Politics

25 Aug 2020, 19:22 PM

STA, 25 August 2020 - Slovenia recorded 21 new coronavirus cases on Monday after conducting 1,370 tests, fresh official data show. A total of 17 persons were hospitalised with Covid-19, same as the day before, none requiring intensive care. There were no Covid-19 related fatalities.

Two persons were discharged from hospital yesterday. The latest cases were detected in 14 municipalities, most in Ljubljana and Velike Lašče in the south (each 3).

Government Covid-19 spokesperson Jelko Kacin said at today's daily briefing that the number of imported cases had been slightly decreasing. Slovenia recorded only one imported case, from Croatia, yesterday, while 13 cases are still being investigated.

He said the government would review the coronavirus situation in Slovenia and abroad in more detail tomorrow, and discuss preparations for autumn.

Based on the past 14-day period, the number of infections per 100,000 residents in Slovenia currently stands at 20. "We are somewhere in the middle of the yellow zone, but we are working to reduce this number especially because school starts next Tuesday," Kacin said.

Interior Minister Aleš Hojs noted that no major tailbacks had been recorded on the Slovenian-Croatian border prior to today's introduction of mandatory quarantine for arrivals from Croatia, because Slovenians had been informed about the measure in time and had been gradually returning home.

In the past three days, 226,000 persons entered Slovenia from Croatia, including 63,000 Slovenians, Hojs said, quoting police data.

A total of 2,138 quarantine orders were issued during this three-day period, but mostly for Western Balkan countries that have been on Slovenia's red list for a while, he said. Since the 14-day quarantine requirement was imposed for Croatia, more than 60 orders have been issued, but those were presumably also issued for arrivals from other Western Balkan countries.

Hojs added that in 90% of the cases, a quarantine order at the border is issued in 5-7 minutes, with some of them issued in two minutes and the maximum time being 21 minutes.

The minister said that according to Croatia's data, 30,000-40,000 Slovenians were still in Croatia. Croatian newspaper Večernji List meanwhile puts the figure at at least 45,000.

Slovenia has recorded 2,686 SARS-CoV-2 infections so far, and the national death toll is currently at 133, according to the national tracker covid-19.sledilnik. Active cases meanwhile number 414, the highest daily figure since mid-April.

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24 Aug 2020, 16:03 PM

STA, 24 August 202 - Slovenian MEP Irena Joveva (LMŠ/Renew) has recently become a target of insults on social media and web portals linked to the ruling Democrats (SDS) because of her Macedonian descent, the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) has said.

Joveva revealed she had been a target of insults in a Facebook post last Thursday, noting that she was not bothered by them on a personal level, but rather concerned about the course of Slovenian politics.

Kje in kdaj se konča strpnost do nestrpnosti? “Neslovenka. Antislovenka. Nakaza. Glupača. Čistokrvna socialistična...

Posted by Irena Joveva on Thursday, 20 August 2020

Her LMŠ party said today Joveva had been a target of systemic insults and harassment from some party media and individuals associated with the SDS on social media. To top it all, web portal Nova24TV published an article on Sunday referring to Joveva as a Macedonian MEP, the LMŠ said.

ivana jevova nova24.PNG

The full Nova24TV story is here

"Joveva was born in Slovenia, stood for MEP in Slovenia and was elected in Slovenia. Her descent, which she is particularly proud of, is her personal matter and something that does not belong in the political discourse of Slovenia in the 21st century," the LMŠ said.

The opposition party also called on Prime Minister Janez Janša, the SDS head, who is a co-owner of Nova24TV to make sure that "his portal stops publishing insulting, nationalist and racist articles, which are putting Slovenia on the inglorious map of countries ruled by parties that systematically spread intolerance, hate speech and harmful nationalism, which has tragically marked Europe's history in the 20th century".

The Prime Minister's office wrote in a statement for the STA that it would not comment on the appeal.

