STA, 12 August 2020 - Slovenia confirmed 31 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, a one-month high, as 1,118 tests were performed. There were no new deaths reported, show official government data.

Slovenia's daily infections were fairly stable since mid-July, rarely exceeding 20. The latest increase comes amidst warnings that many young people are returning from holidays infected.

The latest statistics on coronavirus and Slovenia, and the latest police news on red, green and yellow list countries

The number of coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic has thus increased to 2,303 and 129 people have died of Covid-19.

There are currently 23 people with Covid-19 in hospital, two of them in intensive care.

The number of active cases is estimated at 188, up a tenth over yesterday, according to data tracker Covid-19.sledilnik.org

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia

STA, 12 August 2020 - A survey about young people during the epidemic has shown that youths perceived distance learning as less effective than in-class education. More than a quarter were concerned about finishing the year. But the biggest problem for them was the lack of social contacts. Nevertheless, most also see positive sides of the situation.

About 72% of the young included in the survey conducted by the Slovenian Youth Council in May and June assessed that remote learning was less efficient than traditional schooling.

More than half of them believe they did not absorb the knowledge well enough and that they did not receive adequate and clear information.

About 20% of the respondents said they did not have all the required equipment for home schooling. More than a third had problems with internet connection, and more than a quarter expressed concern about whether they will be able to finish the year at all.

Six percent of respondents said that they did not have their own access to fresh air such as a balcony, terrace or a garden during lockdown, while 16% reported not having the necessary peace and quiet in their home when needed.

About 17% of the young included in the survey had to move home from their student dorm because of the epidemic.

As for coping with the absence of public transport, 14% said this had a negative impact on their everyday life because they would need public transport during the epidemic or because they had to help others who would need it. But more than half (53%) said they use public transport regularly but did not needed it during the epidemic.

Almost half of respondents (47%) said their income decreased during the epidemic, and one in four said their income in that period was not enough to cover their basic needs. The Youth Council attributes this drop to a drop in demand for student work.

The feelings of loneliness increased among some young people, with 15% of young women and 7% of young men saying they had nobody to turn to.

About 49% of young women and 36% of young men said they obeyed all rules and recommendations during the epidemic.

As many as 69% of respondents said they missed contacts with other people, especially their friends and relatives.

However, 85% of respondents also detected some positive changes, such as changes to their personal habits, pointing to better hygiene standards and a healthier lifestyle, but also to positive changes related to environment protection, calmer lifestyle, opening hours of shops, more family time, less traffic, changed shopping habits, solidarity, and digitalisation.

STA, 11 August 2020 - The coronavirus pandemic has caused the number of visitors in mountain huts plummet by 25%, while some huts high in the mountains have seen their visitor numbers drop by as much as 50%, as significantly fewer foreigners are hiking in Slovenia this year. However, the number of Slovenians staying at the huts has increased.

According to the Slovenian Alpine Association, huts accessible by car have actually seen their visitor numbers go up, as many Slovenians have decided to redeem their tourism vouchers there.

"Compared to previous seasons, the structure of guests has changed. While 70% of our gusts last year were foreigners, they make up only a handful this year ... with nearly 95% of our guests being Slovenians," said Jakob Zupanc of the Srednja Vas Alpine Association, which operates four easily accessible huts in the Bohinj area, north-west.

Data from the Financial Administration (FURS) shows that over 1,833 vouchers had been redeemed in mountain huts, or 1.67% of all vouchers, which have been issued to every permanent resident in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Meanwhile, health restrictions mean that capacities are lower than usual. Under the orders of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), a maximum of two people can sleep in the same room, with exceptions being members of the same household and people hiking together.

The tourism voucher scheme designed by the government to help tourism recover from the pandemic has drawn to the huts Slovenians who usually would not have opted for the mountains, said Dušan Prašnikar of the Alpine Association.

As of July, visitors can book their stay at some of the mountain huts on the Alpine Association's website. The system, used across the Alps, also allows easier bookings at mountain huts abroad, said Prašnikar.

Slovenia has a network of more than 10,000 kilometres of mountain paths connecting 179 mountain huts, shelters and bivouacs providing a total of 7,400 beds and the capacity to feed more than 10,000 guests at one time.

STA, 12 August 2020 - Ljubljana, whose tourism has been booming before the corona crisis, saw a 76% drop in nights spent in accommodation facilities in July compared to the same month last year. Hotels were only about 30% booked for last month, and in August this rose to 40%.

