Slovenia's society to his will, it was first thought that the extreme times called for a bit tougher ruling methods to ensure that citizens internalise Covid-19 containment measures or it was said that the government was still finding its feet during difficult circumstances.

However, the situation has escalated quickly, says the commentary headlined Propaganda War, adding that Janša's party, the Democrats' (SDS), is truly admiring the developments in Hungary.

History teaches us that there is plenty of people who "want to have absolute power and who actually see democracy as something which limits them. And that such people are currently leading quite a few countries".

"Everything that seems like a bad version of a grotesque is true," says Mladina, listing a few examples when Janša pushed his own agenda of "transforming this nation into one great SDS party", such as convincing people that some citizens were actually flocking to tourist spots over last weekend.

Some media found families and individuals at the seaside and lakeside resorts, but they talked about "an invasion". The government knew this did not actually happen - "the police issued only some 90 warnings across Slovenia, and only a few in the Gorenjska and Primorska regions" which are deemed the most popular for weekend trips, but the situation nevertheless paved the way for a ban on movement outside municipal units.

On top of that, the government's coronavirus crisis spokesperson Jelko Kacin scolded couples and families for sitting closely to each other on benches in parks as if they were children.

The weekly wonders why such conduct is tolerated if families are after all allowed to stay together during the crisis. Moreover, it also points out that the government has made a clear distinction between couples and "couples" by laying down that only those living in shared households are allowed to be with each other during the lockdown.

After the introduction of the municipal ban, children of divorced parents are not even allowed to see the other parent if they live in another municipality.

Mladina hence argues that the government is "abusing the epidemic of a dangerous virus for its own political purposes", capitalising on our fears and distress.

Such actions should not be tolerated, particularly in such circumstances, says editor-in-chief Grega Repovž, adding that relevant data show citizens are actually respecting the restrictions and should deserve praise for that.

Demokracija: Condemns media critical of govt

STA, 2 April 2020 - The right-wing weekly Demokracija is critical in its commentary on Thursday of "leftist mainstream media attacking the centre-right government willy-nilly with heavy artillery". It says this reaction is understandable because anti-coronavirus measures have not only been well-received by the people, but also undermine the leftists' agenda.

This agenda is known as cultural Marxism and is based on the undermining of traditional values. These ideas have long been spread by a variety of NGOS, mostly founded and funded by George Soros, the weekly's editor-in-chief Jože Biščak says under the headline Resurrection.

"Now this delusional dream of Slovenia again becoming a swampy socialist community, are bursting... The hardest blow being that LGBT activists and retarded social scientists can no longer brainwash students."

Now, for at least a few months, upbringing in back in "the right hands - the hands of parents". Parents must build a mental wall in the heads of their offspring so that "no degenerate leftist idea will ever again come near the brains of our descendants".

Children must come to understand that there are only two sexes and that each has its own historical burden in preserving a nation. They must understand that "hordes of foreigners from Africa and the Mohammedan world cannot replace noble Slovenian women and courageous Slovenian men".

"These days, luckily, we are witnessing a slight turning in Slovenia back to the family, religion, patriotism, the almost forgotten principles, above all there can again be seen a return to values that allowed the Slovenian nation to survive."

Demokracija says leftist media fear that Slovenia would wake up a different nation after the coronavirus epidemic. "Not a dictatorship, a threat they have been using to scare the people, but a country of free people, who showed in isolation their true solidarity and brought back humble pray to God."

"This will be a renewed resurrection, in which progressive 'rebellion' will disappear and Slovenia will be on its way to a new future, where nothing will be out of reach of hard-working hands."

All our posts in this series are here

All our stories on coronavirus are here, while those covering covid-19 and Croatia are here. We'll have an update at the end of the day, and if you want newsflashes then we'll post those on Facebook

We can’t have pictures of COVID-19 every day. So instead we’ll try and show the works of Slovenian artists. Today it’s Xenia Guzej. You can see more of her work here.

Contents

Highest increase in coronavirus deaths recorded yesterday

Govt restricts use of certain drugs, calls for donations

SDS MEPs donating share of pay for Covid-19 relief, PM urges others to follow suit

Slovenia donates protective equipment to North Macedonia

Highest increase in coronavirus deaths recorded yesterday

STA, 3 April 2020 - Four more deaths related to the new coronavirus in Slovenia were recorded on Thursday, the highest daily increase so far, and another patient died on Friday, increasing the overall death toll to 21. The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases rose by 37 to 934, the government has announced.

The Maribor UKC hospital reported its first Covid-19 deaths today, saying that a patient from a nursing home died at the hospital on Thursday and another patient on Friday. Both were elderly.

"Sadly, I must report the first two fatalities. One is a person who had been in our intensive care unit for a while, and another was moved here yesterday from an old-age home outside our region," UKC Maribor medical director Matjaž Vogrin said.

Details about other fatalities are not available, but the first reported fatalities were residents of nursing homes, which have become the coronavirus hotspot in the country.

Data released by the Health Ministry show that a total of 177 nursing home residents were infected as of Thursday, 15 more than the day before.

Health Ministry data also show that 128 health workers are infected.

As of Thursday, 112 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised, 30 of them in intensive treatment units, five were discharged from hospital, the government said on Twitter earlier.