The LMŠ also called on junior coalition parties, especially those that declare themselves centrist, to clearly say whether they support such spreading of intolerance and hostile nationalism by the senior coalition party

24 Aug 2020, 15:21 PM

STA, 24 August 2020 - The national voluntary contact tracing app, designed to help curb the coronavirus epidemic, has been downloaded by around 37,400 users since it became available last Monday, the Public Administration Ministry has told the STA.

This is the number of users who have downloaded the app #OstaniZdrav (#StayHealthy) by Sunday at 1pm, the ministry said on Monday, adding that the feedback was positive, with users praising the user-friendliness and low battery consumption.

The modified version of the German app Corona-Warn-App has been available in the Google Play store since Monday at 4pm, and was downloaded by around 5,000 mobile phone users in the first 24 hours, said Minister Boštjan Koritnik.

The app is currently available only for devices with the Android operating system and one of the most frequently asked questions at the ministry's app call centre is when it will be available for the devices using the iOS operating system.

Asked how many ten-place TAN codes, which are received by individuals with a confirmed coronavirus infection, had been entered in the app in the first week, the ministry said that this data was still being collected in cooperation with health authorities.

The data are also being analysed and will be communicated to the public expectedly in the coming days.

Presenting the app a week ago, the ministry said that should the situation deteriorate, it might also develop an app whose use will be mandatory for some persons.

The government has recently put in place a legislative provision that would allow it to make use of a mobile app mandatory for those with confirmed infections and persons who have been ordered to quarantine.

Koritnik said at the time that the reasons for which this provision had been inserted in the latest anti-corona legislation in July had not ceased. On the contrary, it increasingly looks like a mandatory app might be needed.

You can get the 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

24 Aug 2020, 12:52 PM

STA, 24 August 2020 - Two people died of Covid-19 in Slovenia on Sunday and 14 tested positive in a total of 543 coronavirus tests, according to the most recent data released by the government on Monday. Today, thousands of holidaymakers are expected to return from Croatia, because arrivals will be ordered to quarantine for 14 days as of tomorrow.

In total 2,665 of SARS-CoV-2 infections have been confirmed in Slovenia, with 410 infections being active yesterday, of which 17 infected persons were in hospital. The death toll climbed to 133, according to the national tracker covid-19.sledilnik.

The government and health authorities expect the situation to worsen in the coming fortnight, as thousands of Slovenians are returning from Croatia, where the number of Covid-19 cases has skyrocketed.

In the past weeks a significant share of cases confirmed in Slovenia was in people who got infected while on holiday in Croatia.

Last week, Slovenia red-listed the neighbouring country, which means that people coming from Croatia are ordered to quarantine for two weeks. The government, however, gave holidaymakers until the end of today to return without mandatory quarantine.

Health officials have nonetheless recommended that they self-isolate for a while. It seems that many holidaymakers have waited for the very last day to return and tailbacks are expected at border crossings today.

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Concerns about the situation in Croatia

STA, 24 August 2020 - Jelko Kacin, the government's spokesperson for Covid-19, has described Croatia as a "serious threat to all other EU countries" due to the coronavirus situation there. "Time will tell how serious the situation there is. I have many reasons to worry," he told the latest edition of Reporter magazine.

He said Croatia successfully tackling coronavirus was in Slovenia's strategic interest. "They are our immediate neighbours, many of our nationals holidayed there. I think that all the well-meaning warnings expressed by our side and by me were worthy of (timely) attention," he said.

According to Kacin, Slovenia will not allow the situation to deteriorate the way it did in spring. "We simply cannot allow what's spreading from Western Balkans. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia were placed on the red list a long time ago for objective reasons, now our southern neighbour, with the numbers of infections that it has 'produced' itself, has placed itself in this group of countries."

"This is not to say that our neighbour is a Western Balkans country, I'm talking about the state of the epidemic there," he said.

Kacin holidayed on the Croatian coast, and after Croatia was placed on the red list some have accused him of double standards. He rejects this notion.

"Croatian RTL television asked me how come I decided to come to them. I explained that in coming to Krk I did not come to them, I came to my place. The building in which I spend my holidays is property of my family. We've been holidaying on this island for a long time, I had not come to visit their institutions."

