STA, 6 December 2021 - The Constitutional Court has found the government's regulation imposing Covid-19 recovery or vaccination mandate (PC) on state administration employees at workplace in contravention with the constitution for not being aligned with the relevant law. The court already stayed the regulation in late September.

STA, 5 December 2021 - Six Italian military doctors and nurses arrived in Slovenia on Sunday to help the medical teams of the Slovenian Armed Force helping at Covid-19 hospitals. Another nine could not arrive due to the bad weather but will join them on Monday.

The Italians were welcomed at the barracks in the city of Kranj by Slovenian Defence Minister Matej Tonin and Health Minister Janez Poklukar this afternoon.

That up to 30 Italian military staff would help Slovenia cope with the tense situation at hospitals was agreed by Tonin and his Italian counterpart Lorenzo Guerini in Rome last month.

Today, two doctors and four male nurses, members of the Italian navy and air forces arrived, to be joined tomorrow by the nine police medical staff (carabinieri) whose flight was cancelled due to bad weather.

The 15 Italian medical professionals, of whom five doctors, are to help the Slovenian military teams at UKC Ljubljana, the country's largest hospital.

Mixed teams are expected to feature one Italian doctor, two Italian nurses, one Slovenian nurse and two Slovenian military paramedics.

The military teams at another thee Slovenian hospitals, in Celje, Novo Mesto and Maribor, will remain unchanged.

In Celje and Novo Mesto, five members of the Slovenian Armed Forces are helping out, ten in Maribor and 15 at UKC Ljubljana.

One of them, nurse Alen Oderlap said they were doing their best to helo the civilian teams and patients. "There is a lot of work and every helping hand is welcome," he said.

Italian doctors Claudia Dedalo and Sandro Pricone said they already had some experience from Covid wards, while they see their Slovenian campaign as valuable experience and as an exchange of experience that could be valuable in other crises.

Minister Tonin is confident that the Italian team's know-how and experience will contribute to the mixed military teams to be effective and meet the expectations.

Minister Poklukar said the situation at Slovenian hospitals was still very difficult for medical staff, while response to any major natural disaster or accident would be impaired, which is why the help from Italy was so valuable.

Under the current agreement with Italy, the Italian medical staff will help in Slovenia until the end of the year.

Whether they continue into next year depends on the situation at hospitals and the epidemiological situation in Slovenia and neighbouring countries, Poklukar said.

Italian Ambassador to Slovenia Carlo Campanile said: "When Italy needed medical support, Slovenia was ready to help, and we have not forgotten it."

STA, 4 December 2021 - A group of protesters against government Covid-19 measures and the new bill on additional measures for curbing the epidemic and its consequences gathered in the Ljubljana city centre on Saturday. There were some clashes with police and a few protesters have been detained.

The protesters gathered unannounced in Ljubljana's Republic square at the invitation of the Resni.ca (Truth) party and civil initiatives. The party head, Zoran Stevanović, addressed the protesters, none of whom wore face masks or adhered to the rules on distancing.

Since the rally was unannounced police were at the site, and after three hours they called on the protesters to leave the site but they refused.

Stevanović said they had invited people to a peaceful, loud rebellion in Republic Square and to a festival of freedom.

In his speech at the square, he called for elimination of Covid-19 measures and a new government. He finds attempts at legalising obligatory vaccination unacceptable and also the punishing of the disobedient. Other speakers highlighted the same issues.

After a couple of hours, the rally moved to the Prešeren Square and the old town, accompanied by police.

At around 3pm police stopped the rally in Adjovščina Square, urged protesters to leave the site and stop obstructing traffic.

Protesters clashed with the police in the near-by Miklošičeva Street, where police blocked the road. Some of the protesters have been detained while most left the site at around 3:30pm.

Web portal N1 reported that the Interior Ministry planned to demand a reimbursement of the costs of police protection from the alleged organisers of the rally.

The ministry told N1 that talks were under way with police and the state attorney's office about filing claims for reimbursing the costs of police work at unannounced rallies from the organisers.