A total of 1,064 tests were performed yesterday to put the overall number at 25,921.

As many as 135 of Slovenia's 212 municipalities have recorded at least one confirmed infection and 85 recorded two or more cases.

While the capital Ljubljana still has the highest number of cases, at 158, up three in a day, the outbreaks elsewhere are centred around care homes.

The biggest jump in new cases was recorded in Ljutomer in the north-east of the country, by eight to 46. All eight new cases were at the old-age facility there where now 41 are infected.

To contain the spread, fifteen healthy residents of the facility who are able to look after themselves have been moved to be quarantined at the apartments of the tourist complex Bioterme Mala.

The biggest hot spot is at the care home at Šmarje pri Jelšah, where 60 residents and 15 staff were infected according to data as of Wednesday.

Only data for the whole Šmarje pri Jelšah community are available for Thursday showing that the number of infections there rose by four to 116.

Another hot spot is a nursing home in Horjul, a community just west of Ljubljana that saw its tally of cases rise by two to 26 on Thursday.

As of Wednesday 19 of the infected were residents at the nursing home and four were staff, who have been quarantined at home.

Out of seven residents tested on Thursday, two were positive, the Horjul facility manager said on Friday, which would put the total number of the infected there to 21, plus four staff.

The Horjul facility manager said that four of the residents who fell ill with Covid-19 were being treated at hospital.

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Govt restricts use of certain drugs, calls for donations

STA, 3 April 2020 - The government has restricted the usage of drugs containing chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine or azithromycin to make sure enough of those substances are available to patients who need them. It has also tasked the Agency for Medicines to call on companies to donate to the public health system drugs used to treat Covid-19 patients.

The government said on Friday that due to the spreading of coronavirus infections the prescribing of medications with the three substances, which are principally used for the treatment of other conditions but have proven to be effective in the treatment of Covid-19, has increased.

Until further notice, prescribing these medications for personal use and their over-the-counter sale will be banned.

Thus, the government wants to make sure that sufficient amounts of drugs containing chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine are available to patients with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus erythematosus, who urgently need them.

The government also wants to prevent the overuse of azithromycin, which could potentially lead to bacteria developing resistance to the drug, and deficiency of the drug on the market.

The relevant decree adopted today will enter into force after it is published in the Official Gazette.

The cabinet also tasked the Agency for Medicines last night to call on companies to donate to the public health system drugs that have proven effective in the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

According to the Government Communication Office, the UKC Ljubljana hospital will collect data on the drugs needed at hospitals around the country at least once a month and forward them to the agency to enable optimal distribution, including of donations.

UKC will be collecting data on drugs containing hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, remdesivir, favipiravir, umipiravir, tocilizumab, systemic interferons/IFN beta-1-alpha, siltuksimab and sarilumab.

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SDS MEPs donating share of pay for Covid-19 relief, PM urges others to follow suit

STA, 3 April 2020 - MEPs Milan Zver and Romana Tomc of the senior coalition Democrats (SDS) announced on Friday they would donate 30% of their pay to fight the Covid-19 disease. Prime Minister Janez Janša responded by praising the move and calling on other Slovenian top officials in EU institutions and around the world to follow their example.

Zver and Tomc (SDS/EPP) decided to give up a share of their pay even though the umbrella anti-crisis law, endorsed on Thursday, does not envisage such pay cuts for MEPs.

"I expect a similar gesture from the rest of Slovenian (and foreign) officials holding well-paid jobs in the EU and around the world," said Janša, who also expects a similar gesture of judges and the editors of major media not affected by the 30% pay cut imposed by the law.

Tomc urged her colleagues and other appointees to EU institutions to join her in this step as well.

Zver explicitly stated on his Twitter account that he would be donating the share as of April and until the end of the epidemic is declared.

Meanwhile, MEP Tanja Fajon (SD/S&D) as well as MEPs Irena Joveva and Klemen Grošelj (RENEW/LMŠ) responded by saying they had not been sharing their donations for coronavirus relief publicly.

Franc Bogovič (SLS/EPP) tweeted that he had made his contribution three weeks ago to a special account of the Red Cross.

"In the meantime I've helped those affected directly. I make monthly transfers (youth charity, UNICEF), I also respond to many charity campaigns. I'll also donate into the budget," tweeted Bogovič, adding that he was not in the habit of making his donations public each time.

Joveva said that she did not need any calls for her previous donations nor would she need them in the future, while Grošelj pointed out that he did not want publicity at the expense of others' distress.

In a Facebook post Joveva said that she and Bogovič had already stated in a web discussion yesterday that they would not have a problem taking a 30% pay cut and were making donations.

Similarly, Milan Brglez (SD/S&D) said that he did not publicly communicate about his donations or charitable activities.

Fajon exchanged a few words with Tomc on Twitter, reminding the SDS MEP that she recently said charity was not charity if it meant publicity. Tomc replied that this was something else because it showed solidarity and highlighted that everybody was in the same boat.

Under the coronavirus umbrella law a 30% pay cut awaits holders of public office in Slovenia, but not mayors and judges.

The Slovenian Association of Judges said earlier this week that it had opened a special account for judges to donate a share of their pay to fight the epidemic.

