Ljubljana related
STA, 17 April 2020 - Nation-wide primary school exams have been cancelled due to the coronavirus situation, the Education Ministry announced on Friday. This is the first time the exams for sixth and ninth grade students have be cancelled since their introduction 20 years ago. Headteachers have welcomed the decision.
The decision not to hold the exams as schools are closed and children learning at home was taken on the basis of an assessment made by key education stakeholders, Minister of Education, Science and Sport Simona Kustec said in a release.
Nevertheless, the nation-wide tests will be made available online for teachers and students to reinforce what students have already learned.
Sixth graders take exams in mathematics and Slovenian (Italian and Hungarian for minority members in bilingual areas) as well as in a foreign language, which is English or German. Ninth graders also take the exams in maths and mother-tongue plus in a third subject which varies.
The exams, which are not compulsory, are taken in early May. This year's exams for third garde students, which were introduced in the 2017/2018 year, were cancelled already last month.
A decision to hold Matura - the school-leaving exam for secondary school students - has already been taken recently. But Kustec said in an interview for the newspaper Dnevnik, which will be fully run on Saturday, that it will be held in a somewhat changed format.
Students will write the Slovenian language essay on 1 June instead of 5 May, which is a major difference from the standard schedule.
Just like every year, however, secondary school students in their last year will end school on 22 May and all the others on 24 June.
The minister, however, was unable to say earlier this week when kindergartens and schools could reopen, stressing it would depend on an expert assessment that this could be done safely.
The government has already started to relax some of the restrictions imposed after the epidemic was declared on 12 March, but schools are very unlikely to reopen soon.
In his first reaction to the news, the head of the Association of Primary and Music School Headteachers, Gregor Pečan, said that while schools were yet to be formally notified of the decision, which he expects today, he is "grateful that common sense has prevailed".
"I absolutely agree the primary school national exams are cancelled, because it would be impossible to provide for credible exams in this situation," he said in a statement for the STA, adding it would make no sense to hold them for their own sake.
All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here
STA, 16 April 2020 - DIY shops, shops selling cars and bicycles, dry cleaners and some repair shops such as tyre replacement shops will reopen on Monday as the government has further eased lockdown measures.
Meeting for a session on Thursday, the government added new exceptions to the restrictions on shops and services imposed in Slovenia on 16 March, allowing hair salons and beauty parlours to reopen on 4 May.
Already from Monday, shops selling mostly construction and installation materials, technical goods or furniture will be back in business.
Between 8am and 9:30am all those shops will be open for vulnerable groups of shoppers only, i.e. persons with disabilities, pregnant women and those above the age of 65. The latter group will not be able to enter the shops outside the dedicated opening hour.
Also reopening on Monday will be dry cleaners and repair shops for technical goods, motor vehicles and cars.
The government also allowed the reopening of services performed outdoors such as gardening services, roof and facade work, and takeaways involving minimum contact with customers.
Outdoor sports and recreational services will also be allowed from Monday provided a safe distance is kept between everyone involved.
More services will be available from 4 May, with reopening of hair salons, beauty parlours, dog and cat grooming salons and shops of up to 400 m2 sales space except for those in shopping centres.
The shops allowed to reopen will need to observe strict safety measures including obligatory wearing of masks or some other face coverings, hand sanitising, airing of premises and allowing 20 square metres per customer, and a two-metre distance between customers waiting in a line.
Only healthy staff and customers are allowed on the premises.
The government today also adopted a decree to include all doctors and dentists not yet licensed but involved in the health system as speciality trainees, interns or secondments in the measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic, along with graduate doctors and dentists.
STA, 16 April 2020 - The Slovenian government has decided to partially ease the strict lockdown restrictions starting on Saturday. Limited movement outside the municipality of residence will be allowed, as will certain sports activities that do not involve close contact among persons.
Under amendment to the original lockdown decree adopted late on Wednesday, the prohibition of movement and gathering of persons that has confined residents to their municipality will continue to apply.
However, several exemptions were added to the existing list that already included going to work, shopping, access to emergency services, farm work and care for family members.
