Ljubljana related

21 Feb 2021, 14:01 PM

STA, 21 February 2021 - Domestic tourists are expected to spend the rest of tourists vouchers, dominate this year's tourist season in Slovenia and make for the bulk of tourist nights, a survey into travel trends of Slovenians in 2021 shows.

"This year we expect the tourist vouchers to be again a big success after they saved our season in Bohinj last year," said the author of the survey, Anže Čokl, the head of two hotels from the area around the Alpine lake of Bohinj, north-west.

The number of foreign tourists will meanwhile heavily depend on vaccination rates, which will be key to restrictions easing, border reopening and an air travel rebound.

Domestic and foreign experts expect tourism to first recover at the local level where destinations can be reached by car.

Tourists are expected to book shorter holidays and closer home, while domestic tourists will expect to get even more for their money, the survey shows.

The problem are foremost destinations which are tightly linked to large groups from more distant parts of the world, such as Asia, Čokl explained.

However, as soon as it is possible, people will get back to old travel ways.

High hygiene standards are meanwhile there to stay and will play a major role in choosing accommodation, there should also be a rise in boutique accommodation and interest in less visited destinations.

With all hotels closed during the epidemic, there is a bit more time for education and preparations for next season, so I was interested to learn what Slovenian experts expect from this year's summer season, Čikl explained the motivation behind the survey. He thus talked to hotel directors, tour operators, researchers and other experts.

He said the structure of tourists in Bohinj completely changed last year, with the number of Slovenian tourists up from 8% in the pre-coronavirus year 2019 to 90%.

"Slovenians are good guests, but have different habits and the manner of travel than tourists from abroad."

The experience at Bohinj Eco Hotel shows that they like to spend much more time outdoor, while staying in Bohinj fewer days than foreigners, only 2-3 as opposed to 5-7.

Although he is not worried about the summer season, the problem is the events industry, a source of revenue in autumn and spring, which the pandemic has severely hit.

"When it comes to recovery in business events, we are unfortunately talking about years, not months," Čokl said.

19 Feb 2021, 13:54 PM

STA, 19 February 2021 - Despite the ongoing ban on indoor food service, restaurants in Slovenia are allowed to serve business customers under certain conditions, a senior Economy Ministry official said Friday as he clarified government restrictions following uncertainty over what the indoor eating ban actually means.

The decree banning the provision of goods and services, including indoor dining, "restricts only commerce with consumers. Commerce with business entities is permitted," Economy Ministry State Secretary Simon Zajc told the government's daily Covid-19 briefing.

If a restaurant signs a contract with a business to provide meals for its employees, it effectively creates a bubble; as a result, the restaurant is not treated as a public space and restrictions on gatherings do not apply.

In that case the restaurant is considered an off-site cafeteria of sorts, according to Zajc.

If a restaurant signs a contract with multiple companies, it is considered a public space and the restriction on gathering applies, meaning that up to ten employees may eat indoors at the same time.

Zajc indicated the latter option had been possible since the complete ban on gatherings was lifted earlier this month.

The clarification came after media accused Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek of flouting the rules when he held an official function at a restaurant in eastern Slovenia earlier this month.

The event triggered a wave of criticism by restaurant owners who said it was not clear from the government decrees that this was possible; if it was, many would have done that months ago.

Some have even threatened to sue the state for loss of income.

Počivalšek has denied any wrongdoing but said the meeting had been "lawful, justified and very useful, but it was also an inconsiderate move in these difficult times."

Zajc acknowledged today that communication regarding the indoor dining restrictions was "not good enough", but added that his ministry had been trying hard to help the restaurant sector as much as possible.

"We really tried hard to mitigate this crisis for them," he said, adding that he did not want lawsuits from restaurant owners, but if any felt they had been wronged, they had the chance to prove that.

The section of restaurant owners at the Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business (OZS), which held a press conference at the same time as Zajc, said they were expecting official clarification from the ministry.

