22 Jan 2021, 09:41 AM

Galleries, Museums & Libraries Reopen Saturday in Nine Regions

STA, 21 January 2021 - The government has allowed galleries, museums and libraries to reopen starting from Saturday in the nine out of 12 Slovenian statistical regions with lower coronavirus infection rates.

The government adopted a decree on Thursday to extend a temporary ban on cultural and cinematographic services while adding galleries, museums and libraries as exceptions to the rule in the nine regions.

The new decree will be in force from 23 to 29 January. The exceptions apply to Gorenjska, Koroška, Obalno-Kraška, Osrednjeslovenska, Podravska, Pomurska, Primorsko-notranjska, Savinjska and Zasavska.

According to a press release issued after the government session, the existing exceptions that allow access to fenced outdoor cultural heritage sites without guided tours and contactless borrowing from libraries continue to apply in all regions.

All the institutions that are allowed to open need to ensure minimum contact with the visitors, social distancing rules and precautionary measures and instructions from the National Institute of Public Health pertaining to hand sanitising and airing or ventilation of premises.

Visitors are limited to one person per 30 square metres, or a single visitor when the premises are smaller.

Galleries, museums and libraries have been most recently closed since 9 January.

21 Jan 2021, 14:01 PM

“Non-Essential” Services Ban To Be Relaxed In Nine Regions Saturday (23/01)

STA, 21 January 2021 - A new decree banning non-essential services will take effect on Saturday, expanding the list of exceptions to the ban in nine Slovenian regions with the best epidemiological status. Stalls selling farmers' produce, workshops and shops offering children's products will be allowed to reopen there.

The government adopted the decree at Wednesday's session. The relaxations apply to Central Slovenia, Pomurska, Savinjska, Podravska, Gorenjska, Obalno-Kraška, Koroška, Zasavska and Primorsko-Notranjska regions.

Movable stalls selling farmers' produce, workshops providing repair and maintenance works for motor vehicles and bikes and specialised stores with a children's segment are permitted to reopen in these regions as of Saturday.

In the remaining three regions, the Goriška, Posavska and Southeast Slovenia, the current restrictions and exceptions remain in place, meaning only essential stores are allowed to be open along with the exceptions.

These include newsagents, hairdressers, cleaning services, medical pedicure, surveying services, individual counselling, chimney-sweep services and construction works with zero contact with clients.

Delivery services and in-person pick up are also exempted from the ban, however consuming food or beverages in public spaces is not allowed.

Economy Ministry State Secretary Simon Zajc told today's government briefing that the latest decree would be effective from Saturday to next Friday.

He also noted that the current cap on the number of customers remained in place. Only specialised stores, and not supermarkets, will be permitted to sell children's products from Saturday, he added.

If the current epidemiological trends continue, so will the relaxations, the state secretary said, expressing satisfaction that a recent drop in case and hospitalisation figures enabled certain activities to reopen.

Zajc also pointed out that efforts to monitor compliance with Covid rules in shops and other services had been intense and would continue to be so.

21 Jan 2021, 13:58 PM

Ski Resorts Allowed To Open In Nine Regions On Saturday, 23/01/21

STA, 21 January 2021 - Ski resorts in nine regions that have been moved to the red tier of coronavirus restrictions – Central Slovenia, Pomurska, Savinjska, Podravska, Gorenjska, Obalno-Kraška, Koroška, Zasavska and Primorsko-Notranjska – will enter the red tier will be allowed to reopen on Saturday. With few exceptions, skiers will have to produce a negative test result to hit the slopes and strict public health rules will have to be observed.

Under a decree adopted by the government last night, most ski resorts in the country will be able to reopen since the vast majority of Slovenia's ski resorts are in the nine regions that have been moved to the red tier.

All skiers except children under 12 and professional athletes, their coaches and their staff will have to produce negative tests no older than 24 hours. "This is necessary if we want the present trends to continue," according to Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec.

Ski resort managers may set up testing on site or simply require skiers to produce negative a test performed in Slovenia. If the situation continues to improve, the test requirement may be waived in the future.

Major skiing centres, including Pohorje, Rogla and Kope, will have testing available on-site. The Vogel ski resort will organise testing in Bohinjska Bistrica.

"I'm glad we are reopening ski lifts and that ski resorts can start operating in an organised fashion," the minister said.

Ski lift operators too said they were happy to be able to welcome visitors again.

