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This summary is provided by the STA:

Govt report on PPE points finger at ex-PM, says ventilators had expert backing

LJUBLJANA - The government released a report on PPE purchases, saying all procurement was executed in line with protocol and amid difficult circumstances that were aggravated by the failure of former PM Marjan Šarec to react sooner. The report says all the ordered ventilators had expert backing. Announced by PM Janez Janša after the 24 April whistleblower accusations about heavy political meddling, the report provides insight into the stock of personal protective equipment before the epidemic and the current situation, stressing the PPE available on 16 March did not suffice for even a single day of the assessed needs at the time. The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), SocDems and the Left responded to the report by saying it did not provide insight into the developments but was primarily meant as a defence of the government.

Antibody study shows one in thirty Slovenians exposed to coronavirus

LJUBLJANA - A nationwide antibody study has found that one in thirty Slovenians has probably been exposed to the novel coronavirus. This means that about 2-4% of the population may have gained some sort of immunity to Covid-19, according to the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, which led the study. Miroslav Petrovec, the head of the institute, cautioned that this did not necessarily mean those people are immune to Covid-19, nor how durable their immunity may be. The almost 1,400 participants of the study will now be monitored every two weeks until the end of October, which will give public health authorities a clearer picture of the course of the epidemic.

Almost 11,000 jobs lost in Slovenia in April

LJUBLJANA - The coronavirus crisis is taking a heavy toll on Slovenia's job market with data from the Employment Service showing that 10,793 people were added to the unemployment register in April alone, pushing the total up by 19.9% year-on-year to 88,648. Since Slovenia declared coronavirus epidemic in mid-March, the number of people registered as unemployed rose by 13,622. The majority of layoffs were in the hospitality sector, manufacturing and retail.

Brussels projects 7% GDP drop for Slovenia this year, 6.7% recovery in 2021

LJUBLJANA - The European Commission projects that Slovenia's GDP will drop by 7% this year, while a 6.7% recovery is expected in 2021 on the back of stimulus measures. The forecast is nevertheless somewhat better than for the entire eurozone on average, which stands at -7.7% for this year and +6.3% for next year. The Commission said Slovenia had entered the coronavirus crisis in a relatively strong position, but supply disruptions and containment measures are expected to produce strong negative effects, especially in the first half of 2020.

Igor Lamberger new acting head of National Bureau of Investigation

LJUBLJANA - Acting Police Commissioner Anton Travner dismissed National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Darko Muženič, appointing Igor Lamberger as the NBI's acting head. Lamberger served as a deputy president of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption from mid-2014 to mid-2019 and had previously worked for the Criminal Police Department, heading its sector for white-collar crime between 2002 and 2005. Muženič led the NBI since June 2019 and was dismissed without his consent. The opposition Marjan Šarec List already called for a session of the parliamentary Home Affairs Committee to debate what it believes to be the last in a series of politically motivated staffing changes at the police and security agencies.

Janša says EU enlargement needs to continue without delays

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Prime Minister Janez Janša urged that the EU's enlargement process continue without any further delays despite the coronavrius epidemic as the EU held a virtual summit with the leaders of Western Balkan countries. The EU needs to stay active in the region despite all the challenges, the PM's office wrote. While the summit saw EU leaders reiterate support for an EU future for the countries in the region despite continuing doubts about the EU's true commitment to enlargement, Janša stressed the socio-economic development of the Western Balkans and its EU integration were of crucial importance for the whole of Europe.

One more Covid-19 death, three new infections reported

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's official coronavirus case count has risen to 1,448 and the death toll to 99 as three more people tested positive and one patient died on Tuesday, fresh government data show. The three new cases come from 1,449 tests conducted yesterday, which is slightly more than the day before.

Athletes allowed to train, competitions in individual sports to resume

LJUBLJANA - The government gave registered athletes the green light to start practising in outdoor facilities and to resume competitions in individual sports up to and including the national level, albeit without spectators. It will be possible to stage sports competitions up to and including the national level, but only in individual sports which have a registered official competition system under the relevant law. Athletes will have to observe social distancing rules and will mostly be limited to individual training. The Olympic Committee of Slovenia (OKS) welcomed the partial easing of restrictions.

Public transport to be relaunched on Monday

LJUBLJANA - Public transport in Slovenia will be relaunched on Monday, 11 May, after being suspended because of the coronavirus epidemic on 16 March, the Infrastructure Ministry said. Details regarding the safety measures that will apply are yet to be agreed on and should be presented to the public by the end of the week.

