The first thing to note is that this is a dynamic situation, with countries adopting different policies with regard to easing the lockdown and thus different outcomes in terms of surges and second spikes expected. This article thus sets out the facts as they are (or were) on Sunday 5 July. For the very latest news, here’s all our stories on the coronavirus in Slovenia

Slovenia has a traffic light system of green, yellow and red countries, meaning free to enter, enter with some restrictions, and enter only under special circumstances.

The Green List

The green list (zeleni seznam) includes safe countries (or administrative units of countries) from which people can enter without quarantine. It’s produced based on the epidemiological status for individual countries, any bilateral technical agreements with neighbouring states, other EU Member States or members of the Schengen area.

As of 5 July there are just 21 countries on the green list: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. A regularly updated list can be found, in English, on the Ministry of Health website.

The Red List

The red list (rdeči seznam) contains those countries where the covid-19 situation is getting worse or already bad. Anyone entering Slovenia from one of these nations – regardless of citizenship or residency status – has to undergo a 14-day mandatory self-quarantine period, with some exceptions (see here). The red list currently includes the following 36 countries (and the related police site, in English, is here, if reading this later in the summer):

Albania

Andorra

Armenia

Bahrain

Belarus

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Brazil

Cayman Islands

Chile

Djibouti

Dominican Republic

Gabon

Gibraltar

Iran

Kosovo

Kuwait

Maldives

Moldova

Northern Macedonia

Oman

Panama

Peru

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Qatar

Republic of South Africa

Russia

Saint Thomas and Prince

Saudi Arabia

Serbia

Singapore

Sweden

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United States

The Yellow List

The yellow list (rumeni seznam) includes all those countries not on the green or red lists, with recent additions being Croatia, France, and Czechia (aka the Czech Republic). In principle, yellow countries are those with between ten and 40 active infections per hundred thousand inhabitants. For Slovenian citizens or foreign residents, nothing changes when a country moves from the green to yellow list, and no quarantine is required on returning to Slovenia.

My country is on the yellow list – can I come to Slovenia?

Non-resident citizens of countries on the yellow list will need to undergo mandatory two-week self-quarantine on entry unless they’re just transiting the country or booked accommodation here while their country was still green, and also have a valid certificate proving they have tested negative for covid-19. There are some exceptions for work, medical treatment, family matters and so on (more details here, and the official border police site is here).

What about Croatia?

Croatia is a favourite holiday destination among Slovenes and others who live in the country, due to its vastly greater coastline. It’s currently on the yellow list, which means – as noted about – that no real restrictions apply when re-entering Slovenia if you’re Slovenian, a foreign resident, or citizen of an EU or Schengen state. However, because of the surge in cases in the Western Balkans you’ll need to show some evidence that you spent your time in Croatia, and not further south, such as a hotel bill or property ownership papers. Border police officers will have a discretion to decide whether your proof is valid, or else they’ll assume you’ve come from a red-listed Balkan country, and thus order you to undergo a two-week quarantine period.

You can find all our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia here.

Yellow list exceptions

Remember that Slovenian citizens and residents don’t need to worry about the yellow list, but others will need to self-quarantine for 14-days unless they can prove that they’re travelling for work, a medical examination, education, to attend a funeral, see a close family member, or have booked accommodation in Slovenia , persons crossing the border due to involvement in education, persons crossing the border due to funeral, persons maintaining contact with close family members, persons with urgent personal affairs, land tenants, persons booking accommodation in Slovenia, also need a negative a covid-19 test result not older than 36 hours and performed in a Member State of the European Union or the Schengen area or in an organization or individual authorized by the National Institute of Public Health.

Red list exceptions:

A 14-day quarantine is ordered for all persons entering Slovenia who have permanent or temporary residence in countries with a worsened epidemiological situation (the so-called red list) and for all persons regardless of citizenship or country of residence coming to Slovenia from these countries.