Bearing in mind the usual precautions about safe distance between individuals, individual sports such as jogging, bicycling, golf and yoga will thus be allowed as well as group sport such as tennis, badminton and boules.
Individuals and families or members of the same household will also be allowed to access private land outside their municipality of residence for purposes such as maintenance and seasonal works.
To do that, they will have to possess some sort of evidence of ownership of property or the right to use such a property, for example a copy of the land deed. They will also have to produce a document stating the purpose of their travel on a special form that is a part of the government decree.
Tens of thousands of Slovenians have property in the countryside and the relaxation in effect means they will be allowed to spend time on properties that many use as holiday homes and where many grow vegetables.
Violations of the decree are subject to fines under the law on the prevention of infectious diseases and compliance will be checked by police.
The decision marks the first significant easing of lockdown restrictions that were introduced on 20 March to contain the spread of coronavirus.
The government started indicating last week that some easing was being considered since the growth in new infections had started to slow down, but it wanted to make sure the flattening of the curve of infections was sustainable.
Health Minister Tomaž Gantar said yesterday Slovenia had managed to turn the trend and would cautiously proceed with the relaxation of measures.
The number of new infections has been steadily declining. After a quiet Easter weekend during which testing was at about half the usual pace, the number of new infections rose by 28 on Tuesday to 1,248.
But more importantly, the number of patients requiring hospitalisation and intensive care has been broadly flat and has so far not come close to the capacity of the health system.
Five persons died of Covid-19 on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 61. The vast majority of the victims have been nursing home residents with multiple underlying conditions.
Defence Minister Says Slovenia Needs Transport Plane, Denies Wrongdoing in PPE Purchase
STA, 15 April 2020 - The coronavirus crisis has shown Slovenia urgently needs a transport plane, Defence Minister Matej Tonin pointed out after Wednesday's videoconference of NATO defence ministers. "It has turned out that we can only rely on ourselves in these difficult times," he said.
The multi-purpose 1988 Turbolet L-410, which can transport both passengers and cargo, has done an excellent job in this crisis but a new solution must be found, Tonin pointed out.
The ministry has already initiated procedures, requested input from the military and formed a working group that will examine which option would be best: the purchase of a new transport plane, a donation agreement or a third option.
Tonin said he did not have a specific type of aircraft in mind yet, as he first wants to look at all the options.
He stressed that such an aircraft could not be purchased overnight. The government must first make a decision and then it may take up to three years for delivery.
NATO defence ministers today debated how to accelerate and strengthen coronavirus aid to member states. Several hundred tonnes of medical equipment has already been delivered in the framework of NATO.
Slovenia had requested aid in securing transport for protective gear and other supplies needed during the coronavirus epidemic via NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC).
Tonin said today the aid involved transporting protective equipment from China to Slovenia and assistance in evacuating infected troops from international missions.
The Agency for Commodities Reserves has signed a special agreement with Hisense, the Chinese owner of home appliances maker Gorenje, which will host a logistics centre for Slovenia at one of its locations in China.
Once enough equipment comes together, it will make sense to dispatch a place to transport it, according to Tonin.
But the minister said access to NATO's mechanisms was difficult and expensive. The bill for a return flight for a large transport aircraft that can carry 100 tonnes is EUR 1.2 million.
Tonin also said Slovenia had offered Italy assistance in the form of a medical team. Ten to fifteen Slovenian doctors have responded and the details are now being coordinated by civil protection services.
Tonin denies wrongdoing in protective gear purchases
STA, 15 April 2020 - Protective gear purchases have raised quite a lot of dust and could even become subject of a parliamentary inquiry. Defence Minister Matej Tonin told the press on Wednesday how he approached the matter amid a severe shortage of such equipment at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Once it was clear that all established suppliers have failed to deliver, Tonin had intervened in three cases, contacting businessmen Joc Pečečnik and Janez Škrabec as well as UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin.
"In those most critical moments when medical staff was literally crying due to the shortage of protective gear, I called the three people whom I believe have enough contacts abroad to be able to help Slovenia get the equipment.
"All of them responded and helped Slovenia," Tonin said as he visited the 72nd Brigade of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) in Črnomelj today.