The epidemiological situation in the country has been improving but the National Institute of Public Health estimates that there are still over 30,400 active infections in the country, while hospitals are treating over 1,000 patients, including almost 260 in intensive care.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic last spring, the government has sent several anti-Covid bills to parliament, the last one being adopted on 19 November. The latest bill envisages measures worth EUR 180 million to help mitigate the consequences of the epidemic.

STA, 3 December 2021 - The government decided on Friday to ban the serving of food and drinks at outdoor stalls, with the exception of roasted chestnuts. As for outdoor fairs, organisers will have to make sure that visitors move in a one-way direction, and access to the venue must be fenced off, so that entry outside the official entrance is not possible.

In line with the latest decree, congresses and fairs are permitted to be held both outdoors and indoors, provided that the attendees meet the recovered-vaccinated-tested (PCT) condition, wear face masks and keep a distance of 1.5 metres.

Supervision of compliance with the rules and conditions will need to be ensured by the organisers of congresses or fairs, the Government Communication Office (UKOM) said.

In bars and restaurants, food or drinks are permitted to be served only to sitting customers between 5am and 10pm. The maximum permitted number of persons must be visibly displayed at the entrance of bars and restaurants.

As for outdoor fairs, including Christmas and New Year's fairs, which are currently being organised in several cities around Slovenia, the decree also stipulates that one-way movement of visitors must be ensured, with separate entrances and exits.

Access to the venue must be fenced off, so that entry outside the official entrance is not possible, UKOM added.

The decision comes after the Covid-19 task force called for a ban on stalls serving food and drinks due to risk for the spreading of coronavirus infections, which is much higher at the stalls than in restaurants.

"The task force believes that stalls offering food and drinks should not be allowed, because a great number of people come into contact and the chance of a transmission of infection is increased," task force head Mateja Logar said.

STA, 2 December - Given the poor epidemiological situation and the fact that almost half of the vouchers issued this year to help the hospitality, tourism, sports and culture sectors have not been cashed in yet, the government decided on Thursday to extend their validity until the end of June 2022.

The 2021 vouchers were introduced with an emergency law for tourism and associated sectors and awarded to all those who had a permanent residence in Slovenia on 30 June.

Adults received EUR 100 and under 18-year-olds EUR 50 for services offered by the hospitality, tourism, sport and culture sectors.

In line with the law, the vouchers were to expire on 31 December but the government was also given the option to extend their validity by six months.

The cabinet believes that the extension will lift the pressure off tourism and other facilities in the country in the final month of the year and thus contribute to reducing the number of infections, the Economy Ministry said after the government's session.

The extension of the vouchers will also boost demand for the various services in the first half of next year, it added.

The vouchers were activated on 16 July and until 22 November, little more than half of them were redeemed, while EUR 95.9 million in vouchers were still unused.

The government had also proposed the extension of last year's tourism vouchers until the end of June 2022 in a bill on additional measures for curbing the epidemic and its consequences, which is yet to be discussed by parliament.

STA, 1 December - Due to the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the government decreed today that passengers arriving in Slovenia from seven countries in southern Africa are required to take three PCR tests during mandatory 10-day quarantine.

The government imposed mandatory self-isolation on persons residing in or visiting South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe in the past 14 days before entering Slovenia on Saturday. Foreigners without residence in Slovenia arriving from those countries are banned from entry.

The government has now imposed an additional rule requiring of those arrivals to take a PCR test on entering Slovenia and repeat it on the 5th and 10th day after being ordered to self-isolate at home. They cannot end the mandatory self-isolation early regardless of the test result.

Those who had been in the countries for 14 days before the new regulation came into force must report to emergency services by dialling the number 113, after which they will be ordered to self-isolate at home for 10 days. They are required to take a PCR test right after making the call and on the final day of self-isolation.

The government also recommends for travellers from countries not on the list but where Omicron has been confirmed to take a rapid test on arriving in Slovenia.

STA, 1 December 2021 - The Slovenian conventions and events industry has urged the government to provide emergency aid to the tune of EUR 50 million. Half the companies in the business are at risk of collapse next year, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) said.

Large segments of the industry have been shut down for more than a year. "We did a bit of work in the summer, but then we were shut down again by decree on 5 November," said Dejan Žura of DB Team, a company specialising in light and sound production.

