STA, 18 August 2021 - UKC Ljubljana, the country's largest hospital system, is getting ready to handle an anticipated surge in Covid-19 cases even as it performs all other health services to the maximum extent. The hospital is "ready for the challenge," said Matjaž Trontelj, the head of the hospital's governing board.

"This is a major challenge but one that needs to be handled. We have to find a balance due to the need to cut waiting times," he said after a session of the governing board.

The hospital currently has more than 250 beds ready for Covid-19 patients, according to Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the head of the infectious diseases department.

At the peak of the second wave of the epidemic, it handled 350 Covid-19 patients at the same time (at Covid and regular wards) plus 70 in intensive care units.

There are almost 200 ICU beds available in total, almost twice as many as the hospital had before the pandemic.

"We are probably ready [for the fourth wave], though perhaps not to the extent that we want since we really don't know what awaits us," she said.

Last year the hospital turned parts of the gynaecology department and orthopaedic department into Covid wards, but this is not planned this year. The desire is to perform as many non-Covid services as possible.

"If the scope of the epidemic is really too large, it may happen that some services be curtailed, but they won't be completely shut down," said deputy director general Jože Golobič.

All the latest data on COVID and Slovenia

STA, 18 August 2021 - From a total of 2,228 PCR tests analysed in Slovenia on Tuesday, 385 came back positive for coronavirus, up 67 from Monday. The positivity rate rose by 1.8 points to 17.3%, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) said on Wednesday. This is the highest daily tally of new confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country since 25 May.

Apart from the PCR tests, another 19,614 rapid antigen tests were also carried out on Tuesday, with all positives double-checked with PCR tests.

The 7-day average of new cases rose by 20 to 218 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents by 11 to 118.

As for hospitals, the government said that there were currently 57 hospitalised Covid-19 patients, eight more than yesterday. The number of patients in intensive care dropped by two to none, while three Covid-19 patients died yesterday.

According to the NIJZ's estimate, there are now 2,560 active cases in the country, a daily rise of 246. The last time there were as many active infections was in mid-June, when the epidemic was on a decline.

A total of 942,522 people or 54% of the adult population in Slovenia have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and 846,449 or 49% have been fully immunised.

STA, 16 August 2021 - Four centre-left opposition parties have requested a session of the parliamentary Education Committee to get answers from the government on how schools will organise when they reopen on 1 September given that coronavirus numbers are surging yet again.

"The new school year starts in just over two weeks but we do not have any answers about how classes will be organised," Marko Koprivc, a deputy for the Social Democrats (SD), said on Monday.

The opposition alleges Slovenia does not have a strategy for the new school year and that schools have not received any instructions from the Education Ministry yet.

They said Education Minister Simona Kustec had failed to use the summer for preparations, instead she attended the Tokyo Olympics as a tourist.

The parties expect Prime Minister Janez Janša to attend the committee session since it is him, not Minister Kustec, who holds the reigns in the educational system.

Indeed, Left deputy Željko Cigler said Janša should dismiss the minister lest he be held responsible for the "collapse of the Slovenian educational system".

The opposition has not yet discussed whether to seek a vote of no confidence against the minister, but Cigler said this was one way to "stop the destructive educational policy".

The Education Ministry has for weeks faced criticism from SVIZ, the teachers' union, and from several head teachers about the absence of instructions as to how school work should be organised.

In the last school year Slovenian pupils spent several months learning from home, before they returned to classrooms in spring.

It remains unclear for now whether there will be mask mandates at schools once again, while according to Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar, mandatory vaccination for teachers is not being considered.

STA, 14 August 2021 - The government has decided that people attending public cultural events will have to wear face masks as of Monday, with the exception of performers. There are no changes regarding restrictions of public gatherings, while stricter requirements for testing of employees in certain activities are to be introduced soon.

Under the decree that will be in force until 22 August, the recovered-vaccinated-tested (PCT) rule remains in force for public events and gatherings in enclosed spaces and for outdoor events for more than 100 people.

As for transport, the government decided on Friday evening that taxi drivers and operators of cable lifts will need to meet the PCT rule, while PCR test will be valid for 72 hours and rapid antigen tests for 48 hours.

Meanwhile, employees in nine service activities will need to produce as of 23 August a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours or a rapid antigen test not older than 48 hours, if they have not been vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19.

These activities include hygienic care, non-medical advisory and therapeutic services, services of professional or business education and training, gaming, fair and congress activity, hospitality, accommodation services.

Until next Sunday, employees in these nine service activities are required to get tested once a week.