As to allegations that Pečečnik has overcharged the costs of transport, Tonin said it had been agreed that once all transport is completed, Pečečnik would draw the line to see if the transport was really overpaid and return the money, the defence minister explained.
Tonin has recently also come under fire after it became clear his mother works for a company which struck three deals with the state worth EUR 30 million for the procurement of protective gear.
Tonin at the time denied he or his mother having had anything to do with the deal and himself asked the anti-graft commission to investigate the matter to dispel any doubts.
Tonin was also asked today about a new SAF chief of the general staff after Alenka Ermenc was dismissed as of 17 March and her deputy took temporarily over. He said the candidate had already been chosen and would be announced in due time.
All our stories on coronavirus are here, while those covering covid-19 and Croatia are here. We'll have an update at the end of the day, and if you want newsflashes then we'll post those on Facebook
We can’t have pictures of COVID-19 every day. So instead we’ll try and show the works of Slovenian artists. Today it’s Polona Kačič with an image from a series organised by Tam Tam, with the rest of them here.
Ministry proposes data exchange between health institute and police
Food deliveries surge due to coronavirus lockdown
Left wants MPs to debate situation at retirement homes
President expresses solidarity with Italy, UK in face of pandemic
Ministry proposes data exchange between health institute and police
STA, 15 April 2020 - The Interior Ministry proposed on Wednesday that the National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) shares citizens' personal data with the police to help contain the coronavirus epidemic. If the motion is endorsed, the police will be privy to the information about the quarantine duration and other anti-COVID-19 restrictions imposed on the individual.
The data exchange is key for enabling police work in line with Article 103 of the anti-corona bill, said the ministry, referring to police powers to search for persons and temporarily restrict their movement.
According to today's proposal, the police would acquire information, including the given name, national identity number or, in case of foreign citizens, the identification number, type of the ID document and the country that has issued it, as well as permanent or temporary residence, data about the individual's GP and a decree ordering isolation or quarantine, the duration and type of such and other restrictions.
Personal data that is designated special would be labelled as such and unauthorised persons would be prevented from accessing the dataset. The exchange would be conducted in line with the regulations concerning personal data protection, added the ministry.
Under those regulations, the NIJZ would also keep track of all the exchanged data, the content, timelines and purposes, so as to ensure a sufficient audit trail.
Moreover, the institute would be in charge of recording activities involving the processing of such data, with the police keeping relevant access records.
The proposal lays down that the police would be able to request consulting the data 24/7, while the institute would be bound to send the requested data immediately or two hours after receiving the request at the latest.
The issue of accessing citizens' personal data as a potential strategy to fight the epidemic has been making headlines in the past days after a senior health official presented a nation-wide mobile tracking application to notify individuals whether they were in contact with those infected with Covid-19.
The Institute of Criminology at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law raised concerns over this potential measure on Tuesday, saying that the use of such apps was problematic in terms of privacy. It may indirectly affect a number of other rights and have a substantial effect on societies in the future, it said.
Food deliveries surge due to coronavirus lockdown
STA, 15 April 2020 - Lockdown restrictions imposed to contain the novel coronavirus epidemic have led to an increase in food deliveries. With people staying home and restaurants suspending dine-in options, food delivery apps have been recording a spike in demand, including outside the lunch hour.
Lunchtime used to be peak time for delivery services, however lately, they have been detecting an increase in the number of orders in the evenings and over weekends.
Following the tightening of lockdown measures, online food delivery provider Ehrana have seen a staggering surge in the number of food orders in the Ljubljana area by as much as 310%.
It has also detected an increase in the number of orders submitted in the evenings, between 6pm and 8pm. The figure has doubled over the weekends and remains high during lunchtime.
Since 20 March, the number of restaurants providing delivery options have increased as well - by 26%. There are currently more than 160 Ljubljana restaurants and pubs available on the Ehrana platform.
"Those are the restaurants that did not deal with or consider deliveries before because they were busy as it was," said Ehrana director and co-founder Borut Markelj, referring to a new influx of restaurants using one of Slovenia's leading delivery service providers.