Exceptions (i.e., access without restrictions and quarantine) apply only to:

• a person in commercial traffic or activities who, upon crossing the border, can provide evidence of this and returns across the border within 24 hours of entry or submits a negative SARS-CoV-2 test (COVID-19). In the case of a person employed by a foreign company providing a service in the Republic of Slovenia, this person must also submit the address of their esidence in the Republic of Slovenia and a negative SARS-CoV-2 test result when crossing the border. (COVID-19)
• a person seconded to or from a mission in the international transport sector who demonstrates this at the border crossing point with the "Certificate for Workers in the International Transport Sector"
• a person who carries out the transport of goods to the Republic of Slovenia or from the Republic of Slovenia, and for freight transport in transit, and who leaves the Republic of Slovenia within 12 hours after entry
• a person traveling in transit through the Republic of Slovenia to another country within 12 hours of entry
• a person with a diplomatic passport
• a person who provides services for which a certificate has been issued by the competent ministry and which, due to non-performance of these services, could result in major social or economic damage due to the quarantine order (Item 7 of Article 10)

STA, 22 June 2020 - Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg told the press after they met in Ljubljana on Monday that they would do everything in their power so that the shared border was not closed again due to Covid-19. The countries have boosted information exchange and coordination in this field, they added.

Logar stressed that Slovenia, which had its borders opened to a majority of the Western Balkan countries until recently, was keeping close tabs on the development of the pandemic in the countries and taking quick measures if the epidemiological situation worsened.

Schallenberg said regarding Slovenia's decision to remove a majority of the Western Balkan countries from the so-called green list that "one needs to be aware that if one Schengen area country opens its borders, it assumes the responsibility of all others".

He explained that Austria decided which country was safe not only based on an increase in the number of infected persons, but also on a set of other criteria, including to which countries have opened up to these countries.

Ministra @AnzeLog in Schallenberg sta poudarila odlične odnose med državama, izpostavila Leto sosedskega dialoga in zadovoljstvo z dobrim gospodarskim sodelovanjem. Minister Logar je izpostavil tudi pričakovanja slovenske narodne skupnosti v ??➡️https://t.co/MkS2cGhSGz pic.twitter.com/sPphivf2RX

— SLOVENIAN MFA (@MZZRS) June 22, 2020

Logar and Schallenberg agreed they will keep each other informed about future measures and coordinate the country's actions, if necessary. The latter said he could not promise that movement across the shared border would not be restricted again.

The countries are doing everything they can to prevent this, because they do not only share the border, as many citizens and families in both countries are closely connected to the border area, the Austrian minister added.

Logar also said that he had agreed with Schallenberg that reviving the trade flow, including by keeping borders open, and kick-starting the economy and life in general was very important for recovery after the pandemic.

Austria in particular is important for economic cooperation as it is at the top in terms of foreign investments, volume of trade and arrivals of tourists, he added.

Remaining an open issue is control on the Austrian side of the border aimed at stemming illegal migration, which Schallenberg said had been extended until November, as a new increase was expected given the situation on the Turkish-Greek border.

The Austrian minister said that the control was help of sorts for Slovenia, as everybody who crosses illegally into Slovenia knew it would be hard to enter Austria. "This is not a sign of distrust in Slovenia, but a clear signal to smugglers."

Logar said that while Slovenia did not oppose temporary controls on internal EU borders if these were warranted, there should be very transparent and realistic reasons for such measures.

They also discussed cooperation on the EU's multi-year financial framework and the recovery package. "Slovenia and Austria are perhaps sometimes on opposite banks here, which is normal when one is a net contributor and the other is a net recipient," Logar said.

Nevertheless, he is convinced that agreements should be reached as soon as possible, even before the summer holidays. "Sometimes you need to take a step back so that we together can take two steps forward," Logar added.

Schallenberg shared the view that an agreement at the EU level needed to be reached as soon as possible.

