STA, 1 April 2021 - After schools reopen on 12 April, secondary school students will begin self-testing for coronavirus, followed a while later by pupils of the final three years of primary school, Health Minister Janez Poklukar said on Thursday. 

While on a visit to Maribor, Poklukar said everything will be done for schools to reopen on 12 April. By then Slovenia will set up a system of rapid self-testing for older students.

Next week, school staff will be coached about self-testing and the project would be launched when the schools reopen.

Tests would be performed on Thursdays and Fridays so that those with a positive result would be able to get a PCR test on Monday to confirm the rapid test result.

The Health Ministry and the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) are also preparing video content for students who will be self-testing.

Commenting on the 11-day lockdown ahead, Poklukar said he would be happy if the incidence figures were the same as today on 11 April.

He underlined the government followed recommendations of the expert advisory group. Commenting on reports that the obligatory face masks outside were not proposed by the group, Poklukar said this was true but that most of its members were not against.

Commenting on the fact that Easter Sunday will be an exception to the lockdown, Poklukar said that this was a risk but many elderly people need the support of their children and grandchildren.

Projections presented today by Leon Cizelj of the Jožef Stefan Institute show the lockdown could relieve the pressure on hospitals by a few hundred patients and by between 50 and 60 ICU cases.

Had the lockdown not been imposed there could be more than 1,100 Covid patients in hospitals by mid-May, while the goal of the measures imposed today is to reduce the figure to between 300 and 800.

The latest data on coronavirus and Slovenia

STA, 1 April 2021 - The highly virulent UK variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly and currently accounts for more than 40% of all cases, public health authorities said on Thursday.

Tjaša Žohar Čretnik, the head of the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food (NLZOH), said that 340 cases of the UK strain of the coronavirus were confirmed last week.

The share of the variant among genome sequencing samples has risen to almost 42% from 33% last week.

"In all the Slovenian regions, the UK variant is effectively crowding out the novel coronavirus variant which has been dominant one until now," Žohar Čretnik said, warning that this had been driving the deterioration of the epidemiological situation.

The Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, which also conducts sequencing, said that 44% of the samples it analysed between 15 and 21 March were the UK variant.

The largest share of the UK variant has been established in South-East Slovenia (78%), the northern Koroška region (68%) and the north-eastern Pomurje region (61%).

The share was the lowest in the coastal Obalno-Kraška region (24%).

Brazilian and South African variants are not spreading. A single case of the former and three cases of the latter have been confirmed in Slovenia so far.

The NLZOH has detected another specific mutation in the most prevalent coronavirus variant in the country (B1.258.17). A total of 64 cases of the mutation have been confirmed so far.

The mutation has already been detected in the South African, UK and other strains of the coronavirus, however what is new is that it has never been confirmed in the B1.258.17 variant.

Outside Slovenia, this combination has so far been recorded only in a single case in Austria, Žohar Čretnik said.

The mutation could theoretically make the virus more transmissible and will be investigated further for the experts to determine its properties and consequences.

STA, 1 April 2021 - Health authorities have recommended that Covid-19 vaccination be focused in the next three weeks on older persons so that shots are given to all Slovenian residents aged 60 or older who want to get vaccinated.

The National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) said on Thursday that the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines should be administered to persons aged 65+, and to particularly vulnerable chronic patients regardless of age and residents of care homes.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is recommended for persons aged 60-64, and older persons if they express interest in vaccination with this vaccine.

The NIJZ said that the recommendations were made in accordance with the changed strategy for Covid-19 vaccination and taking into account the situation in which the quantities of vaccine are limited.

It proposes that, due to the deteriorating epidemiological situation and the consequent stoppage of public life until 12 April, vaccination be focused on persons aged 60 and older in the next three weeks.

This is in line with the objectives of the NIJZ strategy and decisions of the government advisory task force for vaccination, the institute said, adding that "this would utilise the available doses of the vaccine to protect the most vulnerable."

In the meantime, data on the possible and exceptionally rare serious side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the younger population reported in some European countries will be analysed.

More data on the vaccinations here (Slovene only, but mostly numbers)

STA, 31 March 2021 - Households in Slovenia saved a record high share of their disposable income in the coronavirus year 2020, while their final consumption expenditure saw a record drop, the Statistics Office (SURS) said on Wednesday.