The epidemic has taken a toll on restaurant business as well and delivery options have become the only source of income for the majority, added Markelj.
One of those is Indian restaurant Maharaja, which is staying afloat due to deliveries in the time when its revenue has plunged by 50-70%.
During the crisis, Ljubljana citizens have been mostly craving fast food though, such as burgers, pizzas and salads. "Apparently, there are a lot of fast food lovers in the capital," quipped Markelj.
He highlighted that the health of delivery drivers, consumers and other staff comes first. Employees are wearing masks, using hand sanitisers regularly and heeding physical distancing rules.
Moreover, cash payments are not possible during the epidemic. Consumers have been adapting to the new reality really well, added Markelj.
Left wants MPs to debate situation at retirement homes
STA, 15 April 2020 - The opposition Left would like the parliamentary Health Committee to debate problems at nursing facilities around the country. Since the elderly are the most vulnerable group as the coronavirus spreads, the party intends to put forward several resolutions for the government to act upon.
MP Primož Siter said on Wednesday the Left had been bringing the situation at retirement homes to the government's attention for the past two years.
The situation is difficult even in normal circumstances because it has been neglected by consecutive governments, Siter told the press.
"Instead of tackling it and strengthening the network of public retirement homes, they have left it to the market, which turned it into a business."
The MP said that the data released by Radio Slovenia on Tuesday showed three-quarters of all Covid-19 deaths in Slovenia took place at nursing homes.
He also criticised the government for not providing the media and public with trustworthy information about the situation.
The party thus asked for a Health Committee session to shed light on these issues and put forward proposals to improve the protection of the elderly.
Among the proposals, the Left will propose to the government to provide hospital treatment for all infected residents of nursing homes.
"Homes for the elderly are not medical organisations. That's what we have hospitals for."
The government should also make an arrangement with private medical organisations to use their facilities and staff and to arrange for transport.
What is more, it should provide detailed statistics about the number of infected people and about the deaths.
Sporočilo predsednika republike britanski kraljici in britanskemu ljudstvu v skupnem boju proti koronavirusu. @RoyalFamily #everythingwillbeOk #Covid19UK #StayHomeSaveLifes #CoronaCrisisuk pic.twitter.com/3gvpGqopuk
— Borut Pahor (@BorutPahor) April 15, 2020
President expresses solidarity with Italy, UK in face of pandemic
STA, 15 April 2020 - President Borut Pahor posted two separate video messages on Twitter on Wednesday expressing solidarity with the Italian and British people as they face the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking in Italian and English, Pahor expressed solidarity in the "joint fight against the coronavirus." He expressed, on behalf of Slovenians, admiration for the British and the Italian people, saying they had shown determination, courage and hope during the coronavirus pandemic.
"In Slovenia, we deeply feel your sadness and look forward to you successful overcoming of this crisis. United with other nations and countries, we will win this fight together. Everything will be just OK," said the president.
Both Italy and the UK are among the countries hardest hit by the global coronavirus pandemic. By Tuesday afternoon more than 21,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Italy and 13,000 have died in the UK, according to the most recent data.
All our stories on coronavirus are here, while those covering covid-19 and Croatia are here. We'll have an update at the end of the day, and if you want newsflashes then we'll post those on Facebook
We can’t have pictures of COVID-19 every day. So instead we’ll try and show the works of Slovenian artists. Today it’s Gordana Grlič of Trubarjeva cesta's Photo Pauli.
Five new Covid-19 deaths yesterday, cases up by 28 to 1,248
Gloves no longer mandatory in closed public places
Slovenia to conduct random testing to determine scope of coronavirus infections
Five new Covid-19 deaths yesterday, cases up by 28 to 1,248
STA, 15 April 2020 - The government reported on Wednesday that five more persons had died of Covid-19 yesterday to bring the overall death toll to 61. The number of persons infected with the new coronavirus is meanwhile up by 28 to 1,248.
The number of new cases is up compared to Monday as the number of tests more than doubled to 1,168, bringing the total number of tests to 37,114.