The ministers touched on the Slovenian minority in Austria, labelling the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Carinthian plebiscite as an important bilateral event. Logar said it was a historic opportunity to make a step forward in this field.

Schallenberg said he was optimistic about the possibility to develop a "positive story, which will be oriented towards the future while not forgetting about the past" as part of the anniversary.

The Austrian minister also reiterated the wish that the German-speaking community in Slovenia be recognised as a minority.

Later in the day, Schallenberg met representatives of the community, who informed him that certain progress had been made in the dialogue with the previous Slovenian government.

The community thus expects from the current government to continue the dialogue and adopt measures which would ensure long-term protection of the community's work, the community's union of cultural association said in a press release.

The anniversary of the Carinthian plebiscite was meanwhile the main topic as Schallenberg was received by President Borut Pahor, who noted that he and his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen had agreed to mark it together

Preparations are under way and they pursue the goal that ceremonies are held with dignity and in a European spirit. The presidents will speak about this at a meeting on 7 July in Vienna, the president's office said.

It added that Pahor was happy with the intention of the new Austrian government to improve the situation of the Slovenian minority, and that the anniversary could be a major milestone in the advancement of bilateral relations.

Eight new coronavirus infections were confirmed in Slovenia in Wednesday, Health Minister Tomaž Gantar has announced. This is a marked increase compared to recent weeks and takes the total number of recorded infections to 1,511. The death toll remained unchanged at 109.

STA, 17 June 2020 - Bojana Beović, the head of the team advising the Health Ministry on coronavirus, has urged reimposing stringent measures on the borders at once after an increase in new infections originating abroad, while PM Janez Janša warned new restrictions would be inevitable unless those in place were respected.

After seeing very few or no new daily coronavirus cases for almost a month, Slovenia saw the daily figure spike at 5 on 5 June, followed by 11 new cases last week and already 7 this Monday and Tuesday.

The cases have either been imported from abroad or are close contacts of those cases, with Radio Slovenija reporting on Wednesday that most of the cases originated in the Balkans.

Commenting on the situation for media on Wednesday, Beović said that most of the cases had been imported, describing the situation as rather critical.

Noting that people obviously got too relaxed, the advisor said the new cases in recent days were due to the open border regime, warning that those new imported cases could lead to dozens of new cases in the future.

She believes that entry should be restricted for the countries placed on the red or black lists by the National Public Health Institute (NIJZ).

"We've had individual cases imported from abroad on a daily basis and with this sort of conduct, that is with a lot of socialising and failure to wear masks, such a situation could be very dangerous," Beović told the online edition of the newspaper Večer.

"We could see an extensive spread of the virus in a very short time," she added.

Similarly, the prime minister warned of a looming threat of a second wave of the epidemic as the risk of imported infections was growing fast with the reopening of Europe's borders and resumption of intercontinental flights.

"All measures in place will prevent a repeat of the epidemic only if they are implemented consistently. Or else new restrictions will be inevitable," Janša said on his Twitter profile.

In response to Beović's criticism of too many exemptions to the measures already in place, NIJZ director Milan Krek announced a rethink on justifiability of some of the exemptions that allow arrivals from countries not listed as Covid-19-safe to avoid a mandatory two-week quarantine.

The government decree on the prevention of Covid-19 spread at border crossings lists 16 exemptions to the 14-day quarantine for arrivals from the countries not okayed as safe by the NIJZ.

Those exemptions include daily or weekly migrants, persons in business transit in Slovenia, those transporting goods into or out of the country, transit passengers and diplomats.

Crossing the border without the mandatory quarantine is also possible for persons visiting their closest relatives and close relatives of Slovenian citizens or foreigners with permanent residence in Slovenia.

Talking with the STA, Krek said that most of the coronavirus infections in Slovenia in recent weeks came into the country based on those exemptions.

This is why the NIJZ would propose a discussion on whether some of the exemptions made sense, as envisaged in the decree in the event of a worsening in the epidemiological situation.