The data for 22 hotels and two hostels in the capital, of which four hotels were still closed in July and one of them opened partly in August, depending on demand, shows that in July, 28,150 nights were recorded, a significant drop from 117,000 in the same period last year, when they were all open.

Between 1 and 9 August, tourists spent 12,700 nights at the hotels and hostels, while almost 38,200 nights were generated in the same period last year.

"We mostly have foreign guests but we are happy that the number of Slovenian guests has risen significantly this year," Turizem Ljubljana told the STA, noting that 40% more Slovenian guests were recorded in July than in the same month last year, and that in the first nine days of August their number doubled.

Slovenians generated about 14% of all nights in both July and August.

The 18 or 19 hotels and two hostels that were open in August were 40% booked this month.

Turizem Ljubljana hopes that if the coronavirus situation remains unchanged or improves, the figures will rise further. A major promotion campaign is planned for the capital in Slovenia in September.

"We cannot be happy with the summer season," assistant director of Hotel Slon in the centre of Ljubljana Željko Vrhovac told the STA, noting that the occupancy rate was about 30%, which is 60 percentage points lower than in the same period in the past years.

"We've expected a faster recovery but the situation with the second wave of Covid-19 changed all that."

The share of Slovenian guests at the hotel reached about 10% in July and August, while before Covid-19, their share was less than 1%. "We attribute the rise to tourist vouchers and special packages we have prepared, and also restrictions to travelling abroad," he said.

Foreign guests mostly come from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. But these are individuals spending their holidays here, while other segments of guests such as business guests, conferences, seminars and groups have not picked up yet.

Vrhovac does not expect the situation to improve significantly until a vaccine is found.

Another Ljubljana hotel, which is slightly further away from the centre, the M Hotel, is posting an occupancy rate of 20%, which compares to 96% in the same period last year.

"Perhaps we expected a bit more Italian guests, who are quite regular visitors to Slovenia, and consequently a bit more bookings in August, but very few have come and there are no new reservations," said Gregor Erbežnik, head of sales at M Hotel.

Most of their guests are in transit, stopping on their way to Croatia. They also have some business guests. "We have virtually no Slovenian guests, despite the vouchers, which was expected, as people choose coastal and mountain destinations over Ljubljana."

STA, 11 August 2020 - Slovenians have used EUR 49.71 million worth of tourism vouchers between 19 June and 9 August, which is 14% of the amount made available as part of the government's stimulus scheme, in place until the end of the year. The coast, mountains and spas have been the primary beneficiaries, while cities are continuing to struggle.

The total value of tourism vouchers available to Slovenia's 2.08 million residents is EUR 356.9 million, with each adult having EUR 200 and each minor EUR 50 at their disposal to pay for accommodation and breakfast in hotels, self-catering units, camps, agritourism farms and other similar facilities.

Data from the Financial Administration show that 17.6% of the vouchers have been fully or partially redeemed so far, with 14% of the total amount available spent.

The coastal municipality of Piran stands out with EUR 9.9 million collected so far, while other coastal areas also benefited greatly - EUR 2.8 million worth of vouchers have been spent in Izola, EUR 1.7 million in Koper and EUR 1.6 million in Ankaran.

Major Alpine resorts have also been doing well. The figure for Kranska Gora is EUR 3.4 million, for Bohinj EUR 2.8 million and Bled EUR 1.7 million. Locations along the Soča river have been popular too, with Bovec for instance getting EUR 1.5 million through vouchers.

Spas have been doing well as well, in particular Moravske Toplice, which has secured EUR 2.7 million worth of payments through vouchers.

The figures are less encouraging for Ljubljana, with the capital recording EUR 397,000 worth of such payments, for Maribor (EUR 296,000), and Postojna with its caves (EUR 128,000).

The Slovenian Hospitality Chamber (TGZS) has highlighted this gap, while also pointing to the major decline seen at gaming destinations, some of which have seen only 10% of their capacities filled.

The vouchers have tilted the scales when it comes to the share of domestic and foreign guests in Slovenian tourism in favour of the former, which accounted for between 70% and 75% in July and August. The total figures are about a third below those seen last summer, the TGZS's Fedja Pobegajlo told the STA.

He noted that along with the discrepancies among individual municipalities, certain tourism sectors, such as agencies, transport companies, gaming companies, restaurants etc. have not benefited directly from the vouchers, as these cannot be used for their services.

