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’sTjaša Kučič, with part of a series from Tam Tam, with the rest here.

Contents

Six new Covid-19 cases recorded, death toll up by three to 86

PM says govt to discuss plan for easing lockdown tomorrow

Minister sees issues with coronavirus contact tracing apps

Six new Covid-19 cases recorded, death toll up by three to 86

STA, 28 April 2020 - A total of 683 new Covid-19 tests were performed in Slovenia on Monday, resulting in six new cases to bring the total number of confirmed infections to 1,408. Three persons died of Covid-19 yesterday, brining the total death toll in the country to 86, the government said on Tuesday.

A total of 78 Covid-19 patients were in hospitals around the country yesterday, of whom 24 were in intensive care. Two persons were discharged from hospital while the number of persons in intensive care was up by two.

A total of 50,290 tests have been performed in Slovenia so far, with a random testing of population being introduced last Monday. No new infections have been detected as part of the random testing campaign.

Šmarje pri Jelšah in the east of the country remains the largest hot spot in the country on a per capita basis, and four out of the six cases recorded yesterday were detected there.

One new case was recorded in Ljutomer (NE), which is another hot spot with 117 confirmed infections, second only to Šmarje pri Jelšah (172) and Ljubljana (247).

The municipalities of Ljutomer and Šmarje pri Jelšah are much smaller than Ljubljana, and the bulk of their cases are related to the local nursing homes.

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PM says govt to discuss plan for easing lockdown tomorrow

STA, 28 April 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša has announced that the government will discuss on Wednesday plans to loosen coronavirus lockdown measures for the foreseeable future. It is also expected to discuss reports by individual ministries on the procurement of personal protective equipment, which have raised some doubts.

Janša tweeted on Tuesday that current data on the course of the epidemic allow a sober reflection on lifting certain restrictions to movement and a gradual revival of activities for which "a safe distance, the disinfecting of hands and meeting points and safe use of protective equipment" can be secured.

It is not clear which restrictions could be eased and to what extent. The bulk of the criticism coming from part of the public and politics has been directed at the limiting of movement to municipal borders.

There have also been calls to restart public transport, while a big question mark are kindergartens and schools, although one date circulating is 11 May.

The government's spokesperson Jelko Kacin indicated today that the government was considering reopening schools, but that it would wait to see the results in countries that had already done it before taking a final decision.

Some restrictions have meanwhile already been lifted, with recent new exceptions to the lockdown including takeaway restaurants, DIY stores, car showrooms, car washes, stores selling bicycles, technical goods and furniture stores, dry cleaners, some repair shops, and insurance agents.

As of today, weddings in restricted format are possible. As of tomorrow, museums, libraries and galleries will reopen and partners will again be allowed to be present during childbirth.

Yet more services will be available from 4 May, with the reopening of hair salons, beauty parlours, dog and cat grooming salons and shops of up to 400 m2 sales space, except for those in shopping centres. Outdoor facilities of bars and restaurants will also reopen on Monday and so should churches.

The government is also expected to discuss tomorrow a report on the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE), requested by Janša after a wave of accusations about dodgy procedures and faulty equipment.

The report was compiled by the Economy Ministry on the basis of reports by the economy, defence, health and foreign ministries plus the Agency for Commodity Reserves.

Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said it featured all relevant information and data about the PPE procurement since 27 February (that is under the previous government), including between 13 March, when the new government took over, and 10 April, "when there was a terrifying shortage of protective equipment" and when everyone was under pressure from health workers to procure PPE. The report also covers the period after 10 April, when the situation eased off, he said.

The minister again rejected the allegations about pressure to close deals with certain suppliers, noting the majority of contracts had been signed by Agency for Commodity Reserves employee Ivan Gale.

Gale last week spoke to TV Slovenija revealing pressure on the agency and some potential irregularities, but Počivalšek said today Gale would have to explain at least three contracts.

The government is expected to send the report to parliament and expectedly also to the law enforcement.

Interior Minister Aleš Hojs meanwhile announced his ministry would propose for the restriction of the movement to one's municipality of residence to be lifted.

He however pointed out it would depend on the assessment of the coronavirus situation by the task force at the Health Ministry.

While he could not say when exactly this could happen, he indicated in a statement for POP TV the restriction could be lifted after May Day holidays at the latest.