Marprom, the company operating the Pohorje centre, said virtually all ski lifts and gondolas would operate on Saturday, so skiing will be possible all the way to the valley. Free coronavirus testing will be available on site between 8am and noon.

In gondolas, surgical masks will be required and only two skiers who are not from the same household will be able to ride together. Ski lifts will be occupied at half capacity.

Skiers are also urged to buy tickets online or at Petrol stations to avoid queuing at the site.

At Kope, all ski lifts will operate and testing will be available between 7am and 10am.

Aleksandra Fiorelli from the company operating ski lifts at Vogel told the STA all ski slopes would be ready by Saturday although she does not expect many skiers given the gloomy weather forecast.

She said the resort would adhere to all safety measures to help improve the epidemiological situation. "I hope we'll make it, so we can stay open until the end of the season," she said, noting that the Vogel resort had been open for just 14 days this season.

Slovenian ski resorts were briefly open in mid-December, but some decided to not do so since the ban on intra-municipal travel meant only locals could ski.

Skiing was again banned just before Christmas before resuming for a week after New Year's.

Luka Vrančič from the Krvavec resort said he was sorry that skiers missed out on truly ideal winter conditions in the last few weeks. The resort will open on Saturday but because of the weather not all ski lifts will be operational.

20 Jan 2021, 22:14 PM

Nine Regions to Enter Red Tier Monday, Schools Reopen for Younger Children

STA, 20 January 2021 - Nine of Slovenia's twelve statistical regions will enter the red tier of coronavirus restrictions on Monday after new cases and hospital figures dropped below thresholds set in the exit strategy, the government decided on Wednesday.

This means kindergartens and first three grades of primary school will reopen, with schools starting with an adjusted system that involves shorter school hours, smaller classes and strict adherence to restrictions.

All teachers who will return to teaching in person will be tested on Monday so that schools will actually open on Tuesday, Prime Minister Janez Janša said, adding that there was plenty of time to sort out the logistics.

The red tier also involves the reopening of museums, libraries and galleries in these regions as well as businesses including car mechanics, technical goods stores, sports stores, florists and book shops.

The details of which businesses will reopen will be hashed out by individual ministries tomorrow.

All regions bar Posavska, South-Eastern Slovenia and Goriška will enter the red tier after a steady improvement over the last ten days that brought the number of Covid-19 patients in hospital below 1,200 and the seven-day rolling average of new daily cases below 1,350.

Janša said it was important to follow the rules strictly and that inspections will be stepped up. If the positive trends continue, the remaining three regions will be able enter the red tier shortly, he said.

Calls for the reopening of schools and full opening of kindergartens have been getting louder in recent days since most kids have been schooled remotely for nearly three months and kindergartens were only open for the children of parents who could not work from home.

Businesses have likewise urged the government to relax measures, arguing that despite generous stimulus measures, many were running out of reserves and would have to shut down permanently if they are not allowed to open soon.

Janša however warned today that the situation remained serious. "We don't want to tighten the measures that we are relaxing now... Our joint efforts will determine whether the risk we are taking with the relaxation was prudent," he said.

20 Jan 2021, 13:20 PM

Slovenia & Coronavirus, Wed 20/01: Number of New Infections Falls Below Threshold for Easing of Restrictions

STA, 20 January 2021 - Slovenia recorded 1,698 coronavirus infections from 11,308 tests on Tuesday as the seven-day average of new infections and hospitalisations fell below the threshold set by the government to move from black to red tier where the easing of restrictions can start by regions.

Data released by the government show that 5,384 PCR tests and 5,924 rapid antigen tests were performed yesterday, with positivity rates of 25.9% and 5%, respectively.

The daily increase in cases marks a 19% decline on the same day a week ago and is the first time since late October that Tuesday's case count fell below 2,000.

Data from the tracker site covid-19.sledilnik shows that the seven-day average has thus fallen to 1,297, which is below the 1,350 mark set by the government in its colour-coded, five-tier strategy of coronavirus restrictions as one of the criteria to move from top black tier to tier red.

The other criterion is Covid-19 hospitalisations, which government data show fell below the 1,200 mark to 1,178, 22 fewer than the day before after 125 patients were discharged. 181 patients or six fewer than the day before required intensive treatment.

The government will decide on potential easing of measures today with PM Janez Janša saying yesterday no drastic relaxation was to be expected yet.

Another 26 patients with Covid-19 died yesterday, to bring the overall death toll to 3,257, according to the tracker site.

Slovenia has so far reported more than 152,800 coronavirus cases.