"If it turns out that this information is true, someone must be held accountable," said Blaž Cvar, the head of the section.

Cvar also called for a reopening of restaurants in general. "We've never received information about infections in restaurants, we are justified in making this demand."

Absent that, restaurateurs want higher furlough payments and a waiver on the mandatory holiday bonuses, which he said many companies would not be able to afford this year.

18 Feb 2021, 13:41 PM

STA, 18 February 2021 - A total of 872 people tested positive for coronavirus in Slovenia on Wednesday as the rolling 7-day average of new cases dropped to 768, data released by the government show. A further ten patients with Covid-19 died.

The latest case count marks a decline of 36% from Wednesday a week ago. The cases were confirmed in 4,271 PCR tests for a positivity rate of 20.4%. The count includes retested positives suggested by 24,005 rapid antigen tests.

Hospitalisations kept declining further, dropping by 29 to 619 as 61 patients were discharged and 42 were newly admitted. The number of patients in intensive care units fell by ten to 116.

To move from orange to yellow tier of coronavirus restrictions under the government plan, hospitalisations would have to fall below 500 and the 7-day average of new confirmed cases below 600.

Slovenia has so far reported 182,484 coronavirus cases with an estimated 11,234 still active, data from the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) shows.

According to tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org, a total of 3,755 Covid-19 patients have died.

The cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents is 532 and the 7-day incidence is 256, according to NIJZ. The highest incidence is in the Obalno-Kraška region, at 710 and 397, respectively.

Commenting on the situation at the daily press briefing, Bojana Beović, the government's chief Covid-19 adviser, noted that the improving epidemiological situation was the product of measures that were in force ten to 14 days ago.

The figures do not reflect the recent easing of restrictions, she said, warning that any premature or too extensive relaxation could trigger a third wave, even without an outbreak of the more virulent variants of the virus.

"All the paths are still open, the epidemic is not over yet," said the infectious diseases expert, who will take over as the head of the Medical Chamber following today's confirmation and will thus no longer head the Covid-19 advisory group.

She is particularly concerned about the South African variant, which she said was in fact a new disease. Those who have recovered from coronavirus are not immunised against this variant and likewise are the Covid-19 vaccines so far approved by the EU not effective against it.

On a positive note, she said sample analyses so far indicated the country had managed to control the UK variant. She also believes that immunity acquired through infection has a major role in curbing the epidemic, along with precautionary measures.

Get the latest data on Slovenia and coronavirus

15 Feb 2021, 16:24 PM

STA, 15 February 2021 - All primary school students and final-year secondary school students from western and central Slovenia returned to school after over four months on Monday. Headteachers reported no major difficulties in organising classes. Most students are happy to be back. Schools in the eastern part of the country closed for a week-long holiday.

Quite a few adjustments were needed to avoid student contacts outside their classroom bubbles, so timetables had to be changed on very short notice, said Irena Kodele Krašna, the headteacher of the Danilo Lokar primary school in Adjovščina.

Headteacher of the Fran Erjavec school in Nova Gorica Lara Brun told the STA their transition from distance to in-person learning would be soft and in line with all health recommendations.

"I told the staff to have sympathy to their students, as returning to school is again a big change for them. So this week they should mostly repeat what they've been learning ... but foremost create an encouraging learning environment," she said.

Alenka Krapež, head teacher of the Gimnazija Vič high school, said their students and teachers were "happy, smiling and content". The school had no problems with coronavirus testing or organising of classes, noting that the same system had been used as last September, meaning each class being in their own classroom, distance keeping, use of face masks and airing of rooms.

The Gimnazija Franceta Prešerna Kranj secondary school is using a hybrid model of education, combining distance learning and classroom work. The system had been introduced because of frequent absences of many students who are musicians or athletes.

Head teacher Mirjam Bizjak told the STA they had some problems organising work but they were being tackled. She said gym classes for example would be held outdoors as much as possible.