Supreme Court reverses defamation ruling against Janša

LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court has quashed a ruling that ordered the incumbent prime minister, Janez Janša, to pay EUR 6,000 in damages to a journalist for calling her a "washed-up prostitute" in a tweet. The journalist has announced she will take her case to the Constitutional Court.

NGOs challenge first anti-coronavirus mega law at top court

LJUBLJANA - Three NGOs announced they had asked the Constitutional Court to examine tighter standards for NGOs to participate in procedures in which building permits are issued, which were introduced with the changes to the first fiscal stimulus package the government adopted to help businesses and households cope with the Covid-19 epidemic. The Focus Association for Sustainable Development, the Slovenian Native Fish Society, and Lutra - the Institute for Conservation of Natural Heritage want the court to put a temporary injunction on several segments of the law on emergency measures to contain the epidemic and mitigate its consequences.

Management of state forest company replaced

LJUBLJANA - The supervisory board of the SiDG state forestry company dismissed director general Zlatko Ficko and appointed chief supervisor Samo Mihelin in his place until a new management with full powers is appointed, but not longer than one year. Leaving the management of the operator of state-owned forests along with Ficko is Darja Derganc, the director for finance, accounting and controlling.

Fraport Slovenija posts EUR 2.4 million operating loss in Q1

BRNIK - Fraport Slovenija, the company operating Ljubljana airport, posted an operating loss of EUR 2.4 million in the first quarter of the year as its parent company Fraport reported its first quarterly loss since getting listed on the stock market in 2001 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Fraport Slovenija generated EUR 6.9 million in revenue in the first quarter, 32% less than in the same period a year ago.

Car sales in Slovenia down 71% in April

LJUBLJANA - Car dealerships have been hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown. Sales of new cars and vans plunged by 71% year-on-year in April and 39% in the first four months compared to the same period last year, show the latest Chamber of Commerce figures. Just 2,140 new cars and vans were sold in April, and 16,354 vehicles in the first four months of the year.

Economic zone mooted as Italian ambassador visits border region

NOVA GORICA - Italian Ambassador to Slovenia Carlo Campanile visited the border city of Nova Gorica to discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and tourism in the cross-border region with one of the solutions suggested for a way out of the crisis being an economic zone. Such a zone would be especially important for the region spanning Nova Gorica, Gorizia and Šempeter-Vrtojba, the three border municipalities that have founded the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation.

First Slovenian satellites expectedly to be launched in June

MARIBOR - After the launch of Slovenia's first satellites, Trisat and Nemo HD, was postponed several times, most recently because of coronavirus, the project head, Iztok Kramberger of the Maribor Faculty Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, announced on Wednesday the satellites were expected to take flight between 8 and 15 June, as the launch site in French Guyana is to reopen.

Spa resorts gradually reopening, most for rehab services

ZREČE/LAŠKO/OTOČEC - Almost two months after being forced to shut down due to the coronavirus epidemic, spa resorts across Slovenia are tentatively reopening for business. Several have resumed medical rehabilitation services, and some also resumed wellness services and reopened bar terraces. Terme Krka, the spa company of the drug maker Krka, also reopened its tennis courts and golf course at Otočec near the Croatian border. Tourism company Sava Turizem, which runs a number of hotels and spa resorts in the lakeside town Bled, on the coast and in the north-east of the country, will wait a bit longer before reopening.

Doctor Radan's acquittal upheld by higher court

LJUBLJANA - The Higher Court in Ljubljana has rejected the prosecution's appeal against the acquittal of doctor Ivan Radan, thus upholding the 2018 ruling of the first-instance court. Radan's acquittal in the high-profile trial is now final, the newspaper Delo reported. Radan was tried for the alleged manslaughter of four terminally ill patients, unlawful recording of patients and abuse of office in prescribing drugs.

If you're learning Slovenian then you can find all our dual texts here

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 Aleksander Sandi. You can see more of their work here.

Contents

One more Covid-19 death, three new infections reported

Antibody study shows one in thirty Slovenians exposed to coronavirus

Public transport to be relaunched on Monday

Spa resorts gradually reopening, most for rehab services

One more Covid-19 death, three new infections reported

STA, 6 May 2020 - Slovenia's official coronavirus case count has risen to 1,448 and the death toll to 99 as three more people tested positive and one patient died on Tuesday, fresh government data show.