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Minister sees issues with coronavirus contact tracing apps

STA, 28 April 2020 - Slovenian Interior Minister Aleš Hojs argues that coronavirus contact tracing apps first needs to be very well presented to people, because it would not be effective without their trust. He sees many issues in relation to such mobile applications, which is not expected to be introduced in Slovenia any time soon.

Hojs spoke to Slovenian reporters in Brussels over the phone after taking part in a video-conference of EU interior ministers on Tuesday, with coronavirus contact tracing apps being one of the topics.

Mobile applications that find persons who have been in contact with an app user who has tested positive for coronavirus, are raising issues in some EU countries over privacy and personal information protection issues.

In Slovenia, such an app is not being used at the moment, and is not available. Slovenia, being a small country, will probably join one of the apps which will be available on the market, the minister said.

Hojs noted that, at today's session, Germany and France had announced that they would very probably use such an app, and that the Czech Republic and Poland reported about such an app being already in use.

Representatives of all four countries have stressed that the use of such an app is possible exclusively on a voluntary basis, only if an individual gives their explicit consent, the minister added.

He personally sees a number of issues. Simple logic and common sense say that if someone who has recovered from Covid-19 or is still infected does not use the app, their contacts will not be traced, so the data obtained will not be complete.

"This is why the purpose of the application needs to be presented very well first," Hojs said, adding that it should be emphasised that users would remain anonymous, as this was one of the biggest fears related to the use of such an app.

Asked when such an app could be available in Slovenia, the minister said it was not likely that it would be available soon.

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STA, 28 April 2020 - A day after low-scale anti-government and anti-lockdown rallies were held across the country, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs has expressed expectation police would follow his "guidelines" about tracking down the protesters through social media. The police meanwhile highlighted its autonomy and independence.

Hojs tweeted on Monday that the police had ID'd a number of people at the rallies in Ljubljana and Maribor, who will be fined. He said the police will also press charges against protest "organisers and participants, because this is a criminal act of endangering health".

Pricakujem,da bo @policija_si za identifikacijo vseh tistih,ki jih je,kot udelezence petkovih in danasnjih shodov,potrebno kazensko ovaditi,uporabila vse javno objavljene slike in prispevke medijev oz. socialnih omrežij!Večina drzavljanov skrbi za zdravje vseh in upošteva odloke!

— Aleš Hojs (@aleshojs) April 27, 2020

In a second tweet, he said he expected the police to use "all publicly posted photos and media reports or social media" to identify the participants of rallies held yesterday and on Friday "against whom criminal charges must be pressed".

Today, Hojs told Slovenian correspondents in Brussels that the government decree clearly banned gathering and movement in public places due to the epidemic. He said he could not agree with the protesters removing the police tape placed in a public place.

He was referring to a group of protesters accessing Republic Square in Ljubljana by removing a segment of the police tape.

"I also don't accept that the interior minister is a silent observer of police actions. It's fact that the interior minister is the one giving guidelines to the police."

He also clarified what he meant by photo identification of the participants, remembering how he, Defence Minister Matej Tonin and President Borut Pahor had been criticised for ignoring social distancing rules during a recent visit to a border area. He believes that same rules should apply to everybody.

If the editor-in-chief of the left-leaning weekly Mladina, Grega Repovž, can be recognised in the photos, as well as a number of other persons, than they have to be processed accordingly, Hojs said. "I don't see a problem with that. Rules apply to everybody."

Releasing details about yesterday's protests, the General Police Department said in a press release that the police "is autonomous in handling these kinds of events, follows legislative and professional guidelines, and handles cases individually".

"It does not rely upon public opinion or possible opinions of persons from the public and political arenas. It coordinates the prosecution of criminal acts with the prosecution, while in terms of violations, the relevant bodies are autonomous and independent also within the organisational hierarchy."

The police also said that it had not suspected anybody committing the criminal act of spreading disease since the outbreak of the epidemic. The police also said it detected no such suspicion at the rallies yesterday.

It said that it referred 26 people from yesterday's rallies to the Health Inspectorate, the relevant body issuing fees in health violations. It also said that procedures were still ongoing.

The Mladina editor-in-chief meanwhile responded to Hojs's statement about his presence at the protest, saying that "just like about 20 other journalists, photographers and cameramen, I went to the site of the rally".