Practical lessons are now also allowed for all students, so students of the Radovljica School of Hospitality and Tourism have lessons for one or two days a week at school and the rest from home, while the final grades have no more distance learning.

Head teacher Ivan Damjan Mašič said the biggest gap for students was not having had practical classes so they would try to make up for some of that first.

He said the school was big enough to have isolated bubbles and that nobody had any objections to masks. "Students are happy to be back at school. You can tell they missed socialising the most."

This was echoed by Andreja Ahčin, headteacher of the Biotechnical Centre Naklo. "The kind of combined lessons that we have now is quite a challenge for the teachers but we are happy that at least part of the students could return to school."

The importance of having students return to school and among friends was also stressed by the head of the DOS organisation of secondary school students, Maja Kalin. She said a survey conducted among secondary school students had shown 54% of them wanting to return to schools for the higher quality of education.

Quite a few of them had reservations, mainly concerns that they would put their family members in danger. Some also fear that taking a lot of tests in a short period of time to make up for the backlog would be stressful.

Dorms are also open again today. The head of the Kranj dorm for secondary school and university students, Judita Nahtigal, said their dorm had not been completely empty in the past months because of foreign students. But now that schools reopened, about a fifth of residents have returned.

15 Feb 2021, 14:16 PM

STA, 15 February 2021 - The National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) expects new batches of Covid-19 vaccines this week, consisting of 21,060 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and 16,800 of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The national vaccination strategy has been updated with regard to setting the priority groups, the NIJZ told the STA.

The priority groups for vaccination are medical staff, employees and residents of care homes and day centres for people with disabilities, people aged over 80, those over 75 and then those over 70 and particularly vulnerable patients with chronic disease regardless of their age.

After that the vaccine will be available for those over 65 and chronic patients older than 60, followed by employees in key services and the rest of the population, suggests the strategy obtained by the STA.

The list of particularly vulnerable chronic patients includes people with organ transplants, cancer, severe lung diseases, rare diseases that increase the risk of infection, people treated with immunosuppressives, those with conditions that increase the risk of infection, adults with Down syndrome, adults on dialysis and those with level five chronic kidney disease.

The NIJZ advisory body has recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged under 65 but also for the vaccination of bedridden persons at their homes, as unlike the mRNA vaccines it is more stable and thus easier to transport.

Currently, three Covid-19 vaccines are registered for use in Slovenia but given that their quantities are very limited, people cannot choose which one their will be inoculated with.

The mRNK vaccines of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are currently used for the vaccination of medical staff older than 65, and for people over 80. After that citizens older then 75 will be vaccinated with them and then those over 70 and particularly vulnerable chronic patients regardless of their age, and then those over 65.

The AstraZeneca vaccine will first be administered to health staff aged between 18 and 64, and employees and residents of care homes and day centres for people or youth with disabilities, and employees at prisons and other similar institutions of the same age.

After that, employees and students of special schools will receive the vaccine, along with particularly vulnerable chronic patients aged 18-64 and possibly also older with or without chronic disease if they express the desire to be vaccinated as soon as possible and if this is line with their doctor's orders.

After that patients aged 18-64 will be vaccinated, healthy persons aged 60-65, emergency services and the rest of the population, the strategy says.

15 Feb 2021, 11:26 AM

STA, 15 February 2021 - Bans on gatherings and travel between municipalities and regions have been lifted as movement throughout the country and gatherings of up to ten persons are once again allowed after Slovenia shifted to the orange tier of restrictions. All shops are now open as well.

A ban on travel outside one's municipality of residence was imposed in October with a number of exemptions, including for work, education, looking after sick persons and tending to property.

So far, gatherings in public spaces have been allowed for families and members of the same household, but from today they are capped at ten persons. Larger assemblies, events or rallies are still banned and the 9pm-6am curfew remains in place.

All shops may open as of today as well, under the condition that staff test negative for coronavirus. They will have to be tested weekly.