Concerts and other events without seating are currently banned, whereas strict restrictions are in place for events that may still be organised. "The situation is only getting worse," he said.

The sector recorded a 61% decline in revenue in 2021 compared to the year before, and similar results are expected this year. "We urgently need aid. If the government does not heed our calls, at least half of our companies will fold next year," he said.

Events organisers have high fixed costs. They are also grappling with the departure of staff with specialised know-how. Žura projects the total headcount in the industry will have dropped by 30% this year compared to pre-coronavirus levels.

There were three major fairs this year - the trade fair in Celje, agricultural fair in Gornja Radgona and the Nature-Health fair in Ljubljana - but exhibitor and visitor numbers were lower by roughly 60% and 40%, respectively, said Robert Otorepec, the director of Celje Trade Fair organiser Celjski Sejem.

Concert organisers estimate over 1,250 music events were cancelled last year, making for a revenue shortfall of around EUR 110 million. The situation will be even worse this year, according to concert organiser Mitja Prezelj.

The sector estimates they need EUR 50 million in aid in the form of subsidised furlough and short-time work, a universal basic income for the self-employed, and a provision valid through May next year under which they would get 100% compensation for events that are cancelled.

GZS director Aleš Cantarutti expects the government to "give it a serious thought" and amend the latest anti-corona stimulus bill, which is already in parliamentary procedure, with these measures. "I understand that funds are limited... But something must happen."

STA, 1 December 2021 - The number of new daily coronavirus infections was down both in weekly and daily comparisons on Tuesday to 2,257 as almost a third of PCR tests came back positive. The National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) estimates there are around 35,000 active cases in the country. Another 15 people died of Covid-19 yesterday.

The rolling 7-day average dropped further to 2,063, down by 126 from the day before, and the cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents was down by 96 to 1,664.

The estimated number of active cases fell by about 2,000 compared to the day before to 35,000.

Yesterday's test positivity rate was 32.4%, down by almost 14 percentage points compared to Monday.

According to the government, hospitalisations were down by 27 to 1,101, with the number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care dropping by three to 277. 15 people died of Covid-19 yesterday.

The youngest hospitalised patient is 27 years old, as is the youngest patient in intensive care.

Robert Carotta, the Health Ministry's coordinator for Covid beds, said at today's press conference that hospitalisations had apparently reached a plateau that would probably continue until mid-December, while noting that the healthcare system still operated at maximum capacity.

It seems that projections under which the number of ICU patients would reach 320 will not be realised, he said, adding that the "dropping of the daily number of newly-infected people inspires hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel."

Carotta is meanwhile puzzled by what he sees as many Slovenians not being aware of the seriousness of the situation, with almost 300 patients in ICT units becoming an accepted fact.

"At the same time, we live almost normally, we want mass events," he said, noting that an accident with a large number of victims would result in a collapse of the healthcare system.

All the latest data on COVID and Slovenia

STA, 30 November 2021 - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek has called on businesses to organise work from home wherever possible and to stick strictly to the Covid pass rule and other precautionary measures in what he says is the only way to avoid potential new restrictions.

In his call to businesses on Tuesday, Počivalšek, said Slovenia could not afford a shutdown or new harsh limits on economic activities. "We must do all in our power to avoid new restrictions on activities or lockdown," he said.

He said past experience had shown those could be prevented by work from home, strict adherence to the reconvalescent-vaccinated-tested rule and other precautionary measures. "We are confident that we can overcome the current health crisis together and ensure work and life to go on as normally as possible."

While Slovenia has been seeing a steady decline in new coronavirus infections, hospitals continue to be overrun with Covid-19 patients. Another concern worldwide is the new Omicron variant of the virus, which has not yet been detected in Slovenia.

The National Institute of Public Health estimates just over 37,000 people are still actively infected in the country after 2,482 new cases were confirmed yesterday for a 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents of 1,760. Of the 1,128 Covid-19 patients treated in hospitals 280 require intensive care.

All the latest data on COVID and Slovenia, with some nice visualisations

STA, 30 November 2021 - A commission appointed to examine the death of a 20-year-old woman following her vaccination with the Janssen vaccine in September has unanimously assessed that the death was "definitely connected" with the vaccination.