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Slovenia donates protective equipment to North Macedonia

STA, 3 April 2020 - Slovenia has donated to North Macedonia protective equipment worth EUR 110,000 to help the country fight the new coronavirus, the Slovenian Defence Ministry said on Friday. The package for the Macedonian Interior Ministry includes 100,000 protective masks and 100,000 protective gloves, the Macedonian press agency MIA reported.

"The donation comes at a crucial moment. I'd like to thank Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša and our Slovenian friends. Every donation counts and will help our daily efforts to protect police officers working round the clock who are exposed to the risk of infection with the new coronavirus," said Interior Minister Nakje Chulev, who accepted the shipment at Skopje airport today.

Slovenian Ambassador to North Macedonia Milan Jazbec was also present. "I am honoured that we are the first EU and NATO member to have made a bilateral donation to the police force," he was quoted as saying by MIA.

According to the Slovenian Defence Ministry, Slovenia has responded to a request for aid that North Macedonia addressed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chulev said that his ministry was currently focusing on exercising oversight of the implementation of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country, and on providing enough protective gear for its staff.

According to data by the Macedonian Health Ministry, 430 coronavirus infections have so far been recorded in the country, while 13 people have died.

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All our stories on coronavirus are here, while those covering covid-19 and Croatia are here. We'll have an update at the end of the day, and if you want newsflashes then we'll post those on Facebook

We can’t have pictures of COVID-19 every day. So instead we’ll try and show the works of Slovenian artists and designers. Today it’s Lara Orel Pogačar, a student at ALUO - Akademija za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje. You can see more of this series of posters here.

Contents

Highest increase in coronavirus deaths recorded yesterday

Relaunch of business activities conditional on protective equipment

Police to oversee adherence to epidemic restrictions at weekend

Florist shops and nurseries to reopen today

Govt already working on stimulus package No. 2

Highest increase in coronavirus deaths recorded yesterday

STA, 3 April 2020 - Four more deaths related to the new coronavirus in Slovenia were recorded on Thursday, the highest daily increase so far, putting the death toll at 20. The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases rose by 37 to 934, the government has announced.

A total of 1,064 tests were performed yesterday to put the overall number at 25,921. The number of hospitalised persons is at 112, 30 of whom are in intensive care, five have been discharged from hospital, the government said on Twitter.

As many as 135 of Slovenia's 212 municipalities have recorded at least one confirmed infection and 85 recorded two or more cases.

While the capital Ljubljana still has the highest number of cases, at 158, up three in a day, the outbreaks elsewhere are centred around care homes.

The biggest jump in new cases was recorded in Ljutomer in the north-east of the country, by eight to 46. All eight new cases were at the old-age facility there where now 41 are infected.

To contain the spread, fifteen healthy residents of the facility who are able to look after themselves have been moved to be quarantined at the apartments of the tourist complex Bioterme Mala.

The biggest hot spot is at the care home at Šmarje pri Jelšah, where 60 residents and 15 staff were infected according to data as of Wednesday.

Only data for the whole Šmarje pri Jelšah community are available for Thursday showing that the number of infections there rose by four to 116.

Another hot spot is a nursing home in Horjul, a community just west of Ljubljana that saw its tally of cases rise by two to 26 on Thursday.

As of Wednesday 19 of the infected were residents at the nursing home and four were staff, who have been quarantined at home.

Out of seven residents tested on Thursday, two were positive, the Horjul facility manager said on Friday, which would put the total number of the infected there to 21, plus four staff.

The Horjul facility manager said that four of the residents who fell ill with Covid-19 were being treated at hospital.

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Relaunch of business activities conditional on protective equipment

STA, 3 April 2020 - The government is examining how to gradually restart the economy amidst the lockdown, but in order to do so a sufficient amount of personal protective equipment must be secured, the government's spokesman for the coronavirus epidemic, Jelko Kacin, told the press on Friday. The goal is to domestically produce 100,000 masks daily.

"The Ministry of Economic Development and Technology is prioritising domestic production of protective equipment that would be available to workers," he said, adding that the business sector was behind only healthcare and nursing homes when it came to the distribution of protective equipment.

Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek yesterday visited several companies that produce protective gear. "Our intention is to secure at least 100,000 face masks daily from local production." The number has already been achieved, Kacin said, but added that "demand will be high".

Počivalšek yesterday visited Prevent&Deloza, a maker of protective equipment that he said is already producing 10,000 washable face masks daily according to a design approved by UKC Ljubljana, Slovenia's largest hospital.

Several other companies that do not specialise in protective equipment have started producing masks in recent weeks, including car upholstery maker Boxmark in Kidričevo, which produces over 6,000 face masks daily for the national stockpile, and several other major textile companies which have not disclosed their output.

Dozens of small sewing businesses around the country have joined the effort as well and many municipalities have already started distributing face masks to residents, usually of the washable variety.

At the same time, efforts continue on an ongoing basis to secure enough protective equipment for the hospital setting.

Počivalšek said on Twitter today that a million three-layer masks had just been delivered to the Commodity Reserves Institute's main warehouse in Ljubljana. Earlier this week a million surgical masks and 200,000 of the higher-grade FFP2 masks had been delivered from Czechia.