The three new cases come from 1,449 tests conducted yesterday, which is slightly more than the day before.

Three more patients were discharged from hospitals on Tuesday, which leaves only 53 hospital patients with Covid-19. Of them, 14 needed intensive care treatment, three fewer than the day before.

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Antibody study shows one in thirty Slovenians exposed to coronavirus

STA, 6 May 2020 - A nationwide antibody study has found that one in thirty Slovenians has probably been exposed to the novel coronavirus. This means that about 2-4% of the population may have gained some sort of immunity to Covid-19, show the results of the study released on Wednesday.

Among 1,368 persons tested, 41 or 3.1% had antibodies in their blood samples and two tested positive for Covid-19, according to Mario Poljak, a researcher at the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, which led the study.

Given that the sample was representative of the entire population, researchers can say with 95% certainty that 2-4% of the population had had an immune response to Covid-19.

But Miroslav Petrovec, the head of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, cautioned that this did not necessarily mean those people are immune to Covid-19, nor how durable their immunity may be.

A back-of-the-envelope calculation based on the figures would appear to indicate that the Covid-19 death rate is low, around the same as for the seasonal influenza, but the authors of the study warned that this cannot be concluded from the study.

As Petrovec noted, the study was designed to gauge the population's immune response, not to measure the death rate. As such, it can only provide answers to questions that it set out to answer.

Poljak noted that the implicit death rate in Slovenia is around the same level as in comparable European countries, but he said benchmarking was made difficult by differences in how individual countries record causes of death.

While similar studies have been conducted in other countries, Poljak said this was the first study in the world to measure the immunity of a representative sample of the population and the first to test for both Covid-19 (with nasal swabs) and immune response (blood sample).

What is more, the participants will be remotely monitored every two weeks for six months and tested again at the end of October, which will give public health authorities crucial data before a possible second wave of the epidemic.

Some countries, including France and the US, have discovered based on a re-examination of old swab samples that they had had coronavirus cases significantly before the first cases were confirmed.

Asked whether that may be the case in Slovenia, Poljak said that this was indeed possible. The institute stores samples for a long time and could theoretically go back and re-test some of the samples.

The researchers warned, however, that such a study would not be representative since samples are usually taken only from patients with particularly severe forms of a disease.

Slovenia's official coronavirus case count rose by three to 1,448 by Tuesday and 99 deaths were reported.

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Public transport to be relaunched on Monday

STA, 6 May 2020 - Public transport in Slovenia will be relaunched on Monday, 11 May, after being suspended because of the coronavirus epidemic on 16 March, the Infrastructure Ministry said on Wednesday. Details regarding the safety measures that will apply are yet to be agreed on and should be presented to the public by the end of the week.

Public passenger transport was temporarily suspended by the government in mid-March in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus. Subsequently, municipalities enabled free parking on public parking lots until this week.

The government had earlier indicated that public transport could be restarted on 11 May, and the ministry confirmed this today.

But it said it was still in talks with public transport providers on the safety measures that will need to be taken. The ministry expects them to be finalised soon and presented to the public by the end of the week.

National railway operator Slovenske Železince is also preparing to relaunch passenger transport and is expected to present the new regime for train travel on Friday.

As soon as the virus was detected in Slovenia, public transport providers introduced restrictions. Bus companies for example allowed passengers to get on the bus only at the rear door.

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Spa resorts gradually reopening, most for rehab services

STA, 6 May 2020 - Almost two months after being forced to shut down due to the coronavirus epidemic, spa resorts across Slovenia are tentatively reopening for business. Several have resumed medical rehabilitation services, and some also resumed wellness services and reopened bar terraces.

The Terme Zreče spa at the foot of the Pohorje hills in the north-east of the country resumed out-patient physiotherapy services on Wednesday, as some other specialist surgeries are gradually reopening as well.

"Partial resumption of health services is a major challenge, with days and weeks ahead that will be out of the ordinary both in terms of ensuring safe handling of patients and in terms of revenue and streamlining," said Unitur, the company running the spa.

The terraces of cafes and restaurants at Terme Zreče and the Rogla ski resort remain closed for the time being. Depending on the weather, they are planning to reopen them in the second half of May.

Zdravilišče Laško, the spa south of Celje, is providing urgent rehabilitation services as a continuation of hospital treatment for neurological, neurosurgical and trauma patients.