Krek expects the decree could be amended as early as Friday.

As of Tuesday midnight, Slovenia had 26 active coronavirus cases out of the total of 1,503 registered since the first case was confirmed on 4 March.

Seven Covid-19 patients are being treated in hospitals, one of them in an intensive care unit.

There have been no Covid-19 fatalities since 1 June when the death total reached 109.

STA, 8 June 2020 - Citizens of 17 EU and non-EU countries may enter Slovenia without restrictions as of Monday under new border crossing rules adopted by the government on Sunday evening.

Citizens of neighbouring Austria, Croatia and Hungary have already been allowed to cross without any health restrictions under bilateral agreements.

Now, the list of countries whose nationals may cross freely has been expanded with Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Norway, Slovakia and Switzerland.

The countries are placed on the list based on an epidemiological assessment by the National Institute of Public Health. If the situation in any of these countries deteriorates, they may be removed from the list.

Nationals of other EU and Schengen zone countries are still subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival unless they fall under one of what are now 16 exemptions.

Until today one of the exemptions was confirmation of tourist booking, but that is no longer the case in the new decree.

Related: Slovenia Now Open to EU Nationals, No Quarantine Required (But Check the Small Print)

In yet another step towards the relaxation of the border regime, the government has relaxed crossing requirements on Slovenia's border with Austria and Hungary, which form internal borders in the EU.

It decided that crossing is permitted outside designated checkpoints, but only for Slovenians, Austrians (for the border with Austria) and Hungarians (for the border with Hungary), all others must still use designated checkpoints.

On the other hand, it instituted a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all arrivals from North Macedonia, regardless of nationality or residency.

The only exemption from the quarantine requirement are workers in international transport, persons conducting cargo transport to and from Slovenia or in transit, persons crossing Slovenia in transit and exiting no later than within 24 hours, and holders of diplomatic passports.

STA, 6 June 2020 - Slovenia will open its border with Italy very soon, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said on Saturday as he hosted his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio in Ljubljana. Though not naming a date, Logar repeated several times that he looked forward to 15 June with optimism.

Logar said that Slovenia followed the situation in Italy on a daily basis and that it would open its border as soon as the health situation there allows it.

He said that the situation in Italy was improving very fast, infection-wise. There were, however, differences between regions, but all have made significant progress, said Logar.

He added that the opening of the border will have to be green-lighted by the National Institute for Public Health (NIJZ) before this decision is made by the government.

Minister @AnzeLog je italijanskemu kolegu @luigidimaio izrazil sožalje za vse žrtve epidemije in priznanje za učinkovite ukrepe, ki jih je #Italija uvedla za zajezitev #covid19. V času po pandemiji moramo za obnovo gospodarstva v Evropi stopiti skupaj.#StrongerTogether #EU pic.twitter.com/vJd3XTH8Tz

— SLOVENIAN MFA (@MZZRS) June 6, 2020

"I'm looking forward to 15 June with optimism," he said several times during the joint statement with Di Maio.

Di Maio meanwhile thanked his host for showing optimism and underlined that the border opening for tourism was vital for the economies of both countries.

The Italian minister also said that a high level of caution will be needed in the next 10 days to prevent the number of coronavirus infections from increasing once again.

Logar said that Italy was a very important neighbouring country for Slovenia and a key economic partner, while bilateral relations are at a high level.

Turning to EU issues, Di Maio said Europe needed to become a place that unites, not divided. It has to become more united to cope with the problems ahead, both economic and health issues, he said.

The pair also discussed the forthcoming return of National Hall in Trieste to the Slovenian minority there, en event that Logar described as a landmark. "This will be an important landmark that will lift bilateral relations to a new level."

Di Maio added that as Italy changed electoral legislation, the Slovenian minority must be secured a place in parliament.

