STA, 10 December 2020 - Slovenia registered 1,849 new coronavirus infections on a test positivity rate of 28.8% on Wednesday, as 49 more Covid-19 patients died. On the upside, hospitalisations have dropped slightly.

Data released by the government show a total of 6,410 tests were conducted on Wednesday. The test positivity rate dropped from 30.5% the day before but rose compared with 26.4% on Monday.

Slovenia Adds Germany to Quarantine List

The number of patients hospitalised with Covid-19 decreased by a further 24 to 1,258 and the number of those in intensive care units dropped by nine to 189.

This was as 110 Covid-9 patients were newly admitted and 97 were discharged, Jelko Kacin, the government's Covid-19 spokesman, told today's press briefing.

Most Coronavirus Restrictions Extended, May Be Eased Saturday, Only Real Face Masks Allowed

Slovenia has confirmed 91,922 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, of which 20,803 are active infections, according to the tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org.

The death toll from Covid-19 has increased to 1,949.

The seven-day rolling average per 100,000 residents rose by 0.7% from the day before to 1,506.9, according to the tracker site.

Meanwhile, the 14-day average remains highest in the Posavje region, in east central Slovenia, at 1,481, with Brežice and Krško singled as the hotspots by Kacin.

Only four regions have a 14-day average incidence of less than 800 per 100,000 residents: Gorenjska (773), Obalno-Kraška (760), Osrednjeslovenska (697) and Goriška (685).

Health Ministry State Secretary Marija Magajne, who also addressed the briefing, announced changes to notification of those who get tested of their test results.

As testing is becoming increasingly widely accessible and with the introduction of rapid antigen tests alongside PCR tests, the notifying of the results is being automatised.

Test results will be sent to the person concerned by text message from the National Institute of Public Health rather than from their GPs or the testing point, except for those who wish so.

To protect data privacy the notification will be two-stage so that the recipient of the first text message will need to enter a code to get the results by another message.

Test results will continue to be available via the e-health portal.

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STA, 10 December 2020 - The bulk of coronavirus restrictions remain in force following the government session on Wednesday but the government may change them on Saturday following consultations with hospital directors and business officials.

The government extended the bans on gatherings and movement between municipalities, the 9pm-6am curfew, and the suspension of public transport and closure of non-essential stores, according to a release issued following the cabinet session at Brdo pri Kranju last night.

Precautionary measures such as hand sanitising and the wearing of face masks also remain in force, both in public indoor and outdoor spaces.

However, loose fitting nose and mouth coverings such as scarves or bandannas are no longer deemed sufficient shields under changes that enter into force on Saturday.

Presenting the details at a coronavirus briefing on Thursday, Health Ministry State Secretary Marija Magajne said that masks would now be mandatory, not just surgical but also washable cloth masks.

"Those are especially suitable because we can wear them longer before they get wet. Surgical masks as a rule must be replaced every two hours," she said.

The government also added outdoor cultural heritage sites such as archaeological sites or botanical gardens to libraries as the cultural institutions that can be open.

The condition is that the viewing does not involve organised guided viewing and that the one person per 30 square metre rule is observed within the fenced public premises.

Jelko Kacin, the government Covid-19 spokesman, told TV Slovenija last night that the government would meet representatives of health institutions and businesses for consultations before deciding on potential changes to the measures.

In meeting with hospital directors, hospital capacities will be discussed as to establish the extent of the burden hospitals can sustain in the coming days and weeks, said Kacin.

Meanwhile, the meeting with business representatives will look into the options for potential easing of measures considering the potential in view of the coronavirus situation.

"Should the situation allow, the government will decide on potential easing right after the consultations," said Kacin, noting the differences in the rate of infections between the regions.

In the previous days Health Minister Tomaž Gantar urged shutting down all non-essential business activities for a fortnight to drive down the curve of infections, while Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek called for a gradual lifting of restrictions on some businesses provided safety can be maintained.

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STA, 10 December 2020 - The government has added Germany to Slovenia's red list of Covid-19 unsafe countries and territories, as well as the whole of the UK and Estonia. The change applies from Saturday, 12 December.

Reviewing the coronavirus status lists at a session yesterday, the government moved Ireland and Iceland from the red to the orange list, according to a release issued after the session.

Arrivals from countries on the red list face a mandatory ten-day quarantine on entering Slovenia except if they produce a negative coronavirus test, or if they fall under one of several exceptions, including international hauliers, persons in transit and members of foreign official delegations.