23 Aug 2020, 11:56 AM

STA, 23 August 2020 - Out of 760 coronavirus tests conducted in Slovenia on Saturday, 34 came back positive, the highest weekend number since late March. There were no Covid-19 related fatalities. A total of 17 persons were in hospital with Covid-19, none requiring intensive care, show fresh official data.

One person was discharged form hospital yesterday. The national death toll remains at 131.

Most of the latest cases were detected in Ljubljana and eastern Slovenia and in persons aged 15-24 or 25-34.

So far, Slovenia has recorded 2,651 coronavirus cases. Currently, there are 402 active cases in the country, according to the national tracker covid-19.sledilnik.

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Over 50% of all imported Covid-19 infections in summer from Croatia

STA, 22 August 2020 - As many as 300 persons infected with Sars-CoV-2 came to Slovenia from abroad, of whom 55% from Croatia, shows data obtained by National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) epidemiologists and labs for the period between 1 June and 21 August.

The majority of a total of 165 persons who brought the virus from Croatia, or 120, were persons aged 15 to 34. The majority, or 108, were men.

Another 26 persons got infected from them in Slovenia, NIJZ said on Saturday.

Since the number if infected persons returning from Croatia was rapidly rising, NIJZ notified all EU members through the early warning and response system (EWRS).

The number was at 16 two weeks ago, rose to 64 last week and is currently at 57 this week. However, NIJZ expects this week's figure to exceed last week's.

This was one of the main reasons why the coronavirus task force and NIJZ proposed to the government to impose a two-week quarantine for Slovenians returning from Croatia.

Since yesterday, Croatia has thus been on Slovenia's red list of coronavirus countries with a two-week quarantine.

There are some exceptions, however, including for those currently still on holiday in Croatia; they can return home without being quarantined until Monday midnight

22 Aug 2020, 17:41 PM

STA, 22 August 2020 - As many as 43 new coronavirus cases were recorded in Slovenia on Friday, when 1,203 tests were carried out, the latest government data, released on Saturday, shows. This is the same as the four-month record recorded on Wednesday. One person meanwhile died yesterday, which put the national Covid-19 death toll at 131.

Eighteen Covid-19 patients were in hospital, but none required intensive care.

A total of 2,617 Sars-CoV-2 infections have so far been confirmed in the country, while the number of active cases is now at 370, according to the national tracker covid-19.sledilnik.

The majority of new infections, ten, were again recorded in the municipality of Ljubljana. The capital was one of 26 municipalities where infections were recorded on Friday. The city has also the largest number of active cases, 90, followed by Celje with 24.

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Slovenian health authorities expect infections to further rise in the coming weeks as many Slovenian holidaymakers are returning from Croatia, which has been since yesterday again on the country's red list.

According to the necenzurirano.si news portal, 52 tourists from Slovenia got infected in Croatia in the period between 7 July and 17 August, all but one in Novalja on the island of Pag, which is known for its night life.

The virus has meanwhile not spread in the retirement home in Šmarje pri Jelšah, where one resident tested positive last week. The care home's director, Gordana Drimel, told the STA on Saturday that all the tests carried out were negative.

22 Aug 2020, 13:15 PM

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 21 August 2020. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Lack of info makes it hard to see through govt measures

STA, 21 August 2020 - A poor flow of information stemming from the coronavirus pandemic makes it harder to compare Slovenian government decisions to developments in other countries, the left-wing Mladina weekly says in Friday's editorial, headlined Closed Society. It criticises a decision to introduce quarantine for returns from Croatia instead of offering testing.

Editor-in-chief Grega Repovž says that we are witnessing a year when information flow has drastically slowed down globally, with the focus on Covid-related information.

The lack of information makes comparison with other countries harder, so Slovenians see government decisions as "completely logical and the only possibly ones".

Repovž points to a decision to impose a two-week quarantine for travellers returning from Croatia, saying public debate is centred on whether to introduce it or not, instead of considering a third option - mandatory testing.

While this option has been introduced in the majority of Western countries, there is no public pressure to consider it in Slovenia and the government is not mentioning it.