From tomorrow they will also resume outpatient physiotherapy services, initially only for patients on priority referrals whose rehab was interrupted by the epidemic in March. "It's mostly patients referred to us after injuries and surgeries," spa operator Thermana has told the STA.

"Our team, which includes an external infectious disease expert and our safety-at-work official, is making sure that all the requirements and recommendations of the National Institute of Public Health are being followed carefully."

The cafe terrace of Thermana Park hotel will welcome guests back on Friday and the spa's wellness centre resumed its operations on Tuesday, albeit on an adjusted schedule.

Terme Krka, the spa company of the drug maker Krka, suspended all services in mid-March with the exception of nursing care at the Šmarješke Toplice spa in the south-east of the country.

They started resuming specialist and physiotherapy treatment at Šmarješke Toplice in the east and Talaso Strunjan at the seaside on 20 April, and a week later at the spa Dolenjske Toplice, which had been under renovation.

The spa operator also reopened its tennis courts and golf course at Otočec near the Croatian border. "Our first golfers were impressed by the course following major maintenance work ahead of the season," said Terme Krka.

The company's three wellness centres have reopened this week for certain beauty services such as nail and face care and hairdressing services and massage. So have outdoor bars and restaurants. "All other services will be resumed when the authorities in charge issue suitable guidance and permits."

Tourism company Sava Turizem, which runs a number of hotels and spa resorts in the lakeside town Bled, on the coast and in the north-east of the country, will wait a bit longer before reopening. It expects to resume outpatient medical services in the second half of May, while Kavarna Park cafe in Bled will open on Saturday.

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Contents:

Almost 11,000 jobs lost in Slovenia in April

Slovenia's annual retail sales down 15% in March

Brussels projects 7% GDP drop for Slovenia this year, 6.7% recovery in 2021

Almost 11,000 jobs lost in Slovenia in April

STA, 6 May 2020 - The coronavirus crisis is taking a heavy toll on Slovenia's job market with data from the Employment Service showing that 10,793 people were added to the unemployment register in April alone, pushing the total up by 19.9% year-on-year to 88,648.

Since Slovenia declared coronavirus epidemic in mid-March, the number of people registered as unemployed rose by 13,622.

In April alone, the unemployed total rose by 13.9% over March, as 14,419 people were put out of work, 84% more than the month before and over 190% more than in the same month a year ago.

Apart from 6,209 who saw their fixed-term job contracts expire (more than double the month before), 5,616 were made redundant in April, a surge of 130% compared with March and almost 750% more year-on-year. Most of those were employed in the hospitality sector, followed by manufacturing and retail.

A further 481 of those who were added to the unemployment register were first-time job seekers (up 12% from March) and 164 lost jobs as their companies went bankrupt (up 61%).

Out of 3,626 who were removed from the unemployment register, 2,373 found a job or became self-employed. That is 61% fewer than in March and almost 60% fewer than in April 2019.

The most pronounced increase in unemployment was registered by the Kranj unit of the Employment Service, at more than 22% month-on-month and over 37% year-on-year.

Employers reported 4,336 vacancies in April, 41% fewer than in March and 60% fewer than the same month a year ago. Most job openings were for welders, builders and lorry drivers.

The last available data for the registered unemployment rate are for February, that is before the epidemic, standing at 7.9%, down 0.3 of percentage points from January and down half a point compared with February 2019.

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Slovenia's annual retail sales down 15% in March

STA, 6 May 2020 - The EU's retail sector was severely affected by Covid-19 lockdown measures in March at monthly and annual levels, Eurostat latest figures show. Slovenia's posted an annual drop of 15.1%, the second steepest fall in the entire EU, behind France (-16%). This compares to the EU's average drop of 8.2% and the eurozone's 9.2%.

Hungary's retail sector meanwhile posted the highest annual rise, that of 3.5%, followed by Romania at 3.1%.

At the monthly level, the eurozone's retail sector saw its sales drop by 11.2%, while the drop at the EU level was slightly less pronounced, at 10.4%.

The drop in Slovenia was above average, at 13.5%.

Sales of non-food items and fuels posted the steepest drops; non-food items were down 23.1% in the eurozone and 20.8% in the EU, and fuels 21.3% and 19.3%, respectively.

