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Number of confirmed coronavirus cases rises again
Interior minister promises gradual reopening of checkpoints on Italian border
Retailers worried about dwindling sales
Event organisers urge aid and time frame for gathering ban
Number of confirmed coronavirus cases rises again
STA, 5 May 2020- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by six to 1,445 on Monday after no new cases were recorded on Saturday and Sunday, when fewer testes were conducted. Yesterday, 1,338 people were tested. The number of hospitalised persons stood at 56.
A total of 17 patients were treated in intensive care yesterday and one person died of Covid-19. Three people were discharged from hospital, putting the number of those discharged so far at 244.
Four of the six new positive cases were recorded at the Ljutomer care home, where 57 people were tested yesterday. One resident recovered.
The director of the National Institute of Public Health, Milan Krek, said at today's press conference that the newly infected came from hotspots and not from general population, so the data on infections were encouraging.
He said this allowed for the gradual easing of restrictive measures that was under way but warned that if the situation deteriorated, restrictions would need to be reintroduced immediately.
"We must get used to living in a way that we don't spread infections ... If we follow instructions, the virus cannot spread among people and we can function normally," he said.
Krek said decisions on any further easing of restrictive measures would be made in about two weeks, when the effects of the current easing of restrictions will show.
He warned that the epidemic was not over yet and that the first wave of infections in an epidemic was typically followed by a second wave, which was expected in the autumn at the latest.
So far, 1,445 people tested positive for coronavirus in Slovenia, 637 men and 808 women. 98 people died of Covid-19.
A total of 57,474 tests have been conducted so far.
Interior minister promises gradual reopening of checkpoints on Italian border
STA, 4 May 2020 - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs visited the communities along Slovenia's western border on Monday, announcing the reopening of two border check points with Italy and discussing the possibility of reopening several others.
In Nova Gorica, a town right on the border, he said that a check point in the city would reopen, and that another would reopen in Goriška Brda, the rural area north of Nova Gorica.
He indicated this would happen at the end of this week or early next week.
"The border with Italy, as we knew it before the epidemic, will not be the same for a long time. The new check point will have the same regime as the Vrtojba crossing," said Hojs, referring to one of the few border crossings with Italy that remained open during the epidemic and allowed entry only to healthy individuals.
The check point in Nova Gorica is to be controlled by police officers, while opening hours have not yet been defined, Hojs said, adding that the 6am to 11pm would be ideal.
He also expressed disappointment with the EU's response to the global pandemic and expressed hope that the EU would show greater solidarity "to mitigate economic consequences of this crisis".
Hojs also visited the town of Kobarid, where he discussed the potential opening of border check points in Robič and at Predel pass.
The reopening of crossings would simplify the lives of those who commute across the border and also might help the tourism season, Hojs hopes.
He also said that Prime Minister Janez Janša had held "certain talks" about border crossings opening with the President of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Massimilano Fedriga.
The minister's meeting with mayors from the region also discussed the relaxation of measures and their effect on the events the Soča Valley is famous for.
While the big annual festivals have been cancelled, organisers still hope to go through with smaller events in late summer. Hojs said that further relaxation of restrictions would depend on the number of Covid-19 infections two weeks after the May Day holidays.
Retailers worried about dwindling sales
STA, 5 May 2020 - The Covid-19 lockdown has resulted in the retail sector posting very worrying results, Chamber of Commerce (TZS) head Mariča Lah said. The sector as a whole could see a EUR 6-7 billion drop in sales this year, which represents over 20% of annual revenue.
"This could have far-reaching consequences," Lah said at Tuesday's government coronavirus briefing.
After an initial spike in sales in the early stages of the crisis, even groceries have posted a drop in overall sales during the lockdown, said Lah, estimating the decrease could exceed 15%.
"This cannot be offset by the end of the year even if the situation completely normalises."
Closed for a month and a half, non-grocery shops, those selling home appliances, furniture and construction material, have posted an even bigger drop.
With EU 15 billion in annual revenue, these shops account for around half of the retail sector's annual revenue.
The retailers thus welcome Monday's partial reopening of non-grocery shops below 400m2, but would also like non-grocery shops within shopping centres to reopen soon.
Lah said the chamber would like the government to follow Austria's example, where such shops are already open, and to narrow the required two metre distance among shoppers to one metre.
She believes small shops in large shopping areas are discriminated against in comparison with the same type of shops in city centres.
Nevertheless, she deems it important to follow the safety rules "even if they sometimes seen odd".
Rents are also a major burden on shops, accounting for a large portion of their costs, so Lah criticised the government measures in this respect.
She said that shops renting space from the state or municipality are exempt from paying rent under the second coronavirus stimulus package, while the state had failed to step in to help a private legal entity renting from another private legal entity.
The TZS had proposed that in this case the state subsidise the rent in the amount relative to the drop in a shop's revenue, but the proposal had not been included in the law.
Lah thus hopes it will be included in the third package of measures the government will draft to help businesses cope with the problems stemming from the epidemic.
The chamber's head also commented on the shoppers' rather reserved approach to shopping as non-grocery shops reopened, noting that footfall had been lacklustre.
She believes shopping habits are bound to change in the long-run while Slovenian shoppers are proverbially quite cautious with money.
Lah believes their thriftiness will also depend on the pace of economic recovery after the coronavirus crisis.
During the epidemic Slovenian shoppers resorted massively to online shopping, which was below the EU average before the crisis.
Lah noted that revenue from online shopping in Slovenia is still relatively low, but added that in order to be successful, retailers should developed both brick-and-mortar and online shopping.
Event organisers urge aid and time frame for gathering ban
STA, 5 May 2020 - With no events taking place since 7 March and none envisaged for an indefinite period, event organisers in Slovenia have urged authorities to adopt aid measures and provide a basic time frame for the ban on public gatherings so that planning can start for 2021.
The Association of Concert Organisers said that many countries had adopted measures to protect the music industry and in particular the organisers of concerts and other events.
Stressing that the survival of individuals and the sector as a whole is at stake, the Association of Concert Organisers said organisers had not been able to reschedule agreed events and were saddled with preparation costs of those that had to be cancelled.
With planning usually taking six to 12 months, they would like to see a time frame put on the gathering ban, so that preparations can get under way.
As for the aid measures, the association would like to be able to issue vouchers for cancelled events instead of refunds and have the state cover social contributions for the self-employed in the sector for the duration of the ban along with a basic monthly income of EUR 700.
The organisers would also like the state to cover the contributions of those staying on open-ended contracts during the ban as well as the unemployment benefit for those made temporarily redundant.
Another proposal involves a two-year rent freeze for venues owned by the state or municipalities and a 50% rent discount a period of 12 months after the ban on public events is lifted.