He said he had met with the magazine's photographer and exchanged a few sentences with police officers, both with respect of the distance prescribed by the government decree. "In other words, I was doing my job as a journalist."

He added that the decree restricting movement and gathering in public places included exceptions such as going to and coming from work and doing one's work. He expressed hope that Hojs's statement was "merely an aggravated, populist statement and not an actual threat by a minister with repressive actions".

The Information Commissioner's Office also responded to Hojs's tweets, saying that they indicate that the minister perceives all protesters as potential perpetrators of criminal acts and not of violations.

"In a democratic society, this can be a serious reason for concern about human rights infringements," the office said, adding that the police has the power to take photographs and process these automatically only for the purpose of criminal prosecution.

The Information Commissioner's Office wondered whether these cases actually constitute suspicion of a criminal act or whether this would be disproportionate use of police powers.

Under the rules on movement restrictions currently in place and the possible introduction of mobile contact tracking apps, the police must not have the orders to place all citizens under constant surveillance simply because they are all potential perpetrators of criminal acts.

"In a democratic society, it is always key that the mildest form of interference in one's rights is used and that the police use any of their powers only if this is absolutely necessary," the information commissioner also wrote.

STA, 27 April 2020 - While lockdown measures remain in force, some Slovenians have started hitting the streets to protest against the government and the continuation of quarantine, with a few hundred people gathering in Ljubljana on Monday, several hundred in Maribor and smaller rallies held in several other cities.

The protests were initiated by a Facebook group called Resistance against the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, which calls for the situation in the country to be normalised and for Prime Minister Janez Janša to resign.

Around 150 people gathered in the square in front of Parliament House in Ljubljana at noon, and the number of protesters roughly doubled when newcomers lifted a fence set up by the police and joined the rally.

Several media reports say that there were no incidents or conflicts, with the police only warning the protesters to keep a safe distance among themselves.

One of the protesters called for national unity and "against plundering by both left and right" and for the "robbery of taxpayer money" to end, drawing some applause from the crowd.

Some of the signs called for Janša's resignation, while some individuals decided to hold impromptu speeches to call against the misuse of public money and for the measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic to be lifted.

A speech was delivered by Ladislav Troha, a former army officer who has become a major proponent of conspiracy theories online and has been on the fringe of many protests over the past decade and more.

Some of the protesters invoked widely circulated conspiracy theories saying they were rebelling against the deployment of 5G telecommunications technology and government plans to implant chips into them, according to videos circulated on social media.

Joining the call for protests were Facebook users in Nova Gorica, Ptuj, Trbovlje and Maribor. In Slovenia's second largest city, around 1,000 people gathered for a peaceful walk through the city streets, according to local media reports. Police say the number of protestors was much lower, just 100.

In some towns, people also carried signs in support of Ivan Gale, the whistleblower from the Commodity Reserves Agency who has revealed for national television political pressures in the procurement of personal protective equipment.

A Facebook page has been created in support for Gale, so far attracting some 54,000 members. Its moderators said yesterday that they had nothing to do with today's protests and disavowed the events.

Ljubljana police said there were roughly 200 people at the rally in Ljubljana, whose organisers registered the event on Friday but did not get permission due to the lockdown restrictions.

Maribor police said they had warned protestors they were violating the restrictions on movement and gathering. Reports against 19 persons were submitted to the Health Inspectorate, which controls quarantine compliance.

Interior Minister Aleš Hojs said on Twitter that police in Ljubljana and Maribor had IDd a large number of protestors, who will be fined. "They will also file criminal complaints against the organisers and participants, this constitutes the crime of hazard to health," he said.

Hojs also expects the police will ID additional participants with the help of published photographs and video. "The majority of the citizens are concerned about health and comply with the decrees," he said.

Monday's protests are the latest in a series of anti-government manifestations that started, mostly on social media, soon after the country went into lockdown.

A protest against restrictions of freedom during the epidemic was held on Friday as dozens of cyclists roamed the centre of Ljubljana, ringing bells, whistling and carrying slogans.

The protest, which was organised by a Facebook group which had previously been calling for protests from balconies and windows, also called against giving the army police powers to patrol the border and against attacks on journalists.

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 Gordana Grlič.