Details of the tier system

Black tier
No. of infections: more than 1,350
Hospitalisations: more than 1,200

– Measures as they are currently in place

Red tier
No. of infections: under 1,350
Hospitalisations: under 1,200

– Kindergartens reopen along with the first three grades of primary schools under model C, which means in small groups and in line with all safety recommendations. Lab courses are allowed for students
– Museums, libraries, galleries reopen
– Contactless outdoor sports activities are allowed along with individual and family exercise
– Car repair shops and similar services, ski centres, certain shops reopen (regionally)

Orange tier
No. of infections: under 1,000
Hospitalisations: under 1,000

– School reopens for the remaining primary school students and final years of secondary school under model C, at the university level exams and seminars with up to ten people are allowed
– Reopening of certain other services, shops
– Assembly of up to ten persons allowed
– Free movement among municipalities with adherence to safety measures (the measure will be applied regionally)

Yellow tier
No. of infections: under 600
Hospitalisations: under 500

– School reopens for remaining high school students and university students, student dorms reopen
– All remaining services reopen
– Curfew lifted in the entire country (optionally only for some regions)

Green tier
No. of infections: under 300

– No more restrictions for the entire country
– General hygiene measures remain in place, bars and night clubs remain closed

20 Jan 2021, 09:53 AM

Janša Expects 70% of Population to Be Vaccinated by Summer

STA, 19 January 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša said he expected 70% of the Slovenian population could be vaccinated against coronavirus by the beginning of summer as he presented Tuesday fresh figures on planned deliveries of vaccines that indicate Slovenia should get significantly more jabs in the second quarter than previously thought.

Figures presented by Janša show deliveries in the first quarter should be 50,000 higher than indicated last week, as nearly 300,000 shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is to be delivered, along with 50,000 shots of the Moderna vaccine and nearly 559,000 shots of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca, which is still awaiting approval by the European Medicines Agency.

In the second quarter Slovenia expects to get 2.4 million shots compared to fewer than 1.7 million shots projected last week, mostly due to a doubling of deliveries by Pfizer/BioNTech to 1.4 million shots.

"The second quarter will be the most important quarter ... If the deliveries come through, we'll achieve a 70% vaccination rate by the beginning of summer and contain the epidemic within our borders," Janša said.

The EU's goal, due to be confirmed by EU leaders at a virtual summit on Thursday, is to vaccinate all health workers and everyone over the age of 80 by March; 70% of the total population should get the vaccine by the summer.

According to Janša, Slovenia could achieve this objective a month earlier assuming all vaccine deliveries are made as scheduled.

Slovenia's vaccination strategy, adopted in December, remains unchanged, which means the elderly and critical staff - respectively persons with highest risk of severe Covid-19 and those at highest risk of contracting the virus - have priority.

Institutions performing the vaccinations have been instructed to have lists of vaccination candidates from the same priority group available in the event those scheduled for vaccination do not show up, or if they have excess shots for any other reason, according to Janša.

The latest data on Slovenia and coronavirus

17 Jan 2021, 12:11 PM

Production Problems at Pfizer Will Delay Slovenia’s Vaccination Plans

STA, 16 January 2020 - Slovenia will receive 20-25% less Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine than planned on Monday due to production adjustments at, Health Ministry State Secretary Marija Magajne told the press on Saturday. This means the first-dosage vaccination will be delayed, and the whole vaccination plan will need to be adjusted.

Thus, the vaccination that was planned for next week could stretch to February or March, said Magajne, who visited the Celje general hospital today.

In the face of revelations that Covid-19 vaccination at the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine was extended to persons who are not staff members, the state secretary reiterated that not a single dose of the vaccine must be wasted and that once ready for use, the vaccine must be used within six hours.

She said all institutions where vaccination had been conducted so far had used the shots in line with recommendations. Health inspectors checked the process and found no major irregularities, she said.

Magajne noted the interest for vaccination among medical workers was rising.

She praised the tackling of the coronavirus situation of the Celje hospital, which had 130 Covid-19 patients this morning, including 18 in intensive care unit.

16 Jan 2021, 13:30 PM

What Mladina & Demokracija Are Saying This Week: No Confidence vs Remote Schooling

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 15 January 2021. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Slovenia's future in hands of SMC MPs

STA, 15 January 2021 - The left-wing magazine Mladina appears to be appealing to the conscience of the Modern Centre Party's (SMC) MPs ahead of a potential vote of confidence in the government in the latest editorial. The weekly also finds the release of police pay data is an act of revenge and anger.