While the daily numbers of fatalities and infected persons were up, the number of hospitalised patients dropped by seven to 96, and the number of intensive care cases was down by one to 34.
A total of 13 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospital yesterday, the figures released by the government on Twitter also show.
The National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) meanwhile reported that the share of confirmed cases was, expectedly, the highest among persons older than 85, as testing mostly included persons with the most serious symptoms.
The NIJZ noted that another important reason for the high incidence rate in the oldest population group were outbreaks in nursing homes.
On Monday, the rate for this age group was 250.6 per 100,000 population, which is significantly higher than in the lower age group (75-84 years), where it stood at 87.9.
As for the younger generations, the rate ranges from 41.6 per 100,000 population in the 15-24 age group to 70.1 in the 45-54 age group. In the youngest age group (0-4 years), the rate was 5.9 and in the 5-14 age group it was 9.9.
The latest NIJZ statistical data on deaths, which refers to a total of 53 cases, show that more than 80% of persons in Slovenia who died of Covid-19 were older than 75, and almost 60% were over 85.
The gender structure is balanced, with 27 of the victims being women and 26 men. The number of women older than 85 who died of Covid-19 is much higher than that of men (22 to 9), but this is very likely due to higher life expectancy.
Gloves no longer mandatory in closed public places
STA, 15 April 2020 - Protective gloves are no longer mandatory in closed public places such as shops, pharmacies and post offices as of Wednesday. Hand sanitizer must be used instead and it has to be provided by the business owners. Face masks are still mandatory.
The government had made it mandatory to wear face masks or an equivalent face and nose covering and gloves in closed public places on 30 March.
The decree was amended on Tuesday night mandating that instead of gloves, hand sanitizer must be used upon entering and exiting a closed public space.
The decision comes after the Ministry of Health said last week that many people were not using gloves correctly. Since the decree was originally adopted, hand sanitizer has been more widely available after initial severe shortages.
Slovenia reported 56 coronavirus deaths and 1,200 infections as of Monday. The curve of infections has been flattened but the government has decided to wait a few more days before starting to ease lockdown restrictions.
Slovenia to conduct random testing to determine scope of coronavirus infections
STA, 15 April 2020 - Slovenia will conduct random population testing to get a reliable estimate of the scope of the coronavirus epidemic. The trial will include antibody tests, Miroslav Petrovec, the head of the Institute for Microbiology and Immunology at the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine, told the press on Wednesday.
A representative random sample of the population numbering between 1,000 and 1,500 people will be tested pending approval by the national commission for medical ethics. The test will presumably start next week, according to Petrovec.
The test, conducted nation-wide, will involve technicians visiting people agreeing to the test at home and taking both nasal swabs to determine the presence of the virus SARS-COV-2 as well as conducting a serological test for antibodies. The tested persons will also fill out a questionnaire.
That way, the health authorities will get a clearer picture of how many people have been infected and how many have antibodies, whose presence indicates that they had been in contact with the virus.
The results will give researchers an estimate of the actual number of the people who may have been infected but were asymptomatic, according to Petrovec.
While random tests have been conducted in Austria and Iceland and are planned in Germany, Petrovec said Slovenia's would be the first such comprehensive test in Europe.
Petrovec expects the Slovenian study will provide better results than the Austrian test as it will provide data not just on the number of infected persons but also the number of those who had been sick but have recovered.
The preliminary results are expected before the May Day holidays and would inform government decisions on the easing of lockdown restrictions.
"This will help decision-makers to adopt measures based on realistic figures," Petrovec said.
Slovenia already has a limited number of antibody tests and they will be used as a matter of priority for this study.
The trial will be managed by the Institute for Microbiology and Immunology in cooperation with the faculties of computer science, mathematics and social sciences in Ljubljana and UKC Ljubljana, Slovenia's largest hospital.
STA, 14 April 2020 - Education Minister Simona Kustec, who participated in a videocall EU ministerial on Tuesday, is not yet able to say when kindergartens and school in Slovenia could reopen. But she announced the decision on whether to hold nation-wide primary school exams for sixth and ninth grade students would be taken this Friday.