Contents

Six new Covid-19 cases recorded, death toll up by one to 83

Počivalšek optimistic about joint corona standards in tourism

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Six new Covid-19 cases recorded, death toll up by one to 83

STA, 27 April 2020 - A total of 634 new Covid-19 tests were performed in Slovenia on Sunday, resulting in six new cases to bring the total number of confirmed infections to 1,402. One person died of Covid-19 yesterday, bringing the total death toll in the country to 83, the government said on Monday.

A total of 80 Covid-19 patients were in hospitals around the country yesterday, of which 22 were in intensive care. No new cases were admitted and no patient was discharged from hospital for home care.

So far a total of 221 patients have been discharged from hospital for home care, the government said.

A total of 49,607 tests have been performed in Slovenia so far, with a random testing of population also being introduced last Monday.

Out of the 3,000 invitees, 1,320 persons have responded and 1,191 samples have been taken so far. One new infection and one infection that had already been recorded earlier have been detected as part of the campaign.

The total number of confirmed infection is 1,402, of which 621 are men and 781 women.

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Počivalšek optimistic about joint corona standards in tourism

STA, 27 April 2020 - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek is moderately optimistic about the prospects of securing good and coordinated standards of anti-coronavirus measures in tourism. He has rejected concerns about possible discrimination based on passport, while calling for border-crossing protocol to be established relative to the epidemiological situation.

Počivalšek said this at Monday's videoconference of the EU ministers in charge of tourism, which comes after PM Janez Janša called at the EU summit last Thursday for a joint corona-standard for tourism facilities and services to be established.

The economy minister also noted that Slovenia advocated coordinated standards for the period after the end of the pandemic was declared, and more long-term standards, for example in the hotel organisation system.

Slovenia has already come up with a system, and would like to coordinate it with the neighbouring countries and broader at the EU level, Počivalšek told Slovenian correspondents in Brussels over the phone.

He believes that coordinated standards are also important for the drafting of the third national anti-corona legislative package, which will be focused on tourism, in which 70% of the revenue is generated by foreign guests.

The minister sees Slovenia's advantage in that it is not a destination for mass tourism, which will experience most of the difficulties. He also sees a solution in encouraging Slovenians to explore their own country, which is a destination for year-round tourism.

Počivalšek has rejected concerns about possible discrimination in tourism based on passport, but he also stressed that, as the tourism sector was being opened, it would be taken into account how individual countries handled the coronavirus crisis.

He assessed the situation in Slovenia as satisfactory, as it is a good foundation to start "flirting with relaxing measures in the field of tourism a little bit more courageously."

As the largest number of guests come from Italy, Slovenia will have to be reserved a bit and seek proof that the crisis in Italy has been managed. Slovenia is also interested in opening up to Austria and Germany as soon as possible, Počivalšek said.

As for Croatia, the minister noted that 110,000 Slovenians owned real estate in Croatia. He announced that he would speak on Wednesday with Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli, but not about "Slovenia saving Croatian tourism."

Počivalšek expects that the tourism sector will be restructured and prices adjusted to the situation, and he does not expect prices to increase.

He noted that, on Slovenia's initiative, sustainable tourism would be one of the topics of the next EU presiding trio of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia.

Slovenia supports the establishment of an informal platform for monitoring measures taken by EU member states in tourism, Počivalšek said, adding that today's conference heard much criticism against what is perceived as a too vague response from the European Commission.

Regarding financial support for the tourism sector, the minister hopes that financing will be available through the European Investment Bank (EIB), while also believing that coronabonds would be helpful for the entire economy, including tourism.

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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 Xenia Guzej, taking a photos a poster by Mirko Ilić. You can see more of her work here.

Contents

Eight new coronavirus cases recorded, death toll up by one to 82

First case of Covid-19 infection discovered as part of random population testing

Eight new coronavirus cases recorded, death toll up by one to 82

STA, 26 April 2020 - Slovenia recorded eight new coronavirus cases on Saturday as 794 tests were carried out. One person died, bringing the total death toll to 82, according to government data released on Sunday.

The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 was 80, three more than on Friday. Twenty-three patients were in intensive care, unchanged from Friday, and two were discharged from hospital.

The majority of Covid-19 patients are currently treated at the two largest hospitals in the country, UKC Ljubljana (32) and UKC Maribor (29).