If one decides on voluntary testing, they can do it at only two points, and it comes with a high price tag of over 90 euro.

Belgium, a much richer country, offers it for a mere 46 euro, and it is free of charge in Austria or Germany for those returning from other countries.

Repovž says that many people being quarantined has economic consequences for entire Slovenia which go beyond the potential cost of testing for the state.

But being closed information-wise, we see the government's thoughtless moves as the only option, he says.

Education is another area the editor takes issue with, saying the government should have changed legislation to give schools more autonomy in adjusting to Covid-19.

Instead, headmasters and teachers are terrified not knowing whether they will be able to observe all the recommendations.

Repovž says that if there was no emergency due to the epidemic, all major world media outlets would have sent their teams to Slovenia by now.

The epidemic has somewhat concealed the fact that Slovenia is an EU member state where anti-establishment protests have been going on for the fifth month running.

Was there no epidemic, it would be clearer the country is in a deep political crisis, says Repovž, adding that foreign media will probably realise that in the autumn when protests get more radical.

Problematic East European countries linking up in an ever louder and self-confident manner gives the EU and its powerful members more opportunities to react in a harder and clearer manner to the course pursued by the European East, to which Slovenia now belongs, concludes the editorial.

Demokracija: Remote learning prevents left-wing indoctrination

STA, 20 August 2020 - Two weeks before students are to return to brick-and-mortar schools, the right-wing weekly Demokracija says there would be no harm for students if remote learning continues in the autumn, saying that left-wing politicians are critical of this scenario because it would make it harder for them to indoctrinate children.

The weekly says that the results of the matura secondary school leaving exam were better this year following months of remote learning, but the left wing leaves this out of debates. Instead, they focus on "socialisation, which is actually indoctrination and has been made harder in distant learning."

"They are scared that they are losing power over the young and over their training to become future obedient multiculturalists and rainbow warriors," Demokracija editor-in-chief Jože Biščak says under the headline Dialectics of Good and Bad.

When a child learns by themselves or with the help of parents, focus shits away from things deemed important in the 2011 education white paper put together by a left government.

The biggest victory of cultural Marxists was to change education white books so as to render knowledge unimportant. Standards have been lowered to accommodate the "new citizens, arrivals from countries where the average IQ is by up to two standard deviation classes lower than the average IQ in developed countries".

The goal was social engineering that made subjects like the mother tongue, mathematics, physics and other natural sciences unimportant, replacing them with environmental activism, hunger and poverty, LGBT rights, multiculturalism, the fault of Europeans for the underdeveloped third world, green energy and social fairness.

The consequence is that children are raised to be mediocre to reduce the differences between them. "This is a typical socialist concept of being equal in poverty, but with an enlightened (and self-proclaimed) elite at the head".

The elite is the only one to benefit from the system that makes the development of any country virtually impossible by repressing meritocracy, whereas the latter benefits everybody, even those who are unsuccessful. The meritocratic elite can split an atom, research nanoparticles, send a man to the moon, make iPhones and laptops and boost food production with sophisticated technology.

To raise as many such people as possible, the education system should only provide young people with knowledge, they can form their own view of the world later on by themselves. This is the only way we can move forward, Demokracija says.

"You don't believe me? I ask you, which of these studies is more important to tackle hunger and poverty: studies by various 'peace institutes' about patriarchy in rural areas and gender equality in agricultural work, or a study by a technical institute about new and more effective ways to grow corn and cereal?"

All our posts in this series are here

22 Aug 2020, 09:42 AM

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.

FRIDAY, 14 August
        LJUBLJANA - Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Blaž Košorok told the STA that Slovenia is and will remain a nuclear country. The government recently placed a new nuclear reactor in Krško on the list of strategic projects and while this does not mean a final decision has been made, he said Slovenia will continue relying on nuclear energy.
        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.
        LJUBLJANA - The Environment Ministry 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, Dnevnik newspaper reported.