The ministerial showed countries hold very different views on when to reopen schools, with some, including the gravely affected Spain, arguing in favour of starting already at the beginning of May, Kustec told the Slovenian press.
The minister was not yet able to say when this could happen in Slovenia, stressing it would depend on an expert assessment that this could be done safely.
Kustec, who added EU ministers were united in the view that performance grading needed to be kind and motivating in the current circumstances, announced Friday would bring a decision on whether to hold the nation-wide exams in Slovenia for sixth and ninth grade primary school children, which are usually held in May.
A decision has already been made in favour of holding the secondary school-leaving exams, although probably later than originally scheduled, meaning not before June.
Meanwhile, during today's ministerial, Kustec placed special attention on the need for equality when organising remote schooling during the pandemic. She highlighted Slovenia's positive experience with donations that allowed computers and other necessary equipment to be provided for all pupils.
All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here
Businesses donate computer tablets to disadvantaged students
STA, 14 April 2020 - A group of companies and employer organisations have raised more than 250 computers and tablets to enable disadvantaged students to participate in remote learning, said AmCham Slovenija on Tuesday.
The campaign, titled Solidarity Together, has been coordinated by AmCham Slovenija in cooperation with the Education Ministry and the National Education Institute.
Apart from the American-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce, the campaign also included the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), Managers' Association, Slovenian Business Club (SBC) and British-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce.
The organisations' members have provided equipment enabling distant learning during the epidemic for students most in need of assistance, said AmCham, adding that the donated devices would also help the students keep in touch with their peers.
The most generous contributors included brewer Pivovarna Laško Union, telecoms operator Telemach, app developer Outfit7, IT company Oracle Slovenija and HP Computing and Printing, added AmCham.
Chairman of Telemach Adrian Ježina said that the company had donated tablets and internet access to 90 children and their families.
Meanwhile, Pivovarna Laško Union corporate affairs director, Tanja Subotić Levanič, said that the brewer had equipped 40 children with tablets as well as donated additional 15 devices needed for distant learning to hospital schools.
Moreover, Outfit7 has raised EUR 5,500 for the cause, according to AmCham.
All our stories on coronavirus are here, while those covering covid-19 and Croatia are here. We'll have an update at the end of the day, and if you want newsflashes then we'll post those on Facebook
We can’t have pictures of COVID-19 every day. So instead we’ll try and show the works of Slovenian artists. Today it’s Maruša Štibelj. You can see more of her work here.
Majority of Covid-19 victims aged over 75
Latest corona-survey shows fewer people worried about their lives
Chinese association donates protective gear
Dozens of millions in coronavirus damage expected in Slovenian sports
Majority of Covid-19 victims aged over 75
STA, 14 April - The figures released by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) show that more than 80% of people who died of coronavirus in Slovenia were older than 75 years and almost 60% were older than 85.
Although 56 persons died until yesterday, the NIJZ statistics take into account only 53 deaths because the institute gets the data from the infectious disease data base with a delay.
The NIJZ figures show the number of victims among men and women was relatively balanced, as 27 women died as opposed to 26 men.
All the deceased were older than 45, but the number of deaths rises with age.
The number of deaths in the age group between 75 and 84 was 13 and that in the age group of over 85 reached 31, the NIJZ data also show.
Public broadcaster Radio Slovenija meanwhile reported that the majority of 56 victims, or 75%, died in nursing homes.
Latest corona-survey shows fewer people worried about their lives
STA, 14 April 2020 - The share of the Slovenians who are worried about their lives and the lives of their closest ones because of the coronavirus epidemic is dropping, shows the latest survey by the pollster Mediana, as it currently stands at 50%.
Some 42% of the respondents said they were worried and 8% that they were very worried, a drop of 10 percentage points compared to the previous poll from 24 and 25 March.
On the other hand, 7% of the people polled said they were not worried at all and 18% said they were not worried.
68% of the respondents meanwhile believe it will take three or more months for life in Slovenia to return to normal after the end of the epidemic, while 16% think it will take two months and 10% only one month.
Almost half of the respondents (46%) see the lack of social contact with family and friends as the main problem one month into the lockdown, an increase of 23 percentage points compared to two weeks ago.
