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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 Aleksander Sandi. You can see more of their work here.
One more Covid-19 death, three new infections reported
Antibody study shows one in thirty Slovenians exposed to coronavirus
Public transport to be relaunched on Monday
Spa resorts gradually reopening, most for rehab services
One more Covid-19 death, three new infections reported
STA, 6 May 2020 - Slovenia's official coronavirus case count has risen to 1,448 and the death toll to 99 as three more people tested positive and one patient died on Tuesday, fresh government data show.
The three new cases come from 1,449 tests conducted yesterday, which is slightly more than the day before.
Three more patients were discharged from hospitals on Tuesday, which leaves only 53 hospital patients with Covid-19. Of them, 14 needed intensive care treatment, three fewer than the day before.
Antibody study shows one in thirty Slovenians exposed to coronavirus
STA, 6 May 2020 - A nationwide antibody study has found that one in thirty Slovenians has probably been exposed to the novel coronavirus. This means that about 2-4% of the population may have gained some sort of immunity to Covid-19, show the results of the study released on Wednesday.
Among 1,368 persons tested, 41 or 3.1% had antibodies in their blood samples and two tested positive for Covid-19, according to Mario Poljak, a researcher at the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, which led the study.
Given that the sample was representative of the entire population, researchers can say with 95% certainty that 2-4% of the population had had an immune response to Covid-19.
But Miroslav Petrovec, the head of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, cautioned that this did not necessarily mean those people are immune to Covid-19, nor how durable their immunity may be.
A back-of-the-envelope calculation based on the figures would appear to indicate that the Covid-19 death rate is low, around the same as for the seasonal influenza, but the authors of the study warned that this cannot be concluded from the study.
As Petrovec noted, the study was designed to gauge the population's immune response, not to measure the death rate. As such, it can only provide answers to questions that it set out to answer.
Poljak noted that the implicit death rate in Slovenia is around the same level as in comparable European countries, but he said benchmarking was made difficult by differences in how individual countries record causes of death.
While similar studies have been conducted in other countries, Poljak said this was the first study in the world to measure the immunity of a representative sample of the population and the first to test for both Covid-19 (with nasal swabs) and immune response (blood sample).
What is more, the participants will be remotely monitored every two weeks for six months and tested again at the end of October, which will give public health authorities crucial data before a possible second wave of the epidemic.
Some countries, including France and the US, have discovered based on a re-examination of old swab samples that they had had coronavirus cases significantly before the first cases were confirmed.
Asked whether that may be the case in Slovenia, Poljak said that this was indeed possible. The institute stores samples for a long time and could theoretically go back and re-test some of the samples.
The researchers warned, however, that such a study would not be representative since samples are usually taken only from patients with particularly severe forms of a disease.
Slovenia's official coronavirus case count rose by three to 1,448 by Tuesday and 99 deaths were reported.
Public transport to be relaunched on Monday
STA, 6 May 2020 - Public transport in Slovenia will be relaunched on Monday, 11 May, after being suspended because of the coronavirus epidemic on 16 March, the Infrastructure Ministry said on Wednesday. Details regarding the safety measures that will apply are yet to be agreed on and should be presented to the public by the end of the week.
Public passenger transport was temporarily suspended by the government in mid-March in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus. Subsequently, municipalities enabled free parking on public parking lots until this week.
The government had earlier indicated that public transport could be restarted on 11 May, and the ministry confirmed this today.
But it said it was still in talks with public transport providers on the safety measures that will need to be taken. The ministry expects them to be finalised soon and presented to the public by the end of the week.
National railway operator Slovenske Železince is also preparing to relaunch passenger transport and is expected to present the new regime for train travel on Friday.
As soon as the virus was detected in Slovenia, public transport providers introduced restrictions. Bus companies for example allowed passengers to get on the bus only at the rear door.
Spa resorts gradually reopening, most for rehab services
STA, 6 May 2020 - Almost two months after being forced to shut down due to the coronavirus epidemic, spa resorts across Slovenia are tentatively reopening for business. Several have resumed medical rehabilitation services, and some also resumed wellness services and reopened bar terraces.
The Terme Zreče spa at the foot of the Pohorje hills in the north-east of the country resumed out-patient physiotherapy services on Wednesday, as some other specialist surgeries are gradually reopening as well.
"Partial resumption of health services is a major challenge, with days and weeks ahead that will be out of the ordinary both in terms of ensuring safe handling of patients and in terms of revenue and streamlining," said Unitur, the company running the spa.
The terraces of cafes and restaurants at Terme Zreče and the Rogla ski resort remain closed for the time being. Depending on the weather, they are planning to reopen them in the second half of May.
Zdravilišče Laško, the spa south of Celje, is providing urgent rehabilitation services as a continuation of hospital treatment for neurological, neurosurgical and trauma patients.
From tomorrow they will also resume outpatient physiotherapy services, initially only for patients on priority referrals whose rehab was interrupted by the epidemic in March. "It's mostly patients referred to us after injuries and surgeries," spa operator Thermana has told the STA.
"Our team, which includes an external infectious disease expert and our safety-at-work official, is making sure that all the requirements and recommendations of the National Institute of Public Health are being followed carefully."
The cafe terrace of Thermana Park hotel will welcome guests back on Friday and the spa's wellness centre resumed its operations on Tuesday, albeit on an adjusted schedule.
Terme Krka, the spa company of the drug maker Krka, suspended all services in mid-March with the exception of nursing care at the Šmarješke Toplice spa in the south-east of the country.
They started resuming specialist and physiotherapy treatment at Šmarješke Toplice in the east and Talaso Strunjan at the seaside on 20 April, and a week later at the spa Dolenjske Toplice, which had been under renovation.
The spa operator also reopened its tennis courts and golf course at Otočec near the Croatian border. "Our first golfers were impressed by the course following major maintenance work ahead of the season," said Terme Krka.
The company's three wellness centres have reopened this week for certain beauty services such as nail and face care and hairdressing services and massage. So have outdoor bars and restaurants. "All other services will be resumed when the authorities in charge issue suitable guidance and permits."
Tourism company Sava Turizem, which runs a number of hotels and spa resorts in the lakeside town Bled, on the coast and in the north-east of the country, will wait a bit longer before reopening. It expects to resume outpatient medical services in the second half of May, while Kavarna Park cafe in Bled will open on Saturday.