Under the headline Decision Week, Mladina writes that Interior Minister Aleš Hojs released the names and pay data of Interior Ministry employees in revenge for part of the police going on strike. However, it also says that the data released make it obvious why the minister was so angry.

"The salaries are irregularly high indeed. Police officers are indeed getting highs bonuses from this government - not based on collective bargaining but based on the government's or the minister's arbitrary decision.

"To put it bluntly: the government has been buying their loyalty with bonuses. That is why Hojs was so angry, because it was his firm belief he has the police on his side, that he has got them on his side with all the bonuses given to them by the government."

The paper says it all goes to show how this government is operating, that the solutions are political and follow the logic that those who are on our side will be rewarded, and those who are against will be punished, a pattern that can be found elsewhere, including in the case of the STA.

Ahead of a potential vote of no confidence in the government next week, the weekly says the decision of Slovenia's future is in the hands of SMC MPs.

"When the SMC joined the Janez Janša government, they pledged to act as a corrective to prevent Slovenia from straying from its democratic path. They did not succeed in that, on the contrary, all gloomy premonitions have come true.

"The police force is beheaded, culture mangled, media that those in power could not reach are under continuous pressure, criticism is not allowed [...], public institutions are witnessing ideological purges, the battle against the epidemic has failed [...]," writes Mladina.

Demokracija: Upbringing benefited by remote schooling

Ljubljana, 14 January 2021 - The right-wing magazine Demokracija writes about the historical trend of political correctness or a "new normal" in the latest editorial, asserting that the spread of this "ideological poison" in Slovenia has been hampered due to the centre-right government and the "Chinese virus", offering distance learning as an example.

Under the headline New Normal, the weekly quotes Archbishop of Krakow Marek Jedraszewski in warning against the rainbow plague, born in the same spirit as the Bolshevist and Marxist plague, and against a new normal, the historial trend of political correctness.

However, the magazine says that as the flow of transmission of that "ideological virus" in Slovenia has been hampered, those disseminating the 'new normal' are "nervous knowing well things are getting out of hand".

"Remote schooling is one such example. If you listen to them well you will notice they will mention the impact on the transfer of knowledge of natural sciences from teachers to pupils only in passing, they are concerned the most about peer socialising and upbringing that is now left to the children themselves and their parents [...]

"If in school the children were forced to spend half a day in the company they did not choose themselves they are now socialising with the peers they pick themselves. Those are usually the kids their parents favour too. It means they are no longer being raised into sheep where the wolfs of the 'new normal' decide what they serve for dinner."

As the second example the magazine offers the government, saying the 'new normal' "does not foresee anything conservative in power, hence the protests (including violent protests), the search for a new PM-designate among people who in normal circumstances would not get even close to politics".

The magazine also notes the announcement by Luka Mesec, the leader of the Left, that if the vote of no confidence in the government is not successful, they will continue filing ouster motions.

In conclusion, the weekly hopes that post-coronavirus "the 'new normal' painted by political correctness will not continue its devastating march, which it is stepping up now by abolishing free internet platforms and profiles of conservative users".

All our posts in this series are here

14 Jan 2021, 18:25 PM

Hospitals Prepare for Expected Rise in Hospitalisations Amid Staff Shortages

STA, 14 January 2020 - In light of an expected rise in the number of Covid-19 hospitalisations, hospitals are taking the necessary steps to boost the number of Covid beds. Staff shortages, particularly a lack of intensive care staff, are the crux of the problem, Robert Carotta, the coordinator for Covid beds at the Health Ministry, said on Thursday.

Hospitalisation data show that there has not been any progress for a while, he told the government daily briefing.

"For practically the second month in a row we've been stuck on a plateau of between 1,200 and 1,300 hospitalisations."

The epidemic projections show that Slovenia will need around 1,500 Covid beds during the third wave, up by 10% on the maximum level of bed capacities in mid-December.

Carotta announced the total of beds would be increased according to the needs. He warned that the main problem was providing enough staff not just beds and equipment, particularly specialist staff to work in intensive care units.

"Not only is there not enough of them, but they are also tired with many on sick leave due to coronavirus infections."

Carotta added that a system of patient transfer to other hospitals that was set up in autumn was working fine with the Maribor dispatch centre playing a key role.

The situation in hospitals varies mostly according to epidemiological status in individual regions. Since mid-December, the Murska Sobota hospital in the north-east has been worst hit with 36% of its bed capacities used for Covid-19 patients.