Arrivals from countries on the orange list can enter the country without restrictions.

The government also added some administrative units of EU countries to the Covid-safe green list: Denmark's Faroe Islands and Greenland, the Finnish province of Aland and the Norwegian county of Trondelag.

The changes, which enter into force on Saturday, were made in the decree on measures on the border designed to contain the coronavirus epidemic.

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STA, 9 December 2020 - Slovenia recorded 2,139 new coronavirus cases for Tuesday, 12% fewer than a week ago on what is typically the day of the week with the highest number of cases, as test positivity remained above 30%. A further 38 Covid-19 patients died, taking the death toll to 1,900.

Presenting fresh data at the daily press briefing, the government Covid-19 spokesman Jelko Kacin said that a total of 7,003 tests were performed on Tuesday.

October Saw 26.8% Rise in Deaths Year-on-Year

While increasing on the previous day, the test positivity rate dropped by 3.3 percentage points from the rate a week ago to 30.5% and the daily infections decreased by 290, said Kacin.

The number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals dropped by 22 to 1,282 as 104 were discharged home and 106 were newly admitted. The number of those treated in intensive care units rose by five to 198.

The highest rolling 14-day average of infections per 100,000 residents was recorded in east central region of Posavje, at 1,447, and the lowest in Central Slovenia, at 722.

According to the tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org, Slovenia has so far confirmed 90,075 coronavirus cases, of which 20,738 are active infections. The seven-day rolling average per 100,000 is 1,496.3, down 2.8% on the day before.

Eva Grilc, an epidemiologist with the National Institute of Public Health, reported that epidemiologists, helped by medical students, managed to contact all or at least two-thirds of the newly infected daily.

Over 25% of them cite place of work as the likeliest source of infection, and over 22% family or household members, while over 27% say they cannot say where they caught the virus.

After the government opened a special website yesterday where the population can register their intention to get vaccinated against Covid-19 when the vaccine becomes available in the country, 16,930 registered in less than 24 hours, Kacin said.

After Tuesday's virtual meeting of Slovenian hospital managers, joined by the health minister, UKC Ljubljana director general Janez Poklukar reported their observation that hospitalised Covid-19 patients were increasingly old with an increased number having five more underlying conditions.

"Hence, a growing number of Covid-19 patients require longer hospitalisation or even cannot be discharged to their current place of residence, so a proposal was formed to increase the number of nursing bed capacities for Covid and post-Covid patients," said Poklukar in a release today.

Hospital directors also noted that 10% to 20% of post-Covid patients were being admitted to hospital due to complications incurred during the course of recovery from the disease with internist emergency wards facing the most pressure in that respect.

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STA, 9 December 2020 - A total of 17,575 persons died in Slovenia in the first ten months of 2020, up by 2.7% on the same period in 2019, the Statistics Office data show. When it comes to October alone, 2,073 Slovenian residents died or 26.8% more compared with the same month in 2019.

Interim data, released on Monday, also indicate that in the first ten months of 2020, 15,540 babies were born, down by 4.8% compared to the January-October period in 2019.

Between 1 and 22 November 2020, 2,100 residents died, raw data show. Interim data for the entire month of November will be published in early January 2021.

Excess mortality or excess deaths in the first ten months of 2020 stood at 4.5% compared to the average number of deaths recorded in the same period between 2015 and 2019.

The most significant deviation from the 2015-2019 period in 2020 was recorded in October - a 23.7% rise in the number of deaths on the same month in the previous five years.

The national tracker Covid-19 Sledilnik has recently pointed out that since mid-October Slovenia has been recording a large share of excess deaths.

The week between 9 and 15 November saw an increase by 81%, with the tracker's data indicating that excess death growth correlates with the increasing number of Covid-19-related deaths.

Covid-19 Sledilnik has said that more detailed assessments will be possible long after the second wave ends.

However, current excess mortality in Slovenia is similar to the figures in the countries that were worst off in the first wave, the tracker warned.

STA – 8 December 2020 - A record 66 Covid-19 patients died in Slovenia on Monday as 1,627 new coronavirus cases were confirmed, up by more than a quarter from the week before. The positivity rate stood at 26.4%, one percentage point down compared to Sunday, government data show.

The number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals was up by three to 1,304 on Monday, of whom 193 required intensive care, three fewer than on Sunday.

A total of 86 patients were discharged from hospital, or 42 more than on the day before.