According to the TGZS the amounts spent by guests on top of the vouchers have been below expectations, "while we are also surprised by the relatively low share of redeemed vouchers". Pobegajlo said the TGZS believes it would make sense to prolong the validity of the vouchers until next spring and adopted additional measures to help the sector.

More on Slovenia’s tourism vouchers

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Infectologist sceptical about Russian vaccine for Covid-19

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian infectologist Mateja Logar said not much was known about the vaccine for Covid-19 whose registration in Russia was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin today. There is no sufficient data on its mechanism and safety, so it is too early for euphoria, she told the press. She also said that only 6% of vaccines which had been in the clinical testing phase actually entered the market. "If we currently have ten good candidates, this means that perhaps one or none will get to the phase when it can be effectively and safely used." Slovenia will be purchasing the medications or a vaccine for Covid-19 as part of the EU, but the government has not yet decided how many dosages it will purchase in the first phase.

Kangler: Slovenia supports Croatia's Schengen zone entry

ILIRSKA BISTRICA - Slovenia supports Croatia's accession to the Schengen zone because this will help prevent illegal migration at the EU's external border, Interior Ministry State Secretary Franc Kangler said after meeting his Croatian counterpart Terezija Gras in Ilirska Bistrica, south-west. "I'm glad that both Slovenia and Croatia agree that Croatia's joining the Schengen zone is the next step towards enhanced control of the external border," Gras said. The pair's meeting focussed on cooperation in efforts to prevent illegal crossings of the border.

Slovenia applies for SURE support for EUR 1.1bn in stimulus measures

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia formally submitted its application for financial support as part of the European instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE). SURE will provide financial support in the form of low-interest loans to EU member states worth a total of EUR 100 billion. Slovenia would like to spent the money to provide support to furloughed workers, enable short-time work, basic income, state-covered social contributions for the self-employed and other groups.

17 new coronavirus cases, one death

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 17 new coronavirus infections from 1,058 tests on Monday and one more fatality, which brings the total case count to 2,272, including 171 active cases, and the overall death toll to 129, according to official data. Government spokesman Jelko Kacin said at least eight of the latest cases were imported, one from Bosnia-Herzegovina and seven from Croatia, where many Slovenians are on holiday. He described Slovenia's status with 7.99 infections per 100,000 people as very safe.

Fellow DeSUS minister backs MPs' call for Pivec's resignation

LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Tomaž Gantar, the head of the council of the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), supported the deputy group's decision to seek the resignation of party leader Aleksandra Pivec, who is also agriculture minister. He will call a council session to take a vote of no-confidence in Pivec, which will be held not later than on 25 August. DeSUS deputy group head Franc Jurša informed PM Janez Janša of the latest developments on Monday evening, and Janša said today the party should solve its problems on its own. The opposition LMŠ and the Left meanwhile joined the calls for Pivec's resignation as the party head and minister. They also see a vote of no-confidence in her as an alternative. Political analysts meanwhile think Pivec will probably have to go, noting Desus is in a tough spot.

President and Austrian MP see plebiscite anniversary as opportunity for minority

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and Austrian MP Olga Voglauer, a member of the Slovenian ethnic minority in Austria, shared the view that the upcoming 100th anniversary of a vote that determined the course of the border between present-day Austria and Slovenia is an opportunity to improve the position of the minority. Voglauer was received by Pahor in Ljubljana ahead of the centenary of the plebiscite in Carinthia, which was held on 10 October 1920 in the wake of the disintegration of Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Start of new football season postponed 10 days due to Covid-19 infections

BRDO PRI KRANJU - The Slovenian Football Association (NZS) decided to postpone the start of the new premier league season from 12 to 22 August as three more players tested positive for Sars-CoV-2 as part of obligatory testing on Monday. All three positive players come from Ljubljana's Olimpija, which became the third premiere league club with positive cases, after one each had been reported in previous weeks by Domžale and Aluminij. The NZS also decided that for now, all games under its auspices will be played without spectators.

Value of redeemed vouchers rises to EUR 50m

LJUBLJANA - Slovenians redeemed EUR 49,71 million worth of tourism vouchers between 19 June and 9 August, which is 14% of the amount made available under the government's stimulus scheme, in place until the end of the year. The coast, mountains and spas have been the primary beneficiaries, while cities are continuing to struggle. Data from the Financial Administration show the seaside municipality of Piran topping the list with EUR 9.9 million collected so far.