He also met Slovenian President Borut Pahor, with the latter pointing to regular contacts with his counterpart Sergio Mattarella. The presidents will attend the ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of National Hall arson by Fascists together.

Pahor's office also said in a press release that cooperation between the Italian government and local authorities will be key so that everything is ready for the return of the National Hall to the Slovenian community on 13 July.

STA, 3 June 2020 - Slovenians will be able to cross the border without restrictions to all neighbouring countries from Thursday as Austria abolishes health checks on its border with Slovenia as the last neighbour to do so.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg announced on Wednesday that the country was abolishing border and health checks on all its borders, except with Italy, on Thursday.

Quoted by the Austrian press agency APA, Schallenberg said the regime on the borders with Germany, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czechia and Hungary from tomorrow would be the same as before the coronavirus pandemic.

This means that on entering the country from those countries passengers will no longer have to quarantine or be required to present proof of not being infected with the novel virus.

Slovenia's Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision. "It's good and happy news and the success of Slovenia's diplomatic efforts", ministry spokesman Aleksander Geržina said.

Austria had reimposed border checks on the border with Slovenia, an internal EU border, during the migration crisis in 2015, a move that Slovenia has been protesting against as being unwarranted.

"Slovenia's epidemiologic picture is one of the best and this fact deserved recognition," said Geržina, who said diplomats had been working for about a month for Austria to sea the real picture.

Austria lifting health checks is important so that Slovenian citizens can start travelling freely while respecting all rules related to the Covid-19 pandemic and so that people can finally start planning their holidays as they are used to, said Geržina.

Austria was the last of Slovenia's neighbours to end health restrictions that were imposed following the coronavirus outbreak as Italy lifted border restrictions for EU citizens today.

Croatia and Hungary have lifted restrictions for Slovenian citizens earlier. These are also the only countries whose citizens can enter Slovenia completely without restrictions.

This is because Slovenia has already entered into bilateral agreements with the two countries that make such restriction-free travel possible.

Geržina expects Slovenia will soon add Austria to the list of countries from where entry is possible without restrictions. The government places countries on the list based on the recommendation from the National Institute of Public Health.

Citizens of other EU countries are allowed to enter without a mandatory 14-day quarantine if they have permanent or temporary residence in Slovenia, own property or vessel here, have booked accommodation, or fall under any of the 17 exceptions to the rule.

STA, 4 March 2020 - Slovenian police officers discovered at the Dobova border crossing on Tuesday 30 citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran and Afghanistan hiding in sealed wagons of a train carrying clay, as they attempted to enter Slovenia.

The train with 20 wagons loaded with clay was coming to Slovenia from Serbia, the Novo Mesto Police Department said on Wednesday.

The foreigners were literally buried in clay as they tried to avoid being detected by border police, which could have been fatal.

The police said the conditions in the sealed wagons were life-threatening, mostly due to the lack of oxygen. What is more the clay on the surface had hardened, creating a dangerous crust.

Spokesperson Alenka Drenik said that the foreigners had been completely covered by clay, and that it was not fully clear how they were able to breathe at all.

She added that foreigners who were trying to enter Slovenia illegally were often found on trains, including on trains transporting clay, but that they were always located on the top of the cargo.

What shocked the police officers and firefighters who participated in the rescue effort the most is that there were 12 children aged between five and fourteen, as well as a woman in a late stage of pregnancy, among the foreigners.

Three persons were provided with medical care in the Brežice hospital after the effort, which also included search and rescue dogs.

Peter Herakovič, the commander of the local fire brigade, told the STA that "small wooden houses" had been put into the wagons, enabling the stowaways get air.

Hardened clay was put on top of these houses, and entrances were blocked by large lumps of clay. "These were trenches of some sort."

According to him, the people inside the wagons were terrified and would not have stayed alive for much longer, perhaps a few hours, had they not been rescued. "Those who were being rescued the last were in a very bad shape."

Herakovič praised the rescue dog team, saying that not even half of the migrants would be saved without them.