SATURDAY, 15 August
        BREZJE - Cardinal Franc Rode, often vocal in his criticism of the Slovenian state in the past, praised President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Janez Janša for their efforts towards national reconciliation to overcome divisions stemming from WWI. "We waited a long time for a statesman with the courage and understanding," he said, adding that the state leadership was the only stakeholder in reconciliation, being the successor of the leadership of the former Yugoslavia.

MONDAY, 17 August
        LJUBLJANA - The council of the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) postponed to 25 August the vote on whether party leader Aleksandra Pivec should further enjoy the party's confidence. DeSUS council head Tomaž Gantar, the health minister, said the reason for the postponement was the weekly government session.
        LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court reacted to PM Janez Janša's criticism of the temporary suspension of Ljubljana District Court judge Zvjezdan Radonjić. It said the persistent encroachment of one branch of power upon the powers of another branch could undermine the principle of division of power and lead to "political supremacy over the rule of law".
        LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian contact tracing app #OstaniZdrav became available for Android devices. The app was localised on the basis of the German Corona-Warn-App under the contract the government signed with developer RSteam. In the first day roughly 5,000 people downloaded it.

TUESDAY, 18 August
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - Education Minister Simona Kustec announced that all primary and secondary school children would return to school as the new year begins in September. If the epidemiological situation worsens considerably, the plan could still change.
        LJUBLJANA - Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik indicated that after deploying a voluntary contact tracing app, Slovenia would start work on an app that would be mandatory for people with confirmed coronavirus infections and those ordered to quarantine. The app would be separate from the voluntary app and deployed only in the event the situation deteriorates.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier held a telephone conversation to stress the importance of European unity in facing the Covid-19 pandemic and in relation with other strategic challenges in the EU. The EU should also be united in tackling challenges in its immediate neighbourhood, they said.
        LJUBLJANA - Jurist Andraž Teršek, who failed to get elected a Constitutional Court judge by parliament in mid-June, withdrew a constitutional appeal that sought to annul the vote and order a new vote on his bid. He said there was not enough time for the court to decide on the appeal over invalid ballots before the deadline for new bids.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's leading insurance group, Triglav, reported EUR 33.5 million in net profit for the first half of 2020, a 3% decrease year-on-year. The group posted EUR 673.4 million in consolidated gross written premium, up 7% compared to the same period in 2019.

WEDNESDAY, 19 August
        LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša told a virtual EU summit the EU's primary concern is that the fundamental rights and freedoms of Belarusians, including the right to free and fair election and self-determination about their international connections, are respected. He said Russia should recognise these rights as well.
        BELGRADE, Serbia - Slovenia's new Ambassador to Serbia Damjan Bergant presented his credentials to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who expressed the wish that the new ambassador contribute to better relations between the two countries.
        BUDAPEST, Hungary - Slovenia's football champions Celje defeated Ireland's Dundalk with a clean 3:0 in the first round of the first qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League and will face Norway's Molde in the second round.
        LJUBLJANA - Police caught 257 foreign citizens who entered Slovenia illegally and seven people smugglers, as part of enhanced border control carried out overnight. The purpose of enhanced control was to prevent and detect illegal crossings of the border in areas of the country most at risk of illegal migrations.
        
THURSDAY, 20 August
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia put Croatia on the red list of countries from which travellers must undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine as of 21 August. The government also put in place a number of exemptions for frequent cross-border commuters to make sure trade, commerce and cross-border ties run smoothly.
        LJUBLJANA - The government formally established a Demographic Office, a body that will monitor and analyse demographic trends, and draft strategic documents and policies for the field. It will be formally set up in Maribor within 15 days and be led by a minister without portfolio from the ranks of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS).
        LJUBLJANA - The government decided Slovenia will switch to electronic tolling system for cars as of 1 December 2021. The Infrastructure Ministry said that e-tolling would be a fairer version of the current toll sticker system.
        LJUBLJANA - In a landmark ruling for the rights of migrants entering Slovenia, the Supreme Court has overturned an Administrative Court ruling that allowed for no return of migrants to Croatia without a formal decision, the newspaper Dnevnik reported. The Supreme Court argued this is allowed under an agreement on fast-track returns signed by Slovenia and Croatia in 2006.
        TREBNJE - Polish private equity fund Innova Capital has sold the outright stake in Trimo, the Trebnje-based maker of prefabricated building components, to Irish concern Kingspan. Details of the deal were not disclosed.
        LJUBLJANA - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) unveiled a document proposing projects which it believes would give Slovenia's economy a fresh impetus. It said Slovenia should promote domestic consumption and infrastructure projects, and invest in digitalisation, R&D and smart specialisation.