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Brussels projects 7% GDP drop for Slovenia this year, 6.7% recovery in 2021

STA, 6 May 2020 - In its first economic forecast following the imposition of measures in EU member states to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission has projected that Slovenia's gross domestic product (GDP) will drop by 7% this year compared to 2019, while a 6.7% recovery is expected in 2021.

This is a significant correction compared to the Commission's forecast in February, in which Slovenia was expected to record a 2.7% growth of GDP this and next year.

The spring forecast for 2020 and 2021 for Slovenia is nevertheless somewhat better than for the entire eurozone on average, which stands at -7.7% for this year and +6.3% for next year.

The European Commission notes that economic growth in Slovenia had already been slowing in the second half of 2019, when investment spending started to hit the brakes. "As a small open economy, Slovenia is particularly vulnerable to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic."

The forecast adds that the country's economy is projected to shrink significantly in 2020, but the stimulus package announced by the authorities is expected to partly cushion loss of jobs and household incomes and pave the way to a strong rebound in 2021.

"Public finances are expected to go into significant deficit in 2020, due to the loss of revenues and the sizeable measures to support the economy, and to improve in 2021 together with the recovering economy."

The Commission notes that Slovenia entered the coronavirus crisis in a relatively strong position, but supply disruptions and containment measures are expected to produce strong negative effects, especially in the first half of 2020.

The export of services, particularly transport and tourism, is expected to be exceptionally weak this year, and new investment decisions in the private sector are likely to be largely postponed towards 2021.

Slovenia's economic activity is meanwhile expected to grow by about 6.7% in 2021, but this means that GDP would not fully recover its 2019 level by the end of next year.

The government measures are expected to dampen the impact on the labour market, but nevertheless, the unemployment rate is expected to increase from last year's 4.5% to 7%. The rate is expected to decrease again to around 5% in 2021.

Annual inflation is projected to fall to 0.5% this year due to low energy prices and weak demand, before rising to 1.2% in 2021.

This year, the general government balance is forecast to deteriorate to a deficit of around 7.2% of GDP due to the projected decline in economic activity and the Covid-19 measures.

In 2021, under the assumption of no-policy-change and that the anti-epidemic measures will only have a temporary effect in 2020, the general government deficit is expected to decrease to around 2% of GDP.

Slovenia's debt-to-GDP ratio is forecast to increase significantly to around 83.7% of GDP in 2020, and to start declining again in 2021.

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STA, 6 May - The US news portal Vox has put Slovenia alongside Greece, Iceland, Jordan and Vietnam as overlooked success stories when it comes to fighting coronavirus outbreaks.

In an article published on Tuesday, Vox notes that with nearly 1,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and 100 deaths as of May 5, Slovenia's "relatively small outbreak is impressive, considering Slovenia is a growing tourist destination that borders Italy, one of Europe's outbreak epicenters."

"Its success mainly stems from an aggressive early lockdown, quarantines of sick people, and generous government spending."

Vox notes that it took Slovenia about two weeks after the first confirmed case to close schools and businesses and freeze public transportation.

The government gave EUR 3 billion - 6% of GDP - to citizens and businesses to survive the shutdown.

Quarantines helped keep confirmed cases low, Vox says, noting that borders were shut down and mandatory quarantine ordered for those entering the country.

Now, the situation has improved to the extent that businesses have already begun opening up again, and citizens can travel outside their municipalities, with schools to start on May 18. However, major public events like concerts and soccer games, will still be suspended.

"What Slovenia has shown, then, is that aggressive government action and intervention can help keep people from spreading the disease. Even by the government's own numbers, it could do more testing, but for now, the current measures appear to be working."

All out stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here

STA, 5 May 2020 - Airline Adria Airways creditors have reported a total of EUR 151 million in claims to the bankruptcy estate of the company, which has been in receivership since last October. However, the official receiver has admitted only EUR 87.7 million in claims, while he valued Adria's bankruptcy estate earlier this year at EUR 6 million.

Official receiver Janez Pustatičnik accepted secured and unsecured claims by legal and physical entities to the tune of EUR 72.6 million, shows a list of examined claims he published on the website of the Agency for Legal Records (AJPES).

Claims by former employees for unpaid wages - Adria had more than 500 workers - amount to EUR 15.1 million. The majority are priority claims.

Former CEO Holger Kowarsch has EUR 67,600 in claims and Sven Kukemelk, who ran Adria's flight school, EUR 47,700.