While gross disposable income usually declines or stagnates in crises, transfers as part of government measures to mitigate the social and economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 prevented this potential decline at the aggregate level, SURS explained.

Gross disposable income of households rose by 9.8% or EUR 716 million in nominal terms in the last quarter of 2020 annually to EUR 8.04 billion.

In the entire year 2020, gross disposable income of households was by 3.8% higher than the year before.

Households' final consumption expenditure meanwhile dropped by 15.4% to EUR 5.67 billion in the October-December period nominally compared to the same quarter in 2019.

In the whole of 2020, it dropped by 10.3% annually, the sharpest decrease to date and first since 2013.

"We can see that the coronavirus pandemic and measures to mitigate its consequences significantly affect households' consumption and saving behaviour," SURS commented.

With much lower final consumption expenditure, households' savings increased more sharply.

The gross household saving rate, which shows a share of gross savings in a household's gross disposable income, rose by 20.8 percentage points in the fourth quarter to 30.2% compared to the last quarter in 2019.

The first annual estimate shows that households in Slovenia in 2020 saved 25.1% of their gross disposable income, up 11.7 points over 2019.

The increase in the gross household saving rate in the fourth quarter and in the entire 2020 was the largest so far, said SURS.

More on this data

STA, 31 March 2021 - Between 200 and 300 people gathered in front of the Presidential Palace on the eve of Slovenia's third lockdown protesting restrictions aiming to limit the spread of coronavirus. They believe that some of the restrictions which are to be in place between 1 and 11 April are illogical, irrational and even bizarre.

The protest brought together members of several civil initiatives, including those representing education workers, parents and hospitality workers, among others.

Ahead of the protest, the initiatives said that they wanted to let politicians know that they had had enough of human rights violations, lies, manipulations, and destruction of people and the economy.

"Since when does care for health involve repression?" one of the speakers at the rally wondered.

They demand that President Borut Pahor start taking action and the Constitutional Court decide on review requests pertaining to the restrictions.

The protest received support also from the trade union of taxi drivers. They planned a protest against legislation allowing Uber to enter Slovenia, which the parliamentary Infrastructure Committee was scheduled to discuss tomorrow, but the session was postponed due to lockdown.

STA, 30 March 2021 - Slovenia's latest restrictions on the crossing of borders ban all travel to high-risk countries save for a few exemptions. The interior minister says people not among the exemptions may leave the country - provided they pay a fine.

It is up to the attending police officer to determine whether a person who wishes to leave the country qualifies as one of the exemptions.

When they do not qualify but still wish to leave the country, officers simply give them a fine, which starts at 400 euros, and let them leave, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs told the press on Tuesday.

"You cannot physically lock people into the country," he said.

"I personally believe the restriction of movement, in so far as not being allowed to leave the country is concerned, is perfectly appropriate," he said.

The decree has already been challenged at the Constitutional Court by a group of owners of property in Croatia, who believe their property rights are being curtailed.

Hojs said that if the Constitutional Court decided the decree is not constitutional, the government would comply with the decision.

Under the decree, which entered into effect yesterday, travel to red-listed countries is banned for Slovenian residents.

There are two general exemptions - those who have had Covid and those who have been vaccinated - and a number of narrower exemptions, for example for hauliers, cross-border commuters and students, and for emergency services.

STA, 30 March 2021 - The Chamber of Craft and Small Business (OZS) hosted on Tuesday Labour Minister Janeza Cigler Kralj to express protest over the renewed closure of small businesses, which they find discriminatory given that large companies will be able to resume their work without disruption.

tive committee of the OZS expressed concern and disappointment over the services sector being subjected to another Covid-19 closure which will take place at least from 1 to 11 April, the chamber said in a press release.

"We cannot accept the theory that the possibility of infection in small workshops and salons is greater than in large production halls with 500 or 1,000 employees. Our members tell us that they want to work and not receive aid," OZS president Branko Meh said.

He called on Cigler Kralj to communicate to the government that people should simply get used to living and working with the virus, noting that many people would lose their jobs because of the business closure.

"We no longer accept the government closing small business. If you think that the disease is so severe, then close everybody, the entire economy. This is what you should tell Prime Minister Janez Janša," Meh said.