Some 36% of the people polled have the feeling of being restricted, which is an increase of 26 percentage points.
Still ranking high among the worries is the uncertainty about when the epidemic will end (43%), which is however an 11 percentage-point drop compared to the previous survey.
There are also significant drops in the share of people who fear that at-risk groups would get infected (from 47% to 33%) and people who fear getting infected themselves (from 44% to 27%).
The share of people who experience the feeling of helplessness has also dropped, by ten percentage points to 23%.
The survey was carried out on 10-11 April among 503 Slovenian residents aged between 15 and 75 years, in what Mediana says was a representative sample by gender, age and region.
Chinese association donates protective gear
STA, 14 April 2020 - Slovenia saw a number of protective gear donations by Chinese organisations and cities on Tuesday meant to boost the country's commodity reserves and ramp up the protection of critical services, including police officers and healthcare workers.
The association of the Chinese living in Slovenia donated protective equipment to the trade unions of services essential in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.
It has provided 40,000 face masks, 700 hazmat suits and 120 thermometers for the trade unions joined under the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (KSJS) umbrella organisation.
The Police Trade Union of Slovenia (PSS) said today it had received 10,000 kits, so it would equip its members with 20,000 masks meant for personal use in the coming days.
The donation is a result of "excellent cooperation" between the trade union and the Chinese association, the PSS added.
The union has single-handedly purchased an additional 10,000 face shields, however the gear has not yet arrived in Slovenia.
Apart from the police trade union, the supplies were also donated to the health and social security workers' as well as the nurses' trade unions.
The donation was handed over by Chinese Ambassador to Slovenia Wang Shunqing and Ji Rongqiang-Chang, the association's head, who had initiated the campaign, at the civil defence warehouse in Roje on the outskirts of Ljubljana.
Also in Roje, the Chinese Olympic Committee handed over 10,000 surgical masks for the Slovenian Agency for Commodities and Reserves today.
The delivery was received by Economy Ministry State Secretary Aleš Cantarutti and Secretary General of the Slovenian Olympic Committee (OKS) Blaž Perko, the OKS said in a press release.
Meanwhile, a group of Chinese cities have donated 77,000 various face shields to Civil Protection in the city of Maribor.
Slovenia's second largest city received the donation by its Chinese twin cities, including Nanjing, Huaian, Nanchang and Chongqing, on Friday. The supplies, handed over by Ambassador Wang, will be distributed to key services.
This marks the second such donation for Maribor after the city received a delivery of 10,000 FFP 2 masks from Hangzhou last week.
Dozens of millions in coronavirus damage expected in Slovenian sports
STA, 14 April 2020 - A discussion about the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on sports, organised on Tuesday by the Sport Lex sports law institute, highlighted an estimate that sports organisations in Slovenia will incur at least EUR 26 million in direct damage.
Major damage, estimated by Slovenian Ski Association president Enzo Smrekar at EUR 1.1 million, has for instance been caused by the cancellation or rescheduling of the Ski Flying World Championship that was to be held in Planica in March.
Smrekar moreover pointed to the cancelled men's Alpine Ski World Cup races in Kranjska Gora, speaking of a damage of up to EUR 700,000.
Reflecting on how to proceed, he said it was not necessary to invent new solutions, since Austria, Italy and Germany had provided good examples of how to stimulate sport.
Also participating in the videocall panel was the secretary general of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia, Blaž Perko, who said a recent survey had shown the coronavirus crisis would cost Slovenian sports organisations at least EUR 26 million.
"Everybody pointed out they will have liquidity problems, while the smaller ones will also have trouble covering labour and rent costs. The summer season will be practically dead and it will not be possible to make up for the losses already suffered," Perko said.
Listing measures that could help, he mentioned a deferral of loan payments and tax cuts, as well as a state-sponsored emergency fund that would help cover cancellation costs.
While Austria has already earmarked EUR 100 million in aid to sport as a first step, "there has been no open mentioning of sports by the government here so far", Perko said.