Mountain huts see drop in guests, albeit more Slovenians visiting this year

LJUBLJANA - The coronavirus pandemic has caused the number of visitors in mountain huts plummet by 25%, while some huts high in the mountains have seen their visitor numbers drop by as much as 50%, as significantly fewer foreigners are hiking in Slovenia this year. However, the number of Slovenians staying at the huts has increased. The Slovenian Alpine Association said huts accessible by car had actually seen their visitor numbers go up, as many Slovenians decided to redeem their tourism vouchers there.

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STA, 11 August 2020 - One person died and 17 new SARS-CoV-2 infections were confirmed in 1,058 tests in Slovenia on Monday according to the most recent data released by the government on Tuesday. 23 people were in hospital with two requiring intensive care.

With the total tally of cases reaching 2,272, there are currently 171 active cases of infection in Slovenia, while 129 have died in total, according to the national tracker covid-19.sledilnik.

Government speaker Jelko Kacin told the press on Tuesday that at least eight of the cases confirmed yesterday were imported from abroad, one from Bosnia-Herzegovina and seven of them from Croatia, where many Slovenians are on summer vacation.

As regards Croatia he said that the country's epidemiological situation was not particularly bad, especially not on the coast, where most of Slovenian holidaymakers are located.

The latest statistics on coronavirus and Slovenia, and the latest police news on red, green and yellow list countries

Kacin blamed youngsters who disregard social distancing measures at parties for continuous spreading of the virus in Slovenia, but also said that with 7.99 infections per 100,000 people Slovenia was "very safe" and that the situation was now much better than a fortnight ago when 24 new cases were confirmed on 29 July.

He moreover said that this second wave of the pandemic in Slovenia was milder than the first, giving hope that people returning from holidays will not worsen the situation.

Even so, he warned people going abroad to avoid crowds, wear face masks and be diligent about hand hygiene. They should also refrain from going to night clubs abroad.

With the school bound to start in three weeks, Kacin also called on parents to be careful about their family travels, urging them to avoid countries with poor epidemiological situation.

He said the government was hoping school would start normally, but was also preparing for the worst case scenario of remote schooling.

Kacin also talked about Slovenia's vaccine order plans, saying that "initial numbers were some 200,000 doses in the first phase", adding that Slovenia is yet to decide which of the vaccines it should buy.

He said that the most vulnerable groups, including the elderly, elderly home residents, their staff, and health care workers, would have precedence.

Out of the 17 cases confirmed yesterday, seven were in Ljubljana, while none were confirmed in Hrastnik, where a local elderly care home has been a hotspot of infection for weeks. However, the one fatality recorded yesterday was a Hrastnik care home resident hospitalised in Maribor.

One case was also confirmed in Novo Mesto yesterday, after a nurse in the local elderly home tested positive last week. The care home said today that none of the residents cared for by the infected nurse had tested positive.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia

STA, 10 August 2020 - Three men from the Maribor area were arrested last week after blackmailing a man with recordings obtained illegally from his home security system, with the police advising the public to be cautious about the security settings of video systems in their homes. "You may find video footage from your home online pretty soon."

A week ago, the victim reported to the police that he had received a letter telling him that defamatory facts would be revealed unless he paid EUR 30,000, Maribor police spokesman Miran Šadl said.

A handover was agreed during which the police arrested a 21-year-old man. The investigators determined that he had been aided by a 22-year-old and a 24-year-old.

They did not acquire the footage from the video system directly but came across it online. The footage was acquired by a third party, who "posted it on a website with such content", the police said.

It warned video surveillance system owners to be cautious when installing such systems, above all they should set secure passwords.

Special caution is required for wireless cameras and systems connected to a network or such that upload footage to a cloud, with the police recommending that the latter be disabled for cameras in private homes.

The police said that the victim was not a public persona, nonetheless the video footage could have damaged his good name and reputation.

The threesome was apprehended and released after the prosecution said there was no grounds to hold them. They will, however, be charged with blackmail, which carries a prison sentence of between a year and seven years.

The 22-year-old was also found with banned sports performance enhancers and the M81 cannon cracker and may face a year to ten in prison for the former and between a year and five years for the latter.

STA, 10 August 2020 - Ex-Ambassador to the US Božo Cerar believes Thursday's visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Slovenia brings normalisation in Slovenia-US relations after they have been neglected for a decade. He hopes Slovenia will know how to use the visit so it contributes to the implementation of Slovenian and European interests.