The minister said he "understands and hears" that small businesses are in an uneven position. "We have preserved 300,000 jobs with measures. Employment of unemployed persons was up by 14.5% in 2020 over the year before," he noted.

Cigler Kralj also pointed to the importance of vaccination, and noted that the government had endorsed his proposal for subsidised quarantine and absence from work due to force majeure be extended until the end of April.

However, the OZS said it did not get an answer to the question why the government had decided to close small businesses. Blaž Cvar of the chamber's hospitality and tourism industry section noted that the situation in the sector was critical.

"We have been closed for seven months and a half, bar for delivery. Each month of closure means a 8.3% drop in turnover," he said, adding that this meant that only the establishments that had been fully closed would be eligible for compensation.

"Our members expect compensation for the loss of turnover and different conditions for aid measures. Many of them are excluded from all measures because they do not meet the criteria of a 50% drop in revenue," Cvar warned.

Drago Delalut of the Association of Employers in Craft and Small Business said the hospitality industry could easily operate safely, and that there was "concern that we will have the staff once our establishments are reopened".

Our employees have taken loans and they need social security. This is why our staff is running away to other industries. Please let us work," he said.

STA, 30 March 2021 - From a total of 5,395 PCR tests carried out on Monday, 1,080 came back positive for a positivity rate of 20%, up from Sunday's 16.4%. The daily death toll was as high as 15, an increase of 9. The seven-day average of new coronavirus cases rose by 14 to 957, the government said on Twitter on Tuesday.

The number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals has reached 515 (down 11), of whom 105 are in intensive care (down 7), while 61 were discharged from hospital.

As many as 4,306 persons died until Monday, the government data shows.

The epidemic is on the rise due to the spread of the new, more virulent strains of the coronavirus.

According to the Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS), the reproduction number - showing how many people one infected person will pass the virus on to - is 1.19, but is expected to drop after the 1-11 April lockdown.

Given that the English variant doubles roughly every 11 days, the situation could rapidly worsen without the lockdown, to the point of switching back to tier red in early April; roughly half of the country is now orange (one tier better than red), with the rest split between red and yellow.

First delivery of Johnson & Johnson vaccine expected in mid-April

STASTA, 29 March 2021 - Slovenia expects to get the first delivery of the coronavirus vaccine developed by drug maker Johnson & Johnson in mid-April. The shipment is expected to contain 7,050 doses of the single-shot vaccine, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) said.

Slovenia currently uses the Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. Johnson & Johnson's is the fourth vaccine to be approved for use in the EU and the first one that requires a single shot.

The latest NIJZ data shows just under 231,000, or roughly 11% of the population, have received the first shot of a coronavirus vaccine and roughly 112,000 have received both shots.

This week the focus of the vaccination campaign is on persons over 70.

STA, 29 March 2021 - Toughened restrictions on Slovenia's borders entered into effect today in advance of an eleven-day lockdown kicking in on 1 April, while there are fewer exemptions and the testing requirement has been stepped up. The closure of some border crossings is already causing problems for daily commuters.

Except for a narrow list of exemptions, travel to all red-listed countries - all of Slovenia's neighbours are on the list - is prohibited and the mandatory ten-day quarantine upon entry from such countries cannot be prematurely ended with a test.

All passengers from red-listed countries will have to quarantine unless they show a PCR test made in an EU or Schengen-zone country in the last 48 hours.

A certificate of vaccination with the Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccine, or proof that the person has had Covid-19 in the past six months, suffice as well, provided it has been issued in an EU or Schengen-zone country.

Some passengers may enter Slovenia without quarantining or testing: international hauliers, hauliers leaving or entering the country for no more than eight hours, persons in transit, diplomats, and youths under 13 commuting to school daily and their drivers.

There are also several groups of passengers who may avoid quarantine with a rapid or PCR test that is no more than seven days old. These include daily cross-border commuters, persons over 13 crossing the border to go to school and their drivers, owners of land on both sides of the border, and persons on emergency trips.

School children cannot be exempted from the quarantine or testing requirement when schools are closed.

Several border crossings closed today, causing problems to Slovenians commuting daily to work to neighbouring countries, foremost making their travel much longer.