According to Drenik, their destination was probably Italy, where the cargo train was destined.

Since they did not ask for asylum, all of them, including the three who had been taken to hospital, have already been handed over to Croatian police officers who perform joint border control at Dobova with Slovenian colleagues.

STA, 1 March 2020 - Slovenian authorities say they are prepared for a possible increase in migrations after Turkey decided to open its borders with Greece claiming it can no longer cope with a new migrant wave from Syria.

"We are ready for a possible increase in illegal crossings of the national border. We have a variety of activities and measures available that we will adjust to the situation on the ground," the Interior Ministry said Saturday evening.

The ministry said it was monitoring the situation in the region and exchanging information with countries in the region on an ongoing basis, stressing that police were in control of the situation.

Police said they were exchanging information with other countries and making adjustments as necessary.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has raised fears of a renewed surge in migrations along the Balkan route after announcing Turkey was opening its borders towards Europe.

Reports by global media suggest thousands of migrants have already crossed into the EU and are en route north.

STA, 10 February 2020 - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested five police officers operating at the north-eastern Gruškovje and Zavrč border crossings with Croatia. It is believed they accepted bribes for stamping the passports of third-country Schengen zone residents to allow them to prolong their stay beyond the permitted 90-day period.

The General Police Administration said Saturday's final sting, which involved more than 50 police officers, was the culmination of a months-long investigation.

The operation included covert surveillance and house searches, including in Austria, and led to the discovery of an international ring that took money for illegally enabling third-country citizens to reside in the Schengen Area.

It turned out that the ring also included five members of the police force who accepted bribes to provide passport stamping for individuals who in fact failed to leave the Schengen zone after the maximum permitted 90-day period before trying to re-enter three months later.

Police representatives told the press that the passports were owned by citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Macedonia who were likely engaged in undeclared work in the EU.

The employment contracts of the officers involved have been terminated, and Police Commissioner Tatjana Bobnar, who helped coordinate the investigation, has introduced special oversight to check mechanisms for monitoring the work of border police.

It is not yet clear how much the corrupt officers earned with the help of the scheme, but 90,000 euro in cash was discovered during the house searches along with 19 passports ready for stamping.

The five are currently in detention and will be brought before an investigating magistrate.

The General Police Administration said that similar incidents had also occurred in other countries located on the edges of the Schengen Area.

It is expected that the risk of such abuse will finally be eliminated in 2022 when a new system is meant to completely automate the monitoring of entries and exits.

Peter Skerbiš of the General Police Administration's border police sector told the press that the safety of the Schengen Area was not in peril. "The abuse was in fact discovered by border police at other border crossings," he pointed out.

STA, 7 February 2020 - The Slovenian police recorded a total of 16,099 illegal crossings of the border last year, almost 74% more than in 2018, with the highest number of migrants coming from Pakistan, Algeria and Afghanistan.

Citizens of Pakistan were involved in a total of 4,101 illegal crossings, followed by citizens of Algeria (1,892) and Afghanistan (1,733), show data from the police, the Ministry of the Interior and the Government Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants.

August was the busiest month for police officers in this respect, as 2,392 illegal crossings of the border were recorded that month, followed by October (2,268) and September (1,987).

The number of applications for international protection was also up last year to 3,821, which is 33% more than in 2018.

Only 85 persons were granted international protection, down from 102 in 2018, while procedures were suspended in 3,273 cases. The vast majority of suspensions are the result of applicants leaving Slovenia of their own accord.

The largest number of foreigners returned to Slovenia by foreign authorities came from Italy (255), while Slovenia returned the biggest number of foreigners to Croatia (11,026 or almost three times more than in 2018).

As of 6 February, a total of 298 applicants for international protection reside in Slovenia, almost half of them in the asylum centre in south-western Ljubljana.

The number of persons who have been granted international protection stands at 725, with three-quarters of these persons accommodated in private homes.