Until last midnight, as many as 48,973 test were carried out, of which 1,396 were positive. The days with the largest number of deaths were 4 and 6 April, when six persons died a day.

Saturday's number of new Covid-19 cases is roughly the same as Thursday's, when seven new infections were recorded, whereas the Friday figure more than doubled to 15 from a day earlier.

Commenting on the sharp daily rise, Milan Krek, who is to take over at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) if green-lighted by the government, attributed it to people not sticking to social distancing rules during the Easter holiday.

"If people don't respect the restrictions, this will again reflect in the number of new infections in two weeks," he told the STA last evening after the NIJZ council appointed him the new director.

"I'm most worried about Labour Day bonfires. A single Labour Day party can lead to a catastrophe. It's enough for one infected person to be there to have 50 new cases a day in two weeks' time."

Krek therefore insists that the restrictions, including limits to travelling outside one's municipality of residence, must not be lifted yet.

Easing the restrictions gradually is key for the experts to be able to assess its impact on the health situation in the country. "The impact of easing one restriction must not exceed the capacities of the healthcare system," he warned.

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First case of Covid-19 infection discovered as part of random population testing

STA, 26 April 2020 - As part of a random population Covid-19 testing launched on Monday, one person who did not know was infected has tested positive for the coronavirus. Epidemiologist have already contacted the person and advised those who have been in contact with them to self-isolate.

The person is from the north-east of the country, Miroslav Petrovec, head of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine said on Sunday.

The person was tested on Friday, and the first tests have shown that the infection is already easing off, Petrovec said.

Epidemiologists contacted the person on Saturday and identified the persons with whom the infected had been in contact to advise them self-isolation, Milan Krek, the new head of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), told the STA.

Petrovec told the STA that this was the first newly discovered Covid-19 case as part of the nation-wide testing campaign.

No other details were revealed due to personal data protection rules, but this case is one of the eight new infections recorded on Saturday.

Four were recorded in central Slovenia (Ljubljana and Medvode) and three in Ljutomer, one of the hotspots of the coronavirus from the north-east.

Another person had meanwhile been previously tested as part of the random testing campaign who had known of their infection, having tested positive in March, explained Petrovec.

While 3,000 people have been invited to take part in the campaign, 1,315 have responded to the invitation and 1,136 tests have already been carried out.

As the government said on Twitter, 218 tests were performed on Saturday, and Petrovec said the campaign is also continuing today.

He believes it will take at least until Thursday to complete the testing. Then, next week the blood samples will also have to be analysed.

Krek on the other hand reiterated his view about the need to be cautious in easing movement restrictions, saying there were many unknowns about the virus.

It will also depend on the results of the random testing campaign how the government proceeds with the easing of the restrictions, said Krek, who was yesterday appointment NIJZ director, pending government approval.

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STA, 25 April 2020 - Embracing a dissenting opinion in a recent Constitutional Court ruling, which tasked the government with examining each week whether its lockdown restrictions remain justified, Prime Minister Janez Janša tweeted on Saturday that "Slovenia unfortunately has the most politically biased Constitutional Court so far".

Dvojna merila so smrt kredibilnosti vsake institucije, sodne še posebej. Vzpostavljajo t.i. selektivno pravico. Žal imamo v #Si najbolj spolitizirano #US doslej, večinsko oblikovano po željah leve in skrajno leve ideološke sfere, ki celo o isti stvari danes tako, jutri drugače. https://t.co/0dq8QhGnQv

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) April 25, 2020

"Double standards mean the death of any institution, especially judicial. They are setting up so called selective justice," Janša wrote.

He added the current line-up of the Constitutional Court was in the "majority formed in line with the wishes of the left and far-left ideological sphere, and even changes its position on uniform matters depending on the day".

The prime minster wrote this as a comment of a dissenting opinion issued by Constitutional Court judge Klemen Jaklič, who had also been against the court admitting the challenge to the lockdown decree in the first place.

While the court is still deliberating on the challenge as a whole and only suspended a provision that stated the measures will be in place "until the cessation of the reasons", Jaklič argued that the petitioner had failed to prove legitimate legal interest and seek justice at lower instances first.

He added the feeling had been created that the court was selecting privileged petitioners in what violated the law and constitutional rules.