Mayors from Koroška, a region bordering Austria, thus urged the government to open Vič, Holmec and Radelj 24 hours a day, meaning they are classified border crossings A, and all the other border crossing in the area from 5am to 11pm (classified as B).

They stressed that no border crossing in their region is open 24/7, while Vič and Holmec are open only between 5am and 11pm.

Opposition SD MP Jani Prednik, who comes from Koroška, addressed an initiative to the government to adopt "a rational and realistic border-crossing regime" for daily commuters and those who have to cross the border due to urgent matters.

All the news on covid and Slovenia

STA, 29 March 2021 - As Slovenia is headed for a circuit-breaker lockdown as of Thursday, with kindergartens and schools shutting down as well, some headteachers are surprised with the government's decision, while others are prepared for the shutdown. All of them, however, said that remote schooling and closed kindergartens are stressful for the children.

With the British variant of the new coronavirus driving the incidence of Covid-19 in Slovenia, all non-essential services, baring several exceptions, will have to close between 1 and 11 April, while the industry has been asked to allow as much work from home as possible.

While schools for special needs children will remain open, this will not be the case for kindergartens, primary and secondary schools.

Several headteachers have told the STA on Monday that this had taken them by surprise, because the government advisory group as well as the government had said in the past that schools and kindergartens would be the last to close.

Mojca Kirbiš, the head of Maribor schools headmasters' club, told the STA that the decision taken by the government and experts needs to be respected, adding, however, that the developments are taking a toll on schools.

"All of us, teachers and students, are tired of the constant changes... We've barely returned to classrooms and established a normal rhythm but now the system is being changed again," said Kirbiš, also adding that there are no guarantees schools would reopen on 12 April under the model in place at the moment.

Several headteachers also pointed to problems regarding national competitions, some of which have been scheduled for the week slated for lockdown. Moreover, the competitors will not have an equal footing this year, they fear.

Rudolf Planinšek, the headteacher of a Kranj primary school, does not expect too many problems with the process of organising remote schooling, but is worried about grades. Remote schooling widened the gap between good and poor students, he said.

"There will definitely be some problems, but we'll overcome them somehow," he is confident. If students will be allowed to return to classrooms on 12 April, the school year will be a good one, he believes.

Irena Sivka Horvat, the headteacher of an Izola primary school, also believes that the lockdown, planned for only a week and a half, will not have an adverse effect on the grades.

She hopes that students will be able to make up for the lost time once the situation normalises, adding also it was yet impossible to say to what extent the knowledge of children had been effected.

Nevenka Kulovec, the headteacher of a Novo Mesto primary schools, believes the lockdown is a good decision if it will buy time for vaccination. It does however undermine the school's programme, but they will adapt, she said. Grades have gotten worse, students are poorly motivated and their ability to learn has declined, she said.

In secondary schools, remote schooling will cause the most stress to the finishing classes who are about to take the matura school-leaving exams that start in a month. "What if something like this happens during matura?" said Herman Pušnik the headteacher of a Maribor secondary school.

While secondary schools will close completely, kindergartens and schools will have to provide urgent childcare for kindergartners and pupils up to third grade.

Kindergartens are still awaiting instructions from the Education Ministry to learn whether childcare will be provided only to children of parents in critical infrastructure or to others without childcare as well.

They hope to receive this information as soon as possible, so as to be able to organise work and meals for the lockdown period, Romana Epih, the headteacher of the Medvode kindergarten told the STA.

Tea Dolinar, the headteacher of Kranj kindergartens, echoed this position. There is not enough time, she said, but her team is already used to such fast and stressful transitions and will make it work.

Dolinar also pointed to the stress the closures put on the children, with many small kids perceiving the return as if they are coming to the kindergarten the first time. A similar sentiment was expressed by several other headteachers the STA has talked to.

Silvija Komočar, the headteacher of a Brežice kindergarten, meanwhile said that the situation is nothing new and that the kindergarten already had a lot experience with urgent childcare and was well prepared. She also said that the closures were stressful for the children.

Meanwhile, the umbrella association of pedagogical workers has called on the Education Ministry to finally take action and establish a policy that would minimise the negative effects of the closures.

After a year of extraordinary circumstances, the ministry should finally establish a task force to communicate with the government advisory group so as to ensure that restrictions are truly proportionate.