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Police to oversee adherence to epidemic restrictions at weekend

STA, 3 April 2020 - Starting today and all through Sunday, the police will be preventing people from gathering in public places and controlling whether they leave their place of residence. This comes after tourist destinations were overflowing last weekend and the government decided to restrict movement to place of residence in an effort to rein in Covid-19 contagion.

The police said on its website last night that adhering to the restrictions in place is of utmost importance for the benefit of everybody.

The oversight will be conducted on motorways and other roads, as well as in other locations, especially near popular destinations.

The police has also set up a hotline to help those with questions about the restrictions. The hotline is available every day of the week between 7am and 7pm at 01 514 70 01. Questions can also be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Florist shops and nurseries to reopen on Friday

STA, 3 April 2020 - Florist shops and nurseries will reopen on Friday, a day after the government decided to add them to the list of exemptions to restrictions that shut down most non-essential businesses in Slovenia in the face of the coronavirus epidemic. Moreover, construction work where there is no contact to the client will also be allowed from Friday.

The government decided to allow florists' and nurseries to reopen because spring is a peak selling time for these businesses that invested a lot of funds and work in growing seedlings and other plants, which would go to waste unless they are sold, the government Communications Office said after a correspondence session on Thursday.

Moreover, construction work will be allowed at construction sites that are not used as living spaces and where the workers have no contact with the clients.

Nevertheless, those involved will be obligated to use face masks and gloves and to keep a safe distance from others.

Consumers can only go to the nearest florist or nursery. If there is no such business in the municipality of their residence, they may cross into another municipality.

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Govt already working on stimulus package No. 2

STA, 3 April 2020 - The government will discuss on Friday guidelines for a second fiscal stimulus package after its first, EUR 3 billion bill was passed in parliament on Thursday. The new measures will bring some corrections to the law passed yesterday and new measures to address liquidity, investment and employment legislation.

Finance Minister Andrej Šircelj announced at the start of the week that the government was already working on additional measures to mitigate the coronavirus crisis.

"Once we have mitigated the negative consequences of the epidemic, we will encourage the economy, liquidity and investment, with new measures," he said.

The government is examining the proposals put forward by deputy groups to improve the first law, which was adopted in a hurry so it has some flaws, coronavirus crisis spokesperson Jelko Kacin told the press on Friday. "We want to examine, harmonise and prepare these things for the second package."

At the same time the government is examining possible measures to boost the economy's liquidity, he said, noting these two groups of measures will be "the core of the second package".

The government would like to adopt the second bill in ten days, and then immediately send it to parliament, he explained at today's first government media briefing.

The government will be helped by the advisory task force led by economist Matej Lahovnik, which also advised it on the first package, according to economist Marko Jaklič, a member of the task force.

He said the task force had split into three groups - one focusing on liquidity, another on labour market and flexicurity and the third one on investment.

The liquidity group has already embarked on work so the set of measure to boost liquidity of Slovenian companies should be ready shortly, he told the Odmevi news show on public broadcaster TV Slovenija last evening.

The second group will draft measures that are to address the challenges on the labour market after 1 June, according to Jaklič.

The measures featured in the EUR 3 billion coronavirus law passed yesterday are valid from mid-March when the epidemic was declared until end-May, possibly a month longer.

Trade unions are however upset that the government continues to ignore social dialogue.

The ZSSS association thus urged Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj today to involve the Economic and Social Council, the country's main industrial relations forum, in drafting the new measures, at least those related to the labour market.

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What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

If you’d like to keep up on the daily headlines then follow those here, or get all our stories in your feed on Facebook.

All our posts in this series are here

All our stories on coronavirus are here, while those covering covid-19 and Croatia are here. We'll have an update at the end of the day, and if you want newsflashes then we'll post those on Facebook

We can’t have pictures of COVID-19 every day. So instead we’ll try and show the works of Slovenian artists. Today it’s Igor Andjelić. You can see more of his work here, and I recommend following him to get more joy in your life.

Contents

Number of coronavirus cases rises by 56 to 897, 16 deaths confirmed

High-school leaving exams delayed, other problems tackled

Ban on road cargo traffic at weekends, holidays lifted

Poll shows increase in those deeming latest measures too strict

Number of coronavirus cases rises by 56 to 897, 16 deaths confirmed

STA, 2 April 2020 - The number of coronavirus cases in Slovenia rose by 56 in a day to stand at 897 by Wednesday midnight. So far 16 people have died from the disease. In the last 24 hours, 1,095 tests were conducted, the government said on Twitter.

A total of 112 patients were in hospitals around the country today, 29 of them in intensive care. Four persons were released from hospital in the last 24 hours and one person died.

So far, a total of 24,857 tests have been performed.

As many as 162 of those infected are elderly persons at care homes, the major virus hotspots in the country, their number increasing by 25 from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Data from the Labour Ministry also show that 32 staff at the facilities are infected, two more than the day before.

The largest outbreaks have been at the nursing homes at Šmarje pri Jelšah (NE), where at least 60 residents and 15 staff are infected according to data as of Wednesday, and Ljutomer (NE), where the infection spread from two to 33 people in just five days.

Concerns have been raised in Ljutomer for the safety of the town's 4,000 residents, with the care home there rejecting the allegations that it had put the residents, staff and the whole community at risk through inadequate response to the situation.