The current limit on public gatherings and general social distancing measures are preventing marches and rallies as forms of organised protest, but on Friday many still turned out in Ljubljana to show their disquiet at recent actions of the new government, getting around the restrictions by riding on bicycles, drawing attention by ringing the bells. Those in the streets where joined by others on balconies, making noise with pots and pans.

The protest, which is due to take place again at 7pm on 1 May – and perhaps every Friday in the weeks to come – aims to highlight what the participants claim are moves to exploit the covid-19 crisis to consolidate the power of the new Janez Janša led government, not least through attacks on the media and courts, as well as increases in police power and attempts to move troops to the southern border. Moreover, the protest gained a new focus on Thursday with the explosive claims of a whistleblower, supported with recordings and texts, that indicate high level corruption in recent deals to purchase personal protective equipment.

So don’t be surprised if you find yourself on the otherwise quiet streets of Ljubljana in the lockdown days ahead, on a Friday around 7pm, and come across a crowd of cyclists loudly heading towards Republike trg (the square in front of Parliament ), or hear pots and pans banging into the evening. Until things open up again, it may be the sound of the spring.

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 Lucija Kobal, with one a series from Tam Tam, which you can see here.

Contents

Slovenia records 15 new Covid-19 cases, death toll up by one to 81

Janša says restrictions here to stay, no inter-municipal movement during holidays

Insurance agents and car washes back in business

Slovenia records 15 new Covid-19 cases, death toll up by one to 81

STA, 25 April 2020 - Slovenia recorded 15 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, which brings the total number of infections to 1,388. One more person died for a total death toll of 81, according to government data released on Saturday.

The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 declined by one to 77, of whom 23 were in intensive care, down by one.

Slovenia has so far performed 48,179 coronavirus tests, 1,161 of which on Friday.

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Janša says restrictions here to stay, no inter-municipal movement during holidays

STA, 25 April 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša commented on the state of the coronavirus epidemic on Saturday by saying many of the restrictions in place in Slovenia and the EU "will remain in place in the foreseeable future". The government indicated movement would stay limited to municipal borders also during the May holidays.

As part of a series of tweets, Janša said the government's measures were also based on a very serious situation in the neighbourhood and the "very negative experience of countries that are battling repeated outbreaks".

The government also issued a tweet today in the wake of an assessment meeting held on Friday, summarising the recommendation by it's chief medical adviser for the epidemic, Bojana Beović, to preserve the ban on movement between municipalities, since it has proven effective.

"Because a lot of movement can be expected during the May holidays and given that available data shows the epidemic is still simmering and that the data from comprehensive random population testing is not in yet, we have decided to recommend the extension of the existing measures," the government summed up Beović's explanation.

Janša meanwhile announced a number of activities would able to resume soon, but that it would be crucial to follow three key preventative measures: "Disinfecting of hands and meeting points, keeping a safe distance and using protective masks where this (distance) is not possible."

While noting available data put Slovenia among the most successful European countries in the fight against the Covid-19, Janša said experts in Slovenia and in the EU were busy adopting standards to launch different systems, including education, tourism and public transport, so they could function again at least in a limited scope despite the virus.

The government's taskforce that examined the situation on Friday in cooperation with experts from the Health Ministry, will meet again on 29 April to look at fresh data and adopt decisions based on the latests findings.

The Constitutional Court ordered the government on 17 April to immediately verify the justification for restrictions on the movement of persons put in place to contain the spread of coronavirus, and to keep examining each week if the decree imposing these restrictions is still justifiable.

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Insurance agents and car washes back in business

STA, 25 April 2020 - Car washes and insurance agents will be able to resume their business on Saturday, after the government added new exemptions to the ban on the sale of goods and services during the coronavirus epidemic.

The cabinet gave its go-ahead for the most recent easing of the lockdown rules last night, when it also extended the general temporary ban on the movement and gathering of people in public places and ban on movement outside municipality or residence.

This was as the decree imposing the ban was amended to include a provision that the justification of the measures would be checked once a week, as mandated by the Constitutional Court.

Several exemptions had already been enforced since the government imposed a temporary ban on most retail establishments in mid March to contain the coronavirus epidemic.

Only grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, post offices, petrol stations, news stands and stores selling agricultural products remained open until pet food shops were added to the exemptions from 21 March and florist shops and nurseries from 3 April, along with construction works not involving contacts with customers.