"This is an important visit. Visits by US foreign ministers here are very rare. The last one took place more than two decades ago, while such visits should be business as usual, regular. After all we're talking about relations between two allies, between countries which share the same values," he said in an interview with the STA.

The Slovenian diplomat attributes the rare contacts at the highest level to a great degree of passivity in foreign affairs on the part of Slovenia and on the country's focus on Russia.

"We've had a rather absurd situation with the US for ten years, there has been practically no dialogue at political level. On the other hand, this has been a period when our high-profile representatives have been constantly in Moscow, openly flirting with authoritarian systems, such as the Russian or the Iranian one."

A turn seemed to be on the horizon when then Foreign Minister Miro Cerar finally visited the US in December 2018 and when US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry was in Slovenia in June 2019, when the country hosted a Three Seas Initiative summit, but this was again followed by a period of passivity, said the ambassador.

"Instead of using it to develop new forms of cooperation, everything went silent again. I hope this time round we will better use this visit," said Cerar.

He believes relations with the US must be nurtured regardless of who is in the White House, a Democrat or a Republican, even someone like Donald Trump. And also regardless of who heads the government in Ljubljana, a rightist or leftist party.

Cerar said it was primarily up to small countries to nurture relations with big ones. "If there is no initiative on our side, then it's very hard."

Still, he sees Pompeo's visit as a normalisation of Slovenian-US relations and a unique opportunity to examine bilateral relations in a number of areas, such as business and commerce.

The visit is "also a unique opportunity to discuss with the US global issues, not only the Western Balkans, which is a traditional topic, also important for the Americans because the Russians and Chinese are strengthening their influence in the region".

The focus of the visit will be on the signing of a Joint Declaration on 5G Security, which is directed against Chinese tech giant Huawei.

Although some see it as Slovenia joining a kind of a new "coalition of the willing" and getting unnecessarily involved in US-Chinese disputes, Cerar said this was not the case in his view.

He highlighted China's conduct in international trade, foremost its disregard for intellectual property, its industrial espionage activities and currency speculation.

"This is not just the US's problem. It's also a European problem. It's also in the interest of the EU for these things to get solved," said the diplomat.

"Safe communications are of course in the interest of the US, but they are also in our interest," he said, adding that neither Slovenia nor the EU could be indifferent to China's human rights record, its ignorance of international law in the South China Sea, the issue of Hong Kong, the rights of Uyghurs.

Cerar also thinks it is irrelevant from the aspect of the joint declaration on 5G that the US is nearing the presidential election, which Trump might not win.

"Do you think that the Democrats' policy on China and Russia is any different? Perhaps there will be a different approach. Perhaps Joe Biden will be more diplomatic. They will be seeking ever greater support from their allies. But the policy on China and Russia will not change."

From this aspect, Cerar believes that NATO's future will also be discussed as Pompeo meets Slovenia officials on Thursday.

"It is in our interest for the alliance to be active for a long time to come, and for the trans-Atlantic dialogue to be improved where it's wanting, this has to be admitted."

As a Central European and Mediterranean country located at an important geostrategic area and as a member of the EU and NATO, Slovenia could significantly contribute to the dialogue, believes Cerar, who sees its EU presidency next year as another opportunity giving it leverage and certain responsibility for trans-Atlantic relations.

All of our stories on Mike Pompeo and Slovenia

STA, 10 August 2020 - The supervisors of Slovenske Železnice have confirmed a revised business report for 2019, which shows the railways operator recorded a net profit of EUR 35 million, and appointed Aleksander Mervar the new chief supervisor.

Slovenske Železnice generated EUR 601 million in revenue in 2019, EBITDA amounted to EUR 87 million, EBIT to EUR 42 million and net profit to EUR 35 million, shows the updated report, discussed by the supervisors last Friday.   

Meanwhile, Mervar, the chairman of state-owned power utility Eles, was appointed chief supervisor by the nine-strong board, which started its term in September last year. The board had initially appointed Bojan Branko chief supervisor, but Branko passed away in June to be temporarily replaced by Aleksander Nagode.

The supervisory board also features Adam Vengušt, Igor Janez Zajec, Tanja Bolte, Silvo Berdajs, Zlatko Ratej and Jože Pavšek.

Slovenske Železnice moreover said on Monday that the group had adjusted its business plan for 2020 in the face of the coronacrisis.

The company, which will face around EUR 30 million in severance costs due to a planned reduction of its workforce from 7,200 to 6,200 by the end of the year, expects an operating profit of EUR 5.5 million.