The government said that the changes had been adopted "considering the fast increase in infections with the delta strain in the EU member states."

STA, 14 August - The government decided on Friday that passengers transiting through Slovenia will not be required to produce a Covid certificate only until 22 August. "As of 23 August, transit will no longer be possible without meeting the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule (PCT) rule," the government said.

If they want to avoid being ordered to quarantine for ten days in Slovenia, transit passengers will have to produce a certificate proving that they have either recovered from Covid-19, tested or vaccinated.

So far, there were certain exceptions for quarantine, including for transit passengers who leave Slovenia within 12 hours after entering it.

However, the decree adopted by the government yesterday evening says that this exception will be in force only until 22 August.

If a person who has residence in Slovenia enters the country, this is not considered as transit, but entry with the intention to go home, the government said.

For now, the exceptions apply to children younger than 15 accompanied by persons who meet the PCT rule, owners or renters of property on both sides of the borders, cross-border workers and persons performing international transport services.

STA, 12 August 2021 - The country is introducing the rule of being tested for or vaccinated against Covid or having recovered from it for a number of activities, while abolishing free rapid tests. While these will be paid for by employers for the workers who need them to do their job, university and secondary school students will have to pay for them themselves.

Student representatives strongly oppose having to pay for rapid testing themselves, which will be no longer free of charge from 23 August, except for some groups.

They will cost EUR 12, and are expected to have to be taken every two days, since a rapid antigen test result is valid for 48 hours.

At present, workers in healthcare, care homes and schools who have not been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid have to be tested once a week.

The government is expected to make it into a rule that all education workers must meet the recovered-vaccinated-tested (PCT) rule as of 16 August, when exam resits begin.

Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar said everything was ready to launched voluntary self-testing at home as the new school year starts on 1 September.

Compulsory vaccination for education workers is not being considered, while self-testing for kids in the last three years of primary school is to be introduced.

If the epidemiological situation remains as it is now, self-testing will also be introduced for secondary schools students, the state secretary said.

However, he said the option of a PCT rule for secondary schools was also being considered.

He also announced compliance for university students would be checked with digital technologies. He favours a QR code scanner to be installed at entries to faculties.

The state secretary said a meeting between representatives of students, faculties, health and education ministries would be held this month to discuss details.

He also welcomed the fact that students have accepted the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule as a way of keeping universities open.

However, while university and secondary schools student representatives understand the need for the rule, they oppose payable testing and urge self-testing for secondary school students and teachers, while complaining about the lack of information.

Organisations representing secondary schools students fear that poorer students will not be able to afford rapid tests.

Frančiška Al-Mansour, head of the Association of Secondary Schools, would prefer keeping once-a-week self-testing from the end of the last school year for students.

The Student of Organisation of Slovenia (ŠOS) is meanwhile surprised at the Health Ministry's statement that student organisations support the new conditions.

ŠOS head Andrej Pirjevec said "free testing is the only way for public education to be truly accessible in the coming school year, so we will do everything for tests to remain free of charge".

Pirjevec urged teachers and students at all levels of education to get vaccinated, with Vindišar calling on teachers to do so to serve as a role model to others.

Among those proposing for the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule to be introduced at higher education institutions was the Chancellors' Conference.

"If we want to return to in-person study process, PCT is an urgently needed basis to ensure everyone's safety and health," said Zdravko Kačič, the head of the Chancellors' Conference.

He also said that universities were not in a position to cover the costs of self-tests.

The Youth Council also welcomed the PCT system as a solution to allow all schoolchildren and students to return to schools and colleges in the autumn, but they believe secondary and university students should be eligible for free tests.

The state secretary said the idea behind new rules was to keep schools open even in the worst-case epidemic scenario.

He also told the press as he visited Cerknica that epidemiologists are still able to follow contacts of the infected persons.

But with the reproduction number increasing at the current rate, they could easily no longer be able to do so in 15 days.

STA, 11 August 2021 - Compliance with the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule will be a prerequisite for attending university lectures in the next academic year, Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar has said. The ministry proposes voluntary self-testing for secondary school students, but if Slovenia enters tier red, they will need the Covid certificate.

"Our wish is for schools to stay open. We know that was a major issue in the past and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport will do its best to ensure they remain open," Vindišar told the press on Wednesday.

He said that student organisations had agreed to the condition of Covid certificate compliance in the case of university lectures.