Much like in recent days, elderly homes accounted for roughly a fifth of new cases, with 223 infections confirmed in residents and 61 in staff, according to Jelko Kacin, the government's Covid-19 spokesman.

According to the national tracker Covid-19 Sledilnik, a total of 87,915 coronavirus infections have been confirmed in Slovenia so far, while the death toll stands at 1,862.

The number of active infections is currently 20,813, according to Sledilnik, whose data show that the figure has barely changed in a month and has even increased slightly in recent days.

Hospitals have been operating at the limit of capacity for weeks and Matjaž Vogrin, the medical director of UKC Maribor, said staff were exhausted.

The hospital has around 3,000 employees and almost 900 are currently on sick leave, many because of burnout. Roughly 300 are home after contracting Covid-19 or because they are quarantining.

"Health staff at all hospitals and other health institutions in Slovenia is on the verge of exhaustion," he told the press today.

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STA, 7 December 2020 - The Chamber of Craft and Small Business (Obrtno-podjetniška zbornica Slovenije  OZS) has called on the government to open up small businesses and the services sector as the closure has not resulted in an improved epidemiological situation. On the other hand, undeclared work is on the rise and distress among entrepreneurs and craftspersons is deepening.

At Monday's session of the OZS executive committee, its members said that "we had expected that the government would open flower shops, hair salons and beauty parlours and non-essential shops last Thursday."

They had also expected that the hospitality sector and other services would be partially opened, OZS president Branko Meh said, adding that entrepreneurs and craftspersons were disappointed because this had not happened.

Although a large part of the economy has been closed for more than a month, the epidemiological situation is not improving, which according to Meh means that the virus is not spreading from these sectors.

The OZS said that the Health Ministry's data showing the virus was spreading the most at work were based solely on statements by employees. "Of course everybody will say that they have gotten infected at work in order to get a full sick leave compensation," Meh was quoted by the chamber.

He added that it was not only about economic damage, but also mental health, as distress among people is deepening.

The OZS executive committee thus expects from the government to open these activities, to stem undeclared work, where services are provided without supervision of the protective measures against Covid-19.

It opposes to the proposal by Metoda Dodič Fikfak of the Clinical Institute of Occupational, Traffic and Sports Medicine that Covid-19 is considered an occupational disease. "We will not allow this to happen."

Flower shop owners pointed to unfair competition, as they are not able to work while food shops and petrol stations are allowed to sell flowers. "This is completely illogical, as there are never so many people in flower shops as in food shops," said Simon Ogrizek of the OZS.

Restaurant and bar owners are also growing desperate, said Blaž Cvar, the head of the chamber's hospitality and tourism sector. "The government needs to realise that the measures do not work and that people who decide on them need to be replaced."

Peter Pišek of the OZS's transport section was critical of the measures for hauliers. "The sector has been promised aid through the SID Bank, but we have not gotten this money yet," he said, noting that other EU countries provided aid to hauliers in the form of grants.

STA, 7 December 2020 - Mario Fafangel, Slovenia's chief epidemiologist, has quit the Health Ministry task force advising the government on measures to fight Covid-19, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) said on Monday.

The head of the NIJZ's Centre for Communicable Diseases, Fafangel has informed Health Minister Tomaž Gantar of his decision and explained his reasons, but he does not intend to provide a public explanation.

Fafagel has recently told the political weekly Mladina that he disagreed with some of the restrictions the government has imposed, but he stressed that overall, tough restrictions were needed to contain the epidemic.

Coronavirus epidemic shows no signs of easing

STA, 7 December 2020 - Slovenia recorded 480 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, a three-week Sunday high, as the epidemic shows no signs of easing, according to data released by the Health Ministry. 52 more Covid-19 patients died, taking the overall death toll to 1,796.

The latest cases are from 1,751 coronavirus tests, which means that the test positivity rate remains a high 27.41%.

Addressing the daily coronavirus press briefing, Jelko Kacin, the governments' Covid-19 spokesman, said data from the National Institute of Public Health showed the rolling 14-day average of cases per 100,000 was 972 as of Sunday.

Five regions have currently incidence lower than the average, Goriška in the west (657), Central Slovenia (701), the broader coastal and Kras region (707), Gorenjska in the north-west (776) and Zasavje in mid-east (875).

The seven-day average, one of the criteria for a potential easing of measures, is 1,482. The figure needs to drop below 1,350 for the country to move out of the top-tier restrictions, or alternatively the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals needs to drop below 1,200.