The first nursing home outbreak was in Metlika in the south but the situation there appears to have since stabilised because the infected were fast isolated. A total of 39 are infected there as of Wednesday.

Another hot spot is a nursing home in Horjul, a community just west of Ljubljana that saw its tally of cases rise by four to 24 on Wednesday, with 19 at the nursing home.

A further 11 are infected at the Bokalce unit of the old-age facility in the Ljubljana Vič Rudnik borough.

In order to prevent any further spread, the Labour Ministry sent instructions to all care homes today to set up three separate zones: one for healthy residents, one for residents suspected of being infected and one for the resident who have already tested positive.

In case of a Covid-19 infection among the residents at the facility, the staff must not move between healthy residents and those infected or suspected of being infected.

All care homes need to monitor the health of their staff and their families, which means all staff will need to measure their body temperature before coming in to work.

In case of a change in body temperature they will have to notify the person in charge, and will not be allowed to come back to work until the reason for the change in their health condition has been cleared.

In addition, old-age facilities need to form teams to handle residents in case of a Covid-19 outbreak, which should comprise the facility's official, GP, nurse, a public health specialist, a coordinator appointed by the minister and a senior nurse appointed by the Chamber of Nurses and Midwives.

However, the association of care homes is not happy with the proposed solutions, arguing that most homes could not set up such separate zones as proposed by the ministry, and even those who could could only do so when the number of infected was still were small.

The association said that nursing homes were not equipped or qualified to treat a large number of Covid-19 patients, and they oppose moving the healthy residents to other locations or home care.

They find it unacceptable that "part of the sick citizens should be treated at hospitals with all the necessary medical equipment and trained staff, while part of the ill elderly be cared at old-age facilities, which lack the required conditions". They believe thus would be a gross violation of human rights.

The municipalities with the biggest number of confirmed coronavirus cases are Ljubljana (182), followed by Šmarje pri Jelšah (112), Metlika (49) and Ljutomer (38).

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High-school leaving exams delayed, other problems tackled

STA, 2 April 2020 - More than two weeks after schools in Slovenia switched to remote learning due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Education Minister Simona Kustec announced secondary school-leaving exams would not be able to be carried out as scheduled.

Although the National Exam Centre has been reluctant to announce any changes in the dates so as to encourage students to take remote learning seriously, Kustec told the public broadcaster late last night that given the epidemic situation it was clear that the first part of the matura exams could not be conducted as planned.

The date for essay writing will probably be moved from early May to 30 May, she said on the late news show Odmevi.

The ministry later said that the matura exams were scheduled to start on 30 May, with more specific data not yet available.

The National Exam Centre (RIC) has proposed the dates of individual exams to remain as scheduled, with the exception of the Slovenian essay writing being moved to 1 June.

RIC director Darko Zupanc said the plan was for the students to sit the English exam on 30 May as planned, along with all other dates, except the Slovenian language essay.

Only art school performance exams are to be moved to June. The announcement of the matura exams is to be moved on from 13 July be about two weeks.

Zupanc would not speculate what happened if the measures taken to contain the epidemic were extended into May or June, arguing that speculation at this stage would be bad for students. But he said that a reserve scenario solutions were ready.

The minister stressed that both experts and representatives of students agreed that matura should nevertheless be carried out. "All scenarios we are working on, focus on going through with the exams," the minister said.

It will not be possible to meet the original deadlines, but the school year for final graders will conclude on 22 May as usual. "The exact dates and deadlines (of the exams) will depend on the coronavirus situation," Kustec said.

According to her, this means that higher education enrolment deadlines will be adjusted to the changes. If matura exams are carried out in the spring and autumn as usually, no major changes will be necessary, but if no exams will be able to be carried out in the spring then the enrolment deadlines will need to be extended.

Kustec said the ministry was also preparing various scenarios if this happens. "We'll find a way that will be acceptable and suitable in this situation," she said.

The first enrolment deadline for higher education institutions has already been extended from 18 March to 9 April.

Kustec indicated last weekend that the dates for national exams for primary schools might also need to be changed.

She said that the ministry was also working on solutions for other problems students encounter. Students who will not be able to carry out the practical part of their courses will pass if they pass the theoretical part of the course.

Higher education institutions will adjust their requirements and students who will not be able to meet their obligations because of the epidemic will have their status automatically extended for another year.

In research, projects that were due on 31 December will be extended for another year without any cuts to their annual funding, she said.

Kindergartens, which remain closed during the epidemic and can therefore not charge parents for their services, will receive compensation for labour and other costs from the state. The same goes for private kindergartens, which will receive compensation amounting to 85% of what parents pay for a child, Kustec said.

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Ban on road cargo traffic at weekends, holidays lifted

STA, 2 April 2020 - The Infrastructure Ministry has lifted the ban on road cargo traffic at weekends and holidays, with the measure being in force until the end of the coronavirus pandemic in Slovenia is declared.

The ban on cargo vehicles weighing above 7.5 tonnes was in force at weekends and holidays from 8am to 9pm. It would also apply on Friday, 10 April, between 2pm and 9pm because of the Easter holidays.

Announcing the lift on the ban, the ministry also said on Thursday that terminals at the port of Koper operated and other port services provided without disruption.