The ministry's Covid-19 advisory group proposed the same rule for secondary schools, but "everyone wishes to move forward with the gradual model", which envisages Covid certificate compliance as a prerequisite for in-person education after the country moves to the red phase of epidemiological status under criteria by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the state secretary said.

In primary schools, pupils in the last three years could get self-tested if they wish so. If there should be any outbreaks or clusters of coronavirus cases in individual areas, local schools might be closed, however, generally speaking, the ministry will aim to keep schools open, he said.

Vindišar also noted that the vaccination rate among school workers was not sufficient with the ministry urging them to get a jab. According to some sources, the rate stands at approximately 50%.

National Institute of Public Health head Milan Krek called on youths to get vaccinated as well, pointing out that the latest cases most frequently stem from the 15-24 age group. The average age of the infected is 33, he added.

Vindišar said vaccination trends were not favourable as the figures were much too low to contain the epidemic, warning that the situation was deteriorating.

Currently, almost 40% of the population has been fully immunised and 45% has received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Some 31% of the 18-24 age group have been fully protected against Covid-19 and 37% has been jabbed once.

The ministry intends to launch additional mobile vaccination services next week as such units have proved successful, particularly in the countryside.

The Jožef Stefan Institute said today the country has already moved to the orange phase under ECDC criteria and will, given the current trend, move to red in early September.

Such epidemiological developments mean that the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule will have to become mandatory in all areas, including healthcare, education, the hospitality sector, culture, sports and public life, Vindišar said.

STA, 11 August 2021 - Slovenia saw as many as 248 people test positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, an increase of nearly 80% from the same day a week ago, as the Jožef Stefan Institute says the country has already moved to the orange phase under ECDC criteria and will, given the current trend, move to red in early September.

Fresh figures from the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) show 12.6% of the 1,974 PCR tests performed yesterday came back positive, as a total of 19,126 rapid antigen tests were taken.

The 7-day average of new cases has increased to 139, up by 15 from the day before, and the cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents rose by eight to 81.

The NIJZ estimates that there are now 1,752 active cases in the country, up more than 160 from the day before.

The Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS) has calculated infections double in about 20 days despite this being the height of the holiday season, which functions as a partial lockdown.

Considering the epidemiological data released weekly by the NIJZ, local transmissions are increasing and are in fact prevailing, which means the outbreak would increase even without imported cases.

The IJS has assessed that Slovenia has already moved into the orange phase under criteria used by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

"To prevent the fourth wave spreading too much, and mainly to prevent hospitals from becoming overstretched, at least all those aged above 40 should get vaccinated as soon as possible," said the IJS.

Government data show 927,569 people or 53% of the adult population have been vaccinated with the first dose and 826,390 or 48% of adults have been fully inoculated.

All the latest data on COVID and Slovenia is here

STA, 9 August 2021 - All passengers arriving in Slovenia by plane or ship will need to fill out a Digital Passenger Locator Form (dPLF) before entering the country starting from 16 August, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced.

The form makes it easier to track contacts in cases where passengers are exposed to a communicable disease during their journey.

The information provided by passengers can be used by the epidemiological service of the National Institute of Public Health to quickly contact passengers and their contacts in order to prevent the further spread of the disease and to protect their health, reads the release posted on the CAA web site.

The form facilitates collection and exchange of data between EU member countries, which makes passenger contract tracing more successful and efficient, says the release.

The form is available at https://app.euplf.eu

The PLF is for now being used by Italy and Malta and several countries have similar forms of their own, including Greece. The idea is to make travel during the Covid-19 pandemic safer as the forms make it easier to reach passengers that might have been in contact with an infected person.

STA, 9 August 2021 – Vaccination against Covid-19 three times a week is available at Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport from today, with no prior registration needed. Those who want to get vaccinated at the airport can do so on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Jannsen's vaccine.

Airport operator Fraport Slovenija has decided to offer vaccination free of charge to all passengers and others because safe and responsible travel requires meeting the criteria of having been vaccinated against, tested for or recovered from coronavirus.

On Monday, vaccination will be available from 9am to noon, on Wednesday from 11am to 2pm and on Friday between 5pm and 8pm, Fraport Slovenija said on Monday.

Slovenian citizens need their health insurance card and an ID, while foreign citizens need to produce their EU health insurance card and an ID.

Testing for Covid-19 has been available at the airport for quite some time.

Fraport Slovenija also said in a press release that Ljubljana airport had taken all the necessary measures to ensure safety to passengers and the staff.

For a number of preventive measures it has introduced, the airport has received the international Airport Health Accreditation from the Airport Council International.