Quarantine for travellers from Croatia may be introduced by week's end

LJUBLJANA - The government's Covid-19 spokesperson Jelko Kacin said a decision on imposing quarantine on persons returning from Croatia would be made at Thursday's government session. The measure is expected to kick in by the start of the next week, with enough time given to people to return home before its implementation, said Kacin. There are believed to be some 160,000 Slovenian citizens in Croatia at the moment and people holidaying there - in particular those attending parties, have been responsible for a number of imported cases of Covid-19.

All primary and secondary school students to return to classrooms on 1 Sept

BRDO PRI KRANJU - Education Minister Simona Kustec announced that all primary and secondary school children are to return to school as the new year begins in September. "But if the epidemiological situation worsens considerably in the next 14 days, we will have to take that into account," the minister said, adding that the situation should be clearer after Thursday's government session, at which Health Minister Tomaž Gantar will present the epidemiological situation. Kustec expects that based on that assessment of the situation, "the best possible solutions" will be adopted.

After voluntary contact tracing app, Slovenia mulling mandatory app as well

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has successfully deployed a voluntary contact tracing app to help curb the coronavirus epidemic, but in the event the situation deteriorates it might also develop an app whose use will be mandatory for some, Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik indicated. The current Slovenian app is voluntary to use and has been downloaded almost 5,000 times less than a day after it was available in Google's Play Store. But the government has recently put in place a legislative provision that would allow it to make use of a mobile app mandatory for those with confirmed infections and persons who have been ordered to quarantine.

27 coronavirus infections confirmed on Monday in 1,143 tests

LJUBLJANA - A total of 1,143 tests for the novel coronavirus were performed in Slovenia on Monday, resulting in 27 confirmed new cases. The number of persons hospitalised for Covid-19 was meanwhile down by three to 16, with three persons being in intensive care, the government said. There were no Covid-19 deaths yesterday, so the overall death toll remains at 129. The total number of cases in Slovenia reached 2,456 with 266 of them active infections, according to the national tracker covid-19.sledilnik.

Leaders of Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Serbia expected at BSF

LJUBLJANA - The prime ministers of Croatia, Czechia, Hungary and Poland, and the president of Serbia have been confirmed as speakers at this year's Bled Strategic Forum (BSF), which takes place on 31 August. Half a dozen foreign ministers and the EU's foreign policy chief will also be among the panellists, BSF secretary general Peter Grk told the STA. The president of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, International Monetary Fund (IMF) director Kristalina Georgieva and Bettina Cadenbach, NATO assistant secretary general for political affairs and security policy, will address participants via video link.

Pahor, Steinmeier stress importance of unity in facing issues

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier held a telephone conversation to stress the importance of European unity in facing the Covid-19 pandemic and in relation with other strategic challenges in the EU. The EU should also be united in tackling challenges in its immediate neighbourhood, with an emphasis on the situation in Belarus and the Western Balkans, as well as in the international community. Steinmeier said that he had been monitoring closely Pahor's recent meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in Trieste, held on the 100th anniversary of the Fascist arson of a Slovenian building in the city, and noted the importance of such meetings for Europe.

Triglav group H1 net profit down 3% to EUR 33.5 million y/y

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's leading insurance group, Triglav, has reported EUR 33.5 million in net profit for the first half of 2020, a 3% decrease year-on-year. The group posted a total of EUR 673.4 million in consolidated gross written premium, up 7% compared to the same period in 2019, said insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav. The group's net revenue earned from insurance premiums increased by 7% to EUR 523.1 million. The group generated EUR 40.6 million in profit before tax, 3% down year-on-year. Net profit for the core company decreased by 4% to EUR 26.4 million. The results were released as Zavarovalnica Triglav supervisors appointed Andrej Andoljšek chief supervisor.

Gorenje hiring temps as orders surge

VELENJE - Slovenian home appliance manufacturer Gorenje, part of the Chinese group Hisense, is hiring some 600 temporary workers to cope with a record number of orders. Orders until the end of the year are by more than 30% higher for each month than last year, while a 15-20% increase is also expected for early 2021, the company told the STA. Since 10 August, Gorenje has already hired 240 workers on a fixed-term contract, and is looking for another 350, to be employed by 1 September. When the coronavirus pandemic hit this spring, Gorenje's new owners were planning massive layoffs. Orders for August to October then rose significantly and June was the first profitable month this year.

Teršek withdraws appeal seeking annulment of constitutional judge nominee vote

LJUBLJANA - Jurist Andraž Teršek, who failed to get elected a Constitutional Court judge by parliament in mid-June, has withdrawn his appeal to the Constitutional Court that asked it to annul the vote and order a new vote on his bid. He said there was not enough time for the court to decide on the appeal over invalid ballots before the deadline for new bids. He also said he would not like to complicate the procedure for the appointment of new candidates with his appeal.

Lunar stone on display at Noordung centre

VITANJE - A piece of a lunar rock, brought from the Moon in 1972, has been handed to the Herman Potočnik Noordung Centre of Space Technologies in Vitanje by the US Embassy in Slovenia and NASA. The stone was put on display until the end of 2020 and is to be joined by a replica of the space suit worn by Neil Armstrong in 1969. The US Embassy described the lunar stone, collected by astronaut and geologist Harrison "Jack" Schmitt during the Apollo 17 mission, as a symbol of a joint dedication to the exploration of outer space.