Restrictions have also been lifted in the sports and recreation world with contactless training allowed for individuals and groups of a maximum of ten athletes.

Physical distancing protocols should be heeded and coaches or trainers must produce a negative coronavirus test no older than 24 hours, vaccination certificate or a document attesting they have already recovered from Covid-19.

One of these documents must be also produced by users of ski lifts and staff in direct contact with clients in ski resorts, however in this case the negative test should not be older than 7 days.

Sports events remain spectator-free for now.

14 Feb 2021, 12:22 PM

STA, 14 February 2021 - Slovenia logged 329 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, down a third over the week before, as the positive trend, in particular in hospitals, continued. Twelve Covid-19 patients died, the latest government data shows.

The new cases come from over 1,800 PCR tests and over 5,000 rapid antigen tests, whereby all those who test positive with rapid tests are subsequently re-tested with the more reliable PCR tests.

The system has been put in place effective yesterday after there were clusters of cases across the country where rapid tests were positive but follow-up PCR tests negative.

Hospital numbers continued to improve as well. The number of Covid-19 patients declined by 24 to 739, the lowest since late October, while ICU cases dropped by 23 to 149, the lowest since early November.

Slovenia has confirmed 179,482 cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ). The death count stands at 3,717, according to data tracker Covid-19 Sledilnik.

The number of active cases is estimated by the NIJZ at just under 13,000, whereas the seven-day average of new daily infections dropped to 823.

13 Feb 2021, 14:15 PM

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 12 February 2021. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: No-confidence vote last chance for opposition

STA, 12 February 2021 - Monday's vote of no confidence in the government of Janez Janša is the last chance to unseat the government, the left-wing weekly Mladina argues in Friday's editorial, noting that the motion is likely to fail but would determine who is on the right side of history.

The paper says this is the only chance for the opposition to risk failure - but it will be the moral winner in the eyes of the public regardless of the outcome.

"Every MP who votes in favour will automatically be on the right side of history. Yes, Monday will bring a tally of those in favour of democracy, and those in favour of Slovenia's Organisation," the leftist weekly says in The Illusion that the Next Attempt Is Possible.

According to Mladina, it will be a bitter moment when deputies of the coalition SMC and opposition DeSUS vote in favour of the government. "It will be bitter for them: the moment the vote is over, they will have taken upon themselves historical responsibility for Janša's past and, even more importantly, future actions."

"The very next day Janša will leverage this 'trust' to strengthen his grip on power and assault society even more brutally. And the votes for all these actions, a blank check, will have come from MPs of two parties which he has manipulated all along."

The opposition, however, cannot lose on Monday because the vote is simple: it is about what kind of country the people want to live in.

"If the motion is unsuccessful, the opposition will have a single goal: getting ready for the election. Just like Janša. DeSUS and SMC, however, will immediately remain without the trump cards that they are currently using in their game with Janša. The very next day, he will not even give the two parties a second thought."

Reporter: Janša wrong to silence experts

STA, 9 February 2021 - The right-wing magazine Reporter writes about the harsh but apparently ineffective coronavirus restrictions in Slovenia in the latest editorial headlined Five Minutes of Truth, saying the truth was delivered last week by the country's chief epidemiologist, Mario Fafangel.

The weekly notes that Croatia has almost defeated the epidemic without the harsh coronavirus restrictions and fines seen in Slovenia, where it took three months before coronavirus began to decline.

Fafangel said epidemiologists had proposed several times the reopening of primary schools up to year 5, they also proposed lifting the ban on movement outside municipality and region of residence. He also opined there was no need for a curfew.

"His comments must have upset Prime Minister Janez Janša, who has emphasised that Dr Fafangel is the acting head of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (is this a threat that he won't be much longer?) and added that there are other experts in the advisory group and that opinions differ.

"Which experts have different opinions he did not say, and they have not themselves because the government or its communication office banned them from giving statements to the media," writes the weekly.