 

22 Aug 2020, 09:06 AM

STA, 21 August 2020 - A number of protesters gathered in Ljubljana's Prešeren Square for the traditional Friday evening protest, this time highlighting the government's oversight of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI, Nacionalnega preiskovalnega urada - NPU)). The crowd, some 3,000 by the organisers' estimate and 1,500 by the police's, accompanied the speeches whistling and shouting "villains".

"We're letting politicians know that interfering in police and their investigations is unacceptable and illegal. The government must not only stop with such actions but also resign," said Teja Jarc of the Young Plus Trade Union.

Polna Gregorčičeva! #upor

Posted by Jure Poglajen El Dentista on Friday, 21 August 2020

"This government started pursuing repression as soon as it returned from the summer break to subjugate all social sub-systems, including the police.

"Ever since this government came to power, we have been witnessing autocracy, abuse of power, subjugation of all offices, political staffing, pressure on the media and attempts to frighten all those who are against the disintegration of democracy," she said.

In their invitation to today's protest, the organisers announced that they intended to insist on protests "as long as necessary".

"We won't go along fearmongering, we are not afraid. On the contrary, we had been eagerly waiting for them to return from their villas and swimming pools so that their political houses made of cards will finally crush," they wrote.

People of all ages could be seen at the protest, with half of them wearing face masks. A big banner letting the government know We Are Waiting For You! could be seen.

Following the speeches in Prešeren Square, the protesters proceeded towards the Government Palace in Gregorčičeva Street, where they had more speeches.

Ljubjana police seized a banner with what it termed inadequate content, and established one violation of the law on public assembly and another of public law and order.

All our stories on the NBI and Slovenia, and those on various protests in the country

21 Aug 2020, 15:22 PM

STA, 21 August 2020 - The government has unveiled the long-awaited bill on long-term care, which envisages a full coverage of related rights from mandatory insurance for long-term care. The contribution rate has been proposed at 1.47%, while the contribution for mandatory health insurance would be somewhat reduced.

According to the ministries in charge of health and social affairs, the bill on long-term care and long-term care insurance allows for the systems of social protection, healthcare and long-term care to be connected.

With the purpose of comprehensive care of an individual, it connects all systems between which the users will transition, depending on their needs, and an individual would be able to use services at home or in an institution, ministry representatives told the press on Friday.

In order to cover the rights defined in the bill, EUR 305.22 million would be transferred from the existing funds, and an additional EUR 335.85 million needs to be collected so that persons with comparable needs get access to comparable rights, which would be fully financed from public resources.

The bill thus enables users to get services they need regardless of their social or economic status, or without putting an additional burden on their families or local communities.

The contribution rate for mandatory insurance for long-term care would stand at 1.47%, while the rate for mandatory health insurance would be reduced by 0.4 of a percentage point, said Klavdija Kobal Straus, the acting head of the long-term care directorate at the Health Ministry.

An individual on the minimum wage would contribute EUR 11 a month to the long-term care fund, and their employers would contribute the same share. An individual on the average wage would contribute EUR 21 a month, while EUR 7 a month would be earmarked by the ZPIZ pension and disability fund for each pensioner.

With additional, voluntary long-term care insurance, individuals would be eligible for services which are not part of the basic package of long-term care rights, for example, accommodation services.

The goal is to provide services where people want and need them, said Kobal Straus, adding that the ministries were building on the existing solutions and filling the gaps in the system.

Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Minister Janez Cigler Kralj said that the key goal of the new system was that people stayed at home as longer as possible.