Several more stores and services were allowed to resume their operations last Monday, including DIY stores, car showrooms, stores selling bicycles, technical goods and furniture, dry cleaners and some repair shops such as tyre change and car repair and car painter's shops.

Since Monday services also resumed that are performed outdoors such as gardening services, roof and facade work, and takeaways involving minimum contact with customers.

Outdoor sports and recreational grounds such as tennis courts, golf courses and track and field areas also reopened for activities that do not involve close contact.

Yet more services will be available from 4 May, with the reopening of hair salons, beauty parlours, dog and cat grooming salons and shops of up to 400 m2 sales space, except for those in shopping centres.

Social distancing and safety measures such as the wearing of face masks in indoor places, hand sanitising and disinfection remain mandatory in all the establishments.

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The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 24 March 2020. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Počivalšek in dire situation over mask purchases

STA, 24 April 2020 – The left-wing weekly Mladina says in its latest commentary that Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek is in a dire position over the blunders with purchases of protective equipment. Not only has he fallen out of favour with PM Janez Janša, he also faces the possibility of the MPs of the party he presides turning their backs on him.

Grega Repovž, the editor-in-chief of the left-leaning weekly, says that considering the developments, it is becoming obvious that the "story about the effective and self-sacrificing campaign to buy masks and other protective equipment will end really badly."

And the person for whom it is to end badly is not just anybody, it is Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, the president of the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC), who is obviously "not aware yet how large a snowball is descending upon him".

Repovž notes that the minister is not aware that the snowball is not being rolled only by the media, which are the least of a problem, or criminal police officers who investigate the purchases, or the opposition.

"The snowball is now being rolled by the coalition partner Janez Janša. And it is likely that Počivalšek's SMC party, which does not want to go down with him, will join Janša. This is what Počivalšek is actually facing."

The latest discoveries about the purchases have prompted criminal police officers to visit the Agency for Commodity Reserves, with Počivalšek reacting by quickly dismissing its director Anton Zakrajšek, a member of Janša's Democratic Party (SDS).

Zakrajšek, who was on sick leave, said the following day that he was keeping tabs on Počivalšek's dealings, that he knew everything, and that he would talk about this, Repovž adds in the commentary headlined Počivalšek in Dire Straits.

Počivalšek has only small chances of surviving this politically, as protective masks are too sensitive of a matter, and if he is to face a motion of no confidence, it will be really difficult to defend him, even for his own MPs.

"At a certain point, they will realise that they can't defend him. And why would they? Počivalšek himself let everybody know that this is now a party of pure pragmatism. If they have changed political colours and coalition, why would't they replace Počivalšek too?".

Demokracija: Deep left-right differences in response to pandemic

STA, 23 April 2020 – The right-wing Demokracija magazine argues in Thursday's commentary that the left and the right have reacted to the coronavirus crisis in fundamentally different ways, the left "showing yet again how two-faced they are".

When some governments adopted fairly strict measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, leftists started demanding a free market economy with all the attendant liberties. Together with the mainstream media, they are indignant at people being unable to travel freely, at some shops being closed and suddenly they feel pity for private businesses, the paper says in Chronicles of the Primitive Mind.

"In fact, the virus misfortune has laid painfully bare the difference between the left and right perception of the world. While the left would control and restrict in peacetime and create (anarchistic) chaos in times of crisis, jeopardising human lives, the right resorts to restrictions of human rights and fundamental liberties exclusively in 'wartime' (which a pandemic is) while letting people freely act, work and live in normal circumstances."

What is worst for the left is that people tend to look up to the leaders of nation states in times such as the coronavirus era, rather than expecting salvation from supranational organisations, Demokracija says, noting that leftists see strong nation states, even if their strict measures prove effective, as "a step towards dictatorship".

"This can easily be called a globalist reflex, a primitive mind assuming that a greater number of infected and dead persons is preferable to the right gaining trust among the public. This is why efforts by the coalition need to be cancelled, measures boycotted. Whatever happens, Janša's centre-right government will be blamed anyway.

"This kind of thinking is more primitive than the thinking of an average crook. Whereas the crook allows for the possibility that he may be to blame in certain circumstances (because he did not abide by the rules), leftist crooks (regardless of the circumstances and actions) always claim that somebody else is to blame," the paper concludes.