Hospitalisations remained stable, decreasing by one to 1,301 as 44 Covid-19 patients were discharged home and 81 were newly admitted on Sunday. The number of patients in intensive care units likewise fell by one to 196.

"The difference between new admissions and discharges does not bring any substantial relief, the situation is the same as a few days ago," commented Kacin.

He said the government would expectedly meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss new measures.

"If the average of infections falls below a certain level or if the number of occupied [Covid-19 hospital] beds dropped bellow 1,2000 the government will discuss potential easing," said Kacin.

He mentioned limited resumption of public transport, services such as hair salons and stores, provided the 30-square-metre per customer per rule is obeyed.

"The situation is far from favourable," Mateja Logar, an infectiologist from the UKC Ljubljana Department of Infectious Diseases, said as she addressed the briefing by videolink.

She said that with most Covid beds full at UKC Ljubljana, a third location at the newly refurbished temporary Covid-19 department was being opened. She said the youngest patient was 17 and the youngest intensive care patient 35.

Kacin also presented the latest statistics on infections at care homes, where a total of 2,712 residents and 1,078 staff are actively infected, an increase of 65 and 17, respectively.

There are also 231 actively infected residents and 151 staff at facilities for people with special needs.

Slovenia has so far confirmed over 86,000 coronavirus cases.

STA, 6 December 2020 - New decrees on measures to stem the Covid-19 epidemic entered into force on Sunday, with no substantial changes, as restrictions on gatherings, movement and sale of goods remained in force. The decrees had to be re-published as the Constitutional Court ruled the extension of distance learning was invalid as it had not been announced properly.

A total of 1,030 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in Slovenia on Saturday in 3,744 tests, for a positivity rate of 27.5%, while 44 patients died of Covid-19, the government announced on Sunday.

The government adopted at Saturday's correspondence session a new decree banning gatherings in educational institutions, to which the country's top court related to, as well as new decrees on other restrictions based on instructions from the government's legal office.

The court said on Thursday the decision by the education minister to switch to distance learning due to a worsening of the coronavirus epidemic in October and the decrees with which the government had been extending it were invalid because they had not been published in the Official Gazette.

In a response, the government said on Friday it would remedy the situation and again decide on relevant measures and publish them in the Official Gazette, as requested by the Constitutional Court.

Schooling will this continue to be implemented remotely, with the decree also being in force for educational institutions for children and youths with special needs (except those that have been established for work with children with emotional and behavioural disorders).

The Constitutional Court said in the ruling that, if the government decided to extend the closure of schools, conditions would be met for a temporary staying of the ban on in-person schooling in schools and institutes for children with special needs.

The number of children in such schools and institutes is too small for their return to significantly impact the efforts to stem the spreading of the new coronavirus and manage the epidemic, the court said, adding that further implementation of what is potentially an unconstitutional regulation could have detrimental consequences on special needs children.

With the remaining decrees, gatherings of people in public places, movement between municipalities and movement between 9pm and 6am remain prohibited. Public passenger transport remains suspended and all non-essential shops closed.

STA, 4 December 2020 - Slovenia's major beverage companies are no exception when it comes to the devastating impact of the pandemic on the industry worldwide. Some companies have recorded a major drop in sales in the second Covid-19 wave, particularly due to the hospitality sector lockdown.

Retail demand has increased due to the closure of hotels, restaurants and bars, however the drinks companies do not believe that this uptick could offset or significantly mitigate the overall contraction.

Slovenian brewers, including the country's largest beer maker Pivovarna Laško Union, have been experiencing the ramifications of anti-coronavirus restrictions since beer consumption largely depends on socialising.

An estimate by the Association of Slovenian Brewers shows that some 38,000 jobs are at risk due to the closure of restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes.

There is a silver lining - online shopping trends, which are expected to continue to point up.

Nevertheless, the situation is expected to remain precarious in the coming months, Pivovarna Laško Union has told the STA.

The Slovenian beer sector estimates that domestic sales of individual producers may drop by at least 30%, some may even experience a 95% contraction of sales.

Mineral water producer Radenska has told the STA that hospitality sector sales had ground to a halt during the second wave.

The wine sector is seeing similar problems. The winery Vina Koper told the STA that most of its plans had to be pushed back. After stabilising operations between May and September, it faces a challenging period, a season deemed vital for the sector.

The winery Klet Brda used to generate almost half of its income via exports, but this advantage turned to dust under current circumstances.

The company remains an optimist given foreign distributors' forecasts and first positive signals from the US market.