If they need to go to an institution, they need to be provided with decent conditions, he said, adding that three types of nursing homes had been envisaged, relative to the needs of the elderly.

Cigler Kralj noted that a majority of nursing homes would remain under the auspices of his ministry, which would preserve the social aspect of residing in elderly homes.

The minister added that the idea was to merge all related services into a comprehensive system which would make it possible for services to be accessible and affordable to the elderly, while also being financially feasible.

According to Kobal Straus, the evaluation of whether an individual is eligible for long-term care rights would be made at the person's home by expert staff.

If a person is eligible, they would be put into one of the five categories, based on which they would be able to access different packages of services.

Health Minister Tomaž Gantar added that the bill answered a lot of questions about the burning issues related to the elderly.

Gantar allows for the possibility of a transitional period, and also believes that a significant amount of funds for the cause could be drawn from the EU funds in coming years.

The bill is now entering public consultation, which is planned to take 45 days, but may be extended depending on the number of comments and suggestions.

21 Aug 2020, 13:11 PM

Jump to the changes on the red and green lists

STA, 21 August 2020 - Following a new four-month high of 43 cases on Wednesday, Thursday's coronavirus tests confirmed 38 new infections. One person died, which raises the death toll to 130.

There are currently 18 Covid-19 patients in hospital. Nobody needs intensive care and one patient was discharged from hospital on Thursday.

The largest number of cases, nine, was again confirmed in Ljubljana, while infections were discovered in 23 more municipalities.

There have been so far 2,574 confirmed Sars-CoV-2 infections, with 341 active at present, according to the national tracker covid-19.sledilnik.

The Hrastnik care home, the site of a major breakout in July, said that two more of its employees were confirmed to have contracted Sars-CoV-2 in recent days, which means it presently has 22 active infections among residents sand six among staff.

While dozens of positive cases have been recorded at the Hrastnik care home since 10 July, no infections have been detected outside of the care home in the town for three weeks.

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Note: You can't find the yellow list online, but it includes all nations not on the green and red lists

 traffic light slovenia coronavirus.jpg

Nine countries added to red list, nine to yellow list

STA, 21 August 2020 - Slovenia has placed nine countries, including six from Europe, on the red list of countries where the risk of coronavirus is high and quarantine required for most travellers. Nine countries slipped from the new green list effective today.

Under a decision adopted by the government yesterday, nine European countries have lost the green status: Denmark, Greece, France, Ireland, Iceland, Monaco, the Netherlands, Poland, and some regions of Spain that had previously been green.

At the same time, ten countries were added to the red list: Croatia, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Venezuela.

If a person regardless of their citizenship enters Slovenia coming from one of the countries on the red list, they are put in a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Exemptions apply in a limited number of cases.

Even though Croatia is on the red list as of today, Slovenian holidaymakers will be able to return without being ordered to quarantine until the end of the day on Monday, a move aiming to reduce tailbacks at border crossings.

However, Health Ministry State Secretary Tina Bregant called on all those returning to self-isolate even though they will not have a formal decision to go into quarantine.

While in the past weeks coronavirus cases returning from Croatia were mostly youngsters who got infected at parties, Bregant said today that infections are now being confirmed also in people who kept to themselves while on vacation.

In a red-listed country a visit to the grocery store where somebody had not been wearing a mask could be enough to be infected, she said. "Croatia is now objectively in the red. It is objectively dangerous there now."

Health Minister Tomaž Gantar said he believes the number of daily confirmed cases will increase in the coming weeks, as thousands of Slovenians return from Croatia.

Bulgaria was removed from the red list and now falls in the middle, yellow category on Slovenia's traffic-light classification, which includes all countries that are neither on the green or the red list.

There is a quarantine requirement for travellers from countries on the yellow list, but there are many exemptions.

Following the latest change, the green list includes 19 countries seen as being less dangerous. Almost all are in Europe. The red list now spans almost 70 countries.

There are no coronavirus-related restrictions for travellers from countries that are on the green list.

 

 

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