The hospital had it worst already in autumn. In recent days, the number of hospitalisations has been on the rise again, the hospital's director Bojan Korošec said.

Moreover, the Covid-related mortality rate is most alarming in the Pomurje region - 269 Covid-19 patients per 100,000 residents died last year.

On the other hand, in the Izola and Valdoltra hospitals in the western Primorska region, which has been seeing one of the best epidemiological situations in the country, the numbers of Covid beds are near 10% of total capacities.

In the run-up to the third wave, efforts to lessen the burden on the Murska Sobota hospital began this week with its patients being transferred to the Izola and Slovenj Gradec hospitals.

The Nova Gorica hospital in the west is also struggling. Wednesday's rapid testing of staff and patients at its internal medicine departments, an emerging coronavirus hotspot, confirmed twelve new infections, the regional Civil Protection unit said today.

So far, 26 patients being treated at the departments have been infected. The hospital's Covid unit is currently recording peak figures or 61 patients, the hospital's medical director Dunja Savnik Winkler said. Moreover, more than 30 staff members have been infected so far.

In all the above-mentioned hospitals the share of Covid beds has increased compared to mid-December. Elsewhere, the situation has improved though, show data released by the ministry.

In the Jesenice hospital in the north, where Carotta is employed, the situation is currently the same as it was during the biggest strain on hospitals, kept under control due to help from UKC Ljubljana and the Golnik University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic Diseases.

Carotta said that one of the future projects would be to ensure additional capacities for patients who have recovered from Covid-19 and suffer from lasting damage from the disease.

All the latest data on COVID and Slovenia

14 Jan 2021, 13:15 PM

Study Suggests Inter-Municipal Travel Ban Ineffective

STA, 14 January 2020 - A ban on travel between municipalities has not reduced people's mobility, which makes its efficacy questionable, shows a study that analysed mobility and contact tracing during epidemic waves. Mobility is a major factor in the epidemic's development, researchers said, adding that the current situation was mostly a result of belated measures.

The study, conducted by the Institute for Biostatistics and Medical Informatics of the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine, focused on mobility in the first and second epidemic waves to establish why the epidemiological situation was so strikingly different in the autumn compared to the spring.

Major changes in population mobility coincide with the timeline of adopting certain measures, such as restricting gatherings, declaring epidemic, closing schools, suspending public transportation and closing bars, restaurant and hotels, the study shows.

During both waves, movement in residential neighbourhoods increased, whereas there has been a downward trend regarding movement in workplaces or other venues.

The biggest drop was recorded in the spring when workplace mobility was halved and movement caused by other activities dropped by 60%, coinciding with the adoption of Covid measures.

In November, workplace mobility decreased by 30% and movement prompted by other errands by 50%. Such mobility was down also during summer months but it reached pre-Covid levels in September.

The institute drew up three scenarios of possible epidemic developments, taking into account various mobility levels from March through November and deeming neighbourhood mobility less key than other movements.

If Slovenians had been as mobile in early November as they were in the spring, there would have been up to 30% reduction in the death toll until early December.

The researchers also note that the second lockdown began too late since the theoretical possibility of a death toll that would be lower by more than 30% was not realisable any more due to the rapid coronavirus spread.

If the lockdown, which was imposed on 26 October, had already started in mid-September and would trigger the same response regarding mobility levels, the number of deaths could have been reduced up to 80%, meaning some 1,000 deaths fewer between March and December.

If mobility restrictions had been imposed at the start of October, the death toll could have still been reduced by 80%, however the measures would have to be stricter, at least as strict as during the first wave.

The institute also prepared a model of what the situation would have looked like if contact tracing and quarantine measures had been consistently effective throughout the epidemic.

Taking into account the actual timeline of imposing measures and their efficacy, the mortality rate would have then been reduced by 75%, the researchers said, noting that the figure was hypothetical as contact tracing is unlikely to be equally effective amid such high case numbers.

"The current epidemiological situation is thus mostly a result of belated and disproportionate measures in the autumn. Hence, the growing number of new cases reached such a level that the spread of the epidemic no longer allowed active contact tracing."

If contact tracing and quarantine regime had remained operational, 15%-20% reduction in mobility compared to pre-Covid levels would have been enough to contain the epidemic, the institute said.

"Oscillating between extreme measures and complete relaxations could be replaced by somewhat more moderate but constant contact restrictions and active contact tracing. The goal should be to come up with measures that reach an appropriate level of restrictions in a sustainable way."

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