It added that the port operator Luka Koper had introduced all necessary measures to contain the spreading of new coronavirus and protect employees and other persons in the port area.

According to the ministry, rail freight transport runs smoothly at border crossing. Road cargo transport and transit transport through the port of Koper is also undisrupted despite certain restrictions in other countries and at border crossings.

Passenger transport has been meanwhile significantly reduced as the government also banned non-urgent travel between municipalities. The newspaper Primorske Novice reported today that traffic on Slovenian motorways had dropped by more than 60%.

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Poll shows increase in those deeming latest measures too strict

STA, 2 April 2020 - The latest public opinion survey by Valicon suggests an increasing number of Slovenians deem the latest government measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic too rigid, with the proportion of those who think so increasing to more than 20% from 7% a week ago. A vast majority also believe the situation is improving.

Moreover, the share of those saying that the measures are not strict enough dropped from 40% to 27%. Most respondents (53%) still believe that the measures are appropriate.

Meanwhile, overall optimism is accompanied by feelings of concern though. Some 70% are optimistic, saying that the situation is turning for the better, an increase compared to the previous survey (57%).

More than 40% think that extreme measures, including school closure and bans on movement and gatherings, will last for another two months, while some 20% believe that emergency circumstances will be over in a month.

On average, the respondents expect another 70 days of the current situation - until 11 June. A week ago, the expected deadline was 28 May.

Slovenians are still most concerned for their families (69%), although a bit less so compared to a poll conducted two weeks ago (81%).

Similarly, concern for their health decreased as well, dropping from 44% to 37%.

On the other hand, feelings of worry regarding the economic impact are on the rise, climbing from 43% to 51%.

Following the announcement of measures aimed at mitigating the fallout, the respondents expressed less concern over keeping their jobs, however in the past few days, such distress is again more prevalent, standing at almost 15%.

There has been detected a slight decrease in support for the anti-crisis umbrella bill. Some 40% of those polled find the stimulus package appropriate, while about 50% said the same when the measures were announced a week ago.

The boost is still generally welcomed, but the number of those who find the measures inadequate increased from 3% to more than 8%.

The latest survey also inquired about the changes experienced at a workplace due to the outbreak. The workload of some 20% has increased, while 37% have a similar amount of work as before. Almost 10% is working reduced hours, with some 20% being on furlough.

Moreover, 4% have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis.

The survey was conducted between 31 March and 1 April among 482 respondents.

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All our stories on coronavirus are here, while those covering covid-19 and Croatia are here. We'll have an update at the end of the day, and if you want newsflashes then we'll post those on Facebook

We can’t have pictures of COVID-19 every day. So instead we’ll try and show the works of Slovenian artists. Today it’s Saška Grušovnik. You can see more of her work here.

Contents

Number of coronavirus cases rises by 56 to 897, 16 deaths confirmed

Drive-in testing introduced in Koper

3D printed face masks joining fight against Covid-19 in Slovenia

Hospital director resigns after contentious tweets

Number of coronavirus cases rises by 56 to 897, 16 deaths confirmed

STA, 2 April 2020 - The number of coronavirus cases in Slovenia rose by 56 in a day to stand at 897 by Wednesday midnight. So far 16 people have died from the disease. In the last 24 hours, 1,095 tests were conducted, the government said on Twitter.

A total of 112 patents were in hospitals around the country today, 29 of them in intensive care. Four persons were released from hospital in the last 24 hours and one person died.

So far, a total of 24,857 tests have been performed.

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Drive-in testing introduced in Koper

STA, 2 April 2020 - The Koper Community Health Centre, one of the 16 coronavirus testing points in Slovenia, has introduced the country's first drive-in system for taking swabs from potentially infected persons to significantly reduce the time needed for a single test.

In addition to saving time for employees and patients - one test takes 10 instead of 30 minutes - the centre also saves on protective equipment, Ljubica Kolander Bizjak, the director of the centre, has told the STA.

Under the new system, a person who suspects that they are infected contacts their personal physician, who decides if they should be tested. The person then contacts the community health centre and gets a date for the test.

The person then drives to a dedicated parking and is swabbed, and then instructed to remain self-isolated until the results of the test are known.

The drive in testing has been introduced on proposal from employees, who were taking samples in a designated container, where the process took 30 minutes per person, as the container needs to be ventilated for at least 15 minutes and sanitised.

Kolander Bizjak said that drive-in testing was performed in two locations in Koper. The average daily number is 40, but the number sometimes reaches 60, and if a test would take 30 minutes, the system would get "clogged", she added.

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3D printed face masks joining fight against Covid-19 in Slovenia

STA, 2 April 2020 - Shortages of protective gear during the coronavirus pandemic have prompted that new platforms of providing much needed equipment are opening up in Slovenia, such as creating face masks using 3D printers. An initiative has started developing hospital gear as well as supporting home production.

The Let's Protect Slovenia initiative has printed out the first 3D face shields in Slovenia in cooperation with the Primorska University, Izola hospital and Ljubljana Technology Park.

The university has said that the first prototypes have been already despatched to the hospital where they are being tested in the physical world.

Slovenia has thus actively joined foreign countries where the 3D printing technology is already used to mitigate shortages of the coveted gear during the pandemic.