All our posts in this series are here

STA, 24 April 2020 - A report by public broadcaster TV Slovenija on Thursday showed extensive political interference in the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE), with a senior employee of the Commodities and Reserves Agency pointing a finger at Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, his aides and former executives. Počivalšek denies any wrongdoing.

Ivan Gale, who stood in for the agency's director Anton Zakrajšek after he contracted the coronavirus, told the Tarča current affairs show that Počivalšek had personally intervened in favour of a ventilator contract with the company Geneplanet worth EUR 8 million.

A recording of a phone call between Počivalšek and a representative of the agency was played in which Počivalšek provides guidance on how the contract should be handled.

Počivalšek also "sent his envoy Andreja Potočnik to the agency and she pressured us, the director, screamed at the head of finance to transfer the money to the company," Gale said.

The agency had also been pressured into signing a contract with Geneplanet for a million FFP2-type masks for frontline staff by Potočnik,a member of a government task force for the purchase of PPE, and another member of the task force, Mitja Terče, according to Gale.

Gale said he had talked to Počivalšek several times and had been told to "be cooperative, listen to Terče". The minister himself, however, "avoided being held to account". "You will not find any consent or signature by the minister or the secretary on any contract, the gentlemen decided to shift this to others."

Gale also believes that Zakrajšek, who has recently been replaced as agency director, was pressured into resigning.

Počivalšek responded today, saying that the story was an orchestrated "hunt on my head". He acknowledged things could have been done better, but he said the situation at the start of the epidemic had been unprecedented.

"Neither me nor my colleagues have lobbied or politically influenced decisions in any way," Počivalšek said, adding that the goal had been to speed up procedures and secure protective equipment for the frontline at a time when it was needed the most.

"If employees at the agency had worked at the same pace ... as they had been used to in peacetime, we would still not have emergency equipment to this day," Počivalšek said.

He sees no need to resign over the accusations. "I don't see a scandal in the equipment purchasing, I see work well done," he said.

Terče issued a written statement to TV Slovenija saying he had acted transparently and in the interest of the country. He denied pressuring anyone.

Gale mentioned several other current and former officials as exerting pressure, including former MEP and prime minister Lojze Peterle, who intervened with the agency for the supply of masks from Germany, offering a small company owned by his daughter as a go-between.

Damijan Jaklin, state secretary at the Defence Ministry, the head of an interdepartmental task force reviewing offers for the supply of equipment, pushed for a contract with Inovatio, a Maribor-based company. "For this provider in particular the pressure was unusual," Gale said.

Marjan Podobnik, the president of the non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS), pressured the agency's director to conclude a deal with Dobnik Trade, a small company from Slovenska Bistrica. Gale said he had threatened the director that he would lose his job.

Another company that the agency was pressured into signing a contract with is Acron, which has been in the spotlight in recent weeks because the mother of Defence Minister Matej Tonin is a senior employee there.

Acron has signed several contracts with the agency worth roughly EUR 30 million, with Gale saying that Acron had turned out to be a reliable supplier but had "always been a privileged supplier".

Tonin has repeatedly denied intervening on behalf of Acron and has asked the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption to look into the deals.

Yesterday, before the report aired, the opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) said it would file a no-confidence motion against Počivalšek, however, the only other party to support this was the opposition Left.

This has meanwhile changed, as the opposition Social Democrats (SD) and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) have also backed the plan. The LMŠ said today that a constructive no-confidence vote against the entire government was also possible but would be hard to pull off.

The LMŠ called on Tonin to resign as well, while the defence minister said this morning that many of the issues raised in the report had been news to him.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Janša tweeted that the government had ordered reports from all bodies involved in PPE procurement, which will also show how much PPE Slovenia had when his government had taken over from the team led by Marjan Šarec just over a month ago.

Janša said the reports would be sent to the National Assembly, while Tonin, is a statement for commercial broadcaster Kanal A, said that the reports would also be sent to investigative authorities. Once it is established what had happened, accountability will be demanded, Tonin added.

Today, reports suggested that Gale had been assigned police protection but this has been denied by the police. It prompted, however, Transparency International Slovenija to call on the authorities not only to examine the contentious procedures, but also to protect whistleblowers.