"It is unbelievable indeed, the prime minister disregards the experts' opinion and is silencing them, citizens are under a curfew and shut in their municipalities, while the parents who are protesting with their children against school closures, are getting police knocking on their door to be handed EUR 800 fine notices."

The paper remembers protesters who in 2014 rallied in front of the Ljubljana court house in protest against Janša's imprisonment in the Patria case. "The rallies were equally unlawful but none of the protesters received a fine. Today, under his power, people are punished for protesting against (unlawful) school closures."

All our posts in this series are here

13 Feb 2021, 09:11 AM

STA, 13 February 2021 - Slovenia scrapped checkpoints on its borders with Austria, Croatia and Hungary starting on Saturday and those who have recovered from Covid-19 or have been vaccinated can now enter the country without having to quarantine or provide a negative coronavirus test.

Under the new government decree governing Covid-19 restrictions on borders, it is now possible once again to cross the border with Austria, Hungary and Italy via all crossings rather than just designated checkpoints, a system that had been put in place in the early stages of the pandemic.

In practice, however, that may not be so simple since neighbouring countries each have their own requirements.

Slovenia also added a new list of high risk countries to the red list to comprise countries in the EU and Schengen area whose epidemiological status is poorer than Slovenia's. Only Spain, Portugal and the Czech Republic are currently on the list

Arrivals from those countries will have to produce a negative coronavirus test, but from Saturday it will also be possible to cross the border with a positive PCR test dating at least 21 days but no more than six months back, or with a doctor's note proving the person has recovered from Covid-19 that should be no older than six months.

Also valid will be negative tests issued by labs in third countries approved by the National Institute of Public Health, while only doctor's notes are required for arrivals from EU and Schengen countries.

Those immunised against the virus who produce proof they have received a second jab will also be allowed to cross without restrictions.

All other conditions for entering the country continue to apply

13 Feb 2021, 08:57 AM

STA, 12 February 2021 - Remote schooling has taken a toll on parents, particularly mothers, and primary school children who have been struggling due to stress, exhaustion and lack of motivation, shows a study by the March 8 Institute. The NGO has urged a strategy to address the repercussions of remote learning.

The study was conducted among more than 2,600 Slovenian households with primary school children, according to Jasna Mažgon, professor of educational sciences at the Ljubljana Faculty of Arts.

Children lack motivation, whereas parents are tired and worried with mothers being most frequently overworked due to helping children with virtual learning, she summed up the results.

The survey goes into detail by indicating that almost a quarter of the participants do not have a quiet space where children could do their schoolwork. Almost half of the children share a computer or laptop with their parents or siblings.

Children spend from four to six hours online per day attending virtual classes. Almost half of the parents spend an additional one to two hours helping children with their school tasks and a third up to four hours, said Mark J. Užmah, who led the survey.

Moreover, remote schooling has been held against a backdrop of deepening social inequalities, warned Mojca Lukan of the NGO. Slightly above 40% of the participating households have seen their income decrease since the start of the Covid crisis.

Nika Kovač, the head of the NGO, warned that months-long distance learning had left its mark on parents and children's mental health as two thirds reported enhanced exhaustion and 58% said they were struggling. She also noted that there was no data on so-called lost students, children who had not been attending online classes.

The actual impact of remote education on children will be clear after all of them return to in-classroom learning, said Užmah. He agreed with Kovač that something should be done to tackle the situation since "long-term remote schooling is not as effective as the Education Ministry says it is".

The NGO believes that a clear national strategy should be prepared for future school reopenings.

Some of the current prevention measures in schools set down by the government could not be heeded, Užmah said, pointing to small classrooms and a shortage of teachers.

Mažgon said that the ministry should determine the extent of learning gaps in individual subjects that emerged or were widened during remote education and come up with measures to mitigate this as much as possible.

Contact tracing and issuing quarantine orders due to risky contacts should be resumed as soon as possible, Užmah noted, adding that if ordered to self-isolate due to a risky contact, parents should then get compensation for loss of income during that time.

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