The masks are printed at the university and are compatible with microbiological filters that are part of medical respirators.

A filter model that has been employed in developing 3D-printed masks is certified to be 99.99% efficient in protecting the wearer. The masks are meant for multiple use to boot.

Apart from providing the gear for hospitals, the initiative has also given guidelines on how to use 3D printers to make masks at home. Last week, it made available an open-source format for the Gladius Friends 3D-mask model.

Any 3D printer can be used to make this type of a reusable mask. The initiative thus launched a campaign titled Mask for a Friend, urging citizens to print masks for themselves and their friends.

Open-source groups in the US and other European countries have started to make use of the prototype of such a home-made mask as well.

It is important to note though that the mask has not been certified as a medical equipment or personal protective gear.

Reservations about the mask for domestic use have emerged as well as warnings regarding its safety. The 3D Slovenija group has warned against using the shield, saying such products are porous and of questionable quality, cannot be sufficiently disinfected, are difficult to fit or seal, with home-made filter systems even posing a potential danger to health.

The platform has thus proposed that it would be more viable to make only the prototype and then use printing modes of higher quality or even industrial devices to make the masks, mimicking the production process of dive masks.

Meanwhile, the Let's Protect Slovenia initiative insists that it is looking for the best possible solutions in the given situation, conceding that non-certified equipment is not optimal and that there is room for improvement.

Temperatures higher than 56 degrees Celsius kill coronaviruses and printed equipment can be disinfected in an oven. "We've tried disinfecting at 60 degrees Celsius, 45 minutes in an oven, and it works. I myself have tried it at even higher temperatures and the material endured," said microbiologist Teja Bajt of the initiative.

On the other hand, concerns have been raised about the material reacting to temperatures of 40 degrees already and the chemicals used in the process. The problem with disinfecting it is thus great, said Matej Auguštin, who works for pharmaceuticals.

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Hospital director resigns after contentious tweets

STA, 2 April 2020 - Slovenj Gradec hospital director Janez Lavre has resigned after finding himself in the limelight over a series of tweets which included threats to withhold coronavirus ventilator treatment to critics of the government.

Health Minister Tomaž Gantar has already accepted the resignation, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Lavre, a physician who was once considered as potential health minister, published last week a series of politically charged and unethical tweets related to the situation in the country as the nation is fighting the epidemic.

"Great, you are not getting a ventilator," Lavre said in a response to Social Democrats (SD) presidency member Uroš Jauševec expressing satisfaction over the SD deciding not to back a government proposal to give the army certain policing powers.

He also lashed out against investigative journalist Blaž Zgaga over a tweet critical of the government: "You may be positive soon and then let's hear you squeak." He also referred to critical journalists as vermin in at least two of his tweets.

Lavre, a member of New Slovenia - Christian Democrats (NSi) until last year, closed down all of his social media accounts on Monday and issued an apology.

He said he was aware that the statements were inappropriate, offensive and unethical, and blamed them on the workload and mental stress in the face of events related to the handling of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Announcing the resignation "in relation to the inappropriate public communication by the director", the ministry said today that the matter would be "subject of further proceedings".

The Medical Chamber has already launched due proceeding and said the matter would be discussed by its committee for legal and ethical issues.

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STA, 1 April 2020 - Sociologist Valerija Korošec says it is high time to introduce a universal basic income (UBI, or Univerzalni temeljni dohodek – UTD), arguing it is a vital safeguard against the consequences of crises. She thinks Slovenia will introduce it this year to lead the way in a post-corona and post-Brexit EU when it chairs the bloc in 2021.

Although she admits a crisis such as the coronavirus epidemic, when fires are being put out in panic, is not the best time to do that, she believes UBI is urgently needed as the pandemic wreaks social and economic havoc, because it is a means of protection when social systems stop working.

The researcher at the government's macroeconomic think tank IMAD thinks Slovenia will introduce it this year, saying UBI supporters have intensively worked on it since the financial crisis for the past ten years, so they have "ideas and solutions ready".

Korošec says the measures the government is introducing to help the self-employed are not UBI. The government will cover all their social contributions and pay them what a "basic income" of 350 euro for March and 700 euro for April in case of a loss of income.

But the sociologist says these are short-term measures unsustainable in the long run, which do not constitute an optimal use of social resources, are not unconditional and do constitute a subsistence minimum.

She says those who have written the EUR 3 billion fiscal stimulus bill to mitigate Covid-19 ramifications for society "are people who are trying to put the money into preserving the existing system, not into developing a different, more sustainable system".

UBI advocates in Slovenia have been pushing for UBI for the last 15 years, often describing it as a social transfer to give people minimal existential security. But Kroščec says UBI is not just one measure, "it is a broader social paradigm, a way in which society should be organised to be resistant to crises and shocks".

Under the UBI paradigm, society should be organised based on three pillars, which reflect all ideals of the French Revolution: a universal or unconditional pillar, a democratic one and a market one, explains the researcher.

"The universal pillar should become the most fundamental level of social security to strengthen society's foundations, so that a society can survive, or else it can easily be crushed to pieces."

Korošec, Slovenia's representatives on the international and European UBI networks, BIEN and UBIE, says UBIE would like UBI to be introduced in at least one European country by 2020 and in five by 2025.