If you’re an SP in Slovenia whose income fell by at least 25% in March compared to February – the key month in all this aid – then you’re eligible for a €350 payment under the first coronavirus stimulus package, plus you won’t need to pay your social security contribution in April. Important to note that another criterion is you must be up to date with your taxes, and you’ll still need to pay your taxes. You can also apply for €700 in April and May, with details below.
Go to this page on eDavki, scroll down and click on your SP identity. Note that my personal details have been distorted in all these images.
Then you’ll be taken to this page, where you’ll need to click on the COVID link, as highlighted below.
Here you’ll need to enter your phone number, if not already in the system. Then we come to the meat of the page, three items about what you’re claiming. The first asks about your decline in income in March, April and May compared to February. If it fell 25% in March you can get €350, and if it’ll fall 50% in April and May then you can get €700 in those months. I don’t have crystal ball, so only applied for March. I’ll come back next month if the figures tell a sad story.
Underneath that are two more items, which only open up for the months you selected for item 1. Item 2 asks you to choose the months for which you want to apply for aid, while for item 2 you check the months in which you don’t want pay your social security contributions (without penalty). Remember that you still need to pay your taxes.
Underneath those three items there's another with a drop-down menu for you to choose which bank account you want to receive the money in. After that, you just need to click on “oddaj vlogo” (submit the application) and your claim has been filed.
You can learn more about this aid here, while the page you need to visit on eDavki is here
STA, 14 April 2020 - Those eligible for state aid under the EUR 3 billion fiscal stimulus package designed to mitigate the coronavirus crisis for businesses and households have started filing their requests. The Employment Service received 1,154 applications from companies with idle employees between Saturday and Monday.
If you're an SP you can find out how to apply for this aid here - fast, easy and online
Before the stimulus package came into force on Saturday, companies had been filing requests for aid under a less favourable emergency law passed earlier. Unofficially, 8,441 such requests had been filed.
The Employment service told the STA today the data was yet to be analysed, as some employers had filed multiple requests.
Under the emergency law, which took effect on 29 March, idle workers were to get 80% wage compensation, of which 40% would be covered by the state and 60% by their company.
However, under the new stimulus package act the state is to cover the entire 80% compensation, based on a worker's average monthly pay from the last three months.
Some companies have filed separate requests for aid under each of the two laws, although the Employment Service says all applications will be processed under the new law.
All efforts are being put in the processing of applications to make sure employers receive decisions as soon as possible, the Employment Service said.
"We have also significantly expanded our team in charge of registration procedures, as we are dealing with increasingly many applications for registration of businesses these days," it added.
The Employment Service is also offering technical support over the phone or online to those who want to start a business or file for wage compensation.
Eligible for state aid are companies that saw more than a 20% drop in revenue in the first six months of the year and whose revenue in the second half of the year will not rise by more than 50% year-on-year.
Companies founded this year will have to have at least 25% drop in revenue in March and at least 50% revenue drop in April or May compared to February to receive aid.
Only companies that owe no liabilities to the state, are not in receivership, and are not a direct or indirect user of the state budget or municipal budget of the municipality which receives more than 70% of the funds from the state will be able to get aid.
Banks and insurance companies are not eligible.
The self-employed, who will be exempt of payment of all social security contributions for April and May, and will receive a monthly "basic income" of EUR 350 in March and EUR 700 in April and May each, can expect aid from 25 April.
But only those who suffered at last a 25% drop in revenue in March compared to February, and at least a 50% drop in April or May compared to February, are eligible.
If their revenue in the first six months of the year exceeds that from the first half of 2019 by more than 20%, and if their revenue in the second half of the year increases by more than 20% year on year, they will have to return the money.
Religious workers and farmers are also eligible for the "basic income" and will be excused from payment of contributions if they submit a statement by the end of May, saying they cannot perform their activities as usual because of the coronavirus epidemic.
The "basic income" will be paid out by the Financial Administration (FURS). Those who submit the statement by 18 April should receive it on 25 April.
FURS told the STA it had so far received 13,500 requests from the self-employed. Statistics Office data shows there were slightly fewer than 31,000 self-employed in the country at the end of 2019.
We’ll have details of how to file for this online very soon