"Countries are actually competing which one will be the first and best in introducing the most optimal UBI solution." And although Canada seems to be the closest, having experimented with UBI already in the 1970s, Korošec expects Slovenia to be actually the first country in Europe to introduce it this year.

"Perhaps we won't call it UBI, but we will have to introduce policies based on the basic principle of every public policy taking care of all people universally, this will be the starting point."

Korošec believes Slovenia's EU presidency in 2021 is "an excellent opportunity to start developing such a progressive idea and become a beacon for the EU".

Slovenia is small enough, lies "at the crossroads of Slavic, Romance and Germanic nations" and is "in many ways reminiscent of Scandinavian countries", so it could well "unite and lead the way in post-coronavirus- and post-Brexit Europe".

"However, if European society is not clever enough to introduce UBI now, there will be no more EU in ten year's time," the doctor of sociology says.

In 2010 Korošec drafted a proposal to introduce UBI in Slovenia, which was then used by Belgium to introduce a universal child allowance.

In the last ten years Korošec has significantly rethought how it would make sense to introduce UBI. She has started considering not only UBI financed by the state in cash but also the introduction of universal basic resources. Today her thinking thus revolves around local UBI, a universal child allowance for all children in the same amount, as well as energy UBI.

"At a time when we don't know how the world will revolve, this is particularly important. Instead of money we want to give people a warm apartment or guaranteed electricity that must come from renewable sources," she said.

All our stories on coronavirus are here, while those covering covid-19 and Croatia are here. We'll have an update at the end of the day, and if you want newsflashes then we'll post those on Facebook

We can’t have pictures of COVID-19 every day. So instead we’ll try and show the works of Slovenian artists. Today it’s Tjaša Derstvenšek, from the agency Pristop. You can see more of thois series of posters Contents

Extended police powers to be thrown out of anti-coronavirus legislation

No major violations of stricter movement rules

Disadvantaged students to get equipment for online classes

STA, 1 April 2020 - Three teams of journalists of the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija have been assaulted in recent days; in two cases they were harassed verbally, and in another the company's vehicle was damaged. The incidents have drawn condemnation by Slovenia's top officials and Journalists' Association (DNS).

RTV Slovenija reported of a verbal assault and damage to the company vehicle in the Odmevi late night show on Tuesday evening, noting the attack had been reported to police.

According to the broadcaster, police unofficially stated that an increase in violence in society had been detected in these challenging times. The broadcaster stressed that any form of violence was unacceptable and called for tolerance.

The same call was made in the Odmevi show by Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina.

The DNS said today that in the first case journalists had been verbally assaulted by the head of the Velenje municipal administration, Iztok Mori, a few days ago, in the second incident that happened on Tuesday, an unknown perpetrator in Ljubljana first threatened a team of journalists and then cut the tyres on the vehicle of the camera crew, while the third assault happened this morning.

In the incident, a team of journalists from the Dobro jutro (Good morning) show from the Maribor regional centre was harassed while making an interview in a street in Maribor.

RTV Slovenija reported the two most recent cases to police, the DNS noted, condemning both assaults.

Any assault on journalists, who are conducting their work in line with professional and ethical standards, is completely unacceptable, especially in times of crisis, when reporting is crucial to keep the public informed, the association said.

"As a society we may not accept a situation in which verbal and also physical assaults become occupational risk that journalists are exposed to while on the job."

The association has prepared a set of instructions for journalists who are targets of threats or attacks or on-line harassment. It has also called on all journalists to report all threats to police and urged their employers to provide journalists with the necessary support.

The attacks were condemned by senior officials and parties, including Prime Minister Janez Janša, who tweeted: "We condemn any form of street violence targeting journalists or anyone else, as well as any instigating of such acts".

The assaults were also denounced by the opposition Social Democrats (SD) and the junior coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC).

On his Twitter profile, Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik, an SMC member, described intimidation of journalists and their work as an unacceptable and abject act. "During the Covid-19 epidemic journalists are risking their own health to keep the public accurately informed about the developments, for which I'm truly grateful to them."

The SMC added that at this time in particular the need was for powerful, loud and autonomous media that make sure that the public is informed on the developments.

The SD condemned violence by anyone against anyone in the strongest term on its Twitter account, adding that there was no democracy without free and independent media, and urging the government to establish conditions immediately allowing journalists free and safe work.

"I condemn the intimidation that journalists are subject to in the strongest terms! At a time when those in power want to curb democratic standards in the country through various legal acts, media independence and confidence are the more important," SD leader Dejan Židan tweeted, adding that the party would do everything to protect democracy.

All our stories on coronavirus are here, while those covering covid-19 and Croatia are here. We'll have an update at the end of the day, and if you want newsflashes then we'll post those on Facebook

We can’t have pictures of COVID-19 every day. So instead we’ll try and show the works of Slovenian artists and designers. Today it’s Janja Rozman and Damjana Sušnik from Ljubljana Castle, from a series of posters organised by Tam Tam. You can see more of them here.

Contents

Number of coronavirus cases up by 39 to 841, death toll at 15

Solutions sought as Covid-19 situation in nursing homes escalates

Four more crossings on Slovenia-Austria border to close

Dozens more Slovenians returning home