The highest claim - EUR 6.6 million - is that of the German airline Lufthansa and its Austrian subsidiary Austrian Airlines (EUR 3.1 million), both unsecured.

The US's Aerocentury has EUR 4 million in unsecured claims (but EUR 37.5 million was disputed) and Rolls-Royce Corporation EUR 2.1 million.

A right to separate settlement due to a lien has been recognised to the company 8900973 Canada Ltd (EUR 3.6 million), Bank of America Merrill Lynch (EUR 1.3 million) as well as to Ireland's EIC Aircraft Leasing (EUR 195,000) and Sasof III Aviation Ireland (EUR 106,000).

The two Irish companies also have EUR 4.3 million and EUR 1.6 million in unsecured claims, respectively.

Fraport Slovenija, the operator of Ljubljana airport, has a right to separate settlement for EUR 4.2 million and another EUR 255,000 in unsecured claims. Intesa Sanpaolo bank has meanwhile EUR 4.5 million in conditional claims.

There are also several airports that have had their claims admitted, the highest being EUR 1.7 million claimed by Tirana's airport.

Darwin Airlines, a Swiss regional air carrier bought by Adria after the latter was taken over by the German fund 4K Invest, has a claim of EUR 455,000.

The claim of Eurocontrol, the European organisation for the safety of air navigation, is EUR 2.1 million.

FURS, Slovenia's revenue service, has EUR 162,000 in priority claims and EUR 139,000 in unsecured claims.

The country's health and pension insurance funds, ZZZS and ZPIZ, have EUR 58,000 and EUR 367,000 in priority claims, respectively.

In February, Pustatičnik said Adria's bankruptcy estate was worth EUR 6.2 million, of which EUR 3.1 million stemmed from the title to its office building at Ljubljana airport.

The state sold Slovenia's flag carrier Adria Airways to the German turnaround fund 4K Invest in 2016 for EUR 100,000 after recapitalising it with EUR 3.1 million.

The new owner was unable to give it a fresh impetus, so Adria was grounded at the end of September 2019 after almost 60 years since its establishment, and filed for receivership.

Last March, the official receiver selected an auditor to audit Adria in order to examine the possibility of claiming damages from its former leadership. The police are meanwhile investigating abuse of office and fraud.

All our stories on Adria Airways are here

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Coalition and opposition bring rival bids for inquiry into medical supplies

LJUBLJANA - The four coalition parties filed for a parliamentary inquiry to look into the situation, handling, stock, orders and purchases of protective and critical medical equipment needed to battle Covid-19 between 1 February and 20 April. The opposition had been announcing it would seek such an inquiry for a while, but the coalition said that whilst they were willing to support the opposition in the move it simply took too long, while the matter should be looked into as soon as possible. The four centre-left opposition parties thus submitted a rival motion for an inquiry. In the meantime, the parliamentary Public Finance Oversight Commission spent six hours discussing the procurement before breaking off without taking any decisions.

Top expert says no rift in ventilator opinions

LJUBLJANA - Marko Noč, the head of the medical commission that evaluated offers for ventilators, came out in defence of a fellow commission member who came under fire after questioning the choice of a contentious ventilator type. However, Noč also argued there was no rift among experts on the issue. Noč said there were presently 430 appropriate ventilators in Slovenia and that 140 more were expected in the coming weeks after orders placed by hospitals and the state, which meant far more than the number of intensive care beds available in the country.

New coronavirus cases reported

LJUBLJANA - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by six to 1,445 on Monday after no new cases were recorded at the weekend. Of the 56 patients treated in hospitals yesterday, 17 were in intensive care and one person died of Covid-19, bringing the total of deaths to 98. The director of the National Institute of Public Health, Milan Krek, said the newly infected came from hotspots and not from general population, which he said was encouraging.

Slovenia not to compromise right to privacy for Covid-19 app

LJUBLJANA - After a video conference with his counterparts from the EU, Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik said Slovenia would not compromise the right to privacy for a mobile contact tracing app. Slovenia is among the countries in which the right to privacy is very restrictively defined, the only two countries more restrictive in this respect are Germany and Austria, Koritnik said, adding that Slovenia would not give up this standard for a contact tracing app. He backed a joint EU app.

Labour minister looks for silver linings amid Covid-19 crisis

BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU ministers in charge of social affairs discussed via videoconference national measures to tackle the coronavirus fallout. Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj agreed that the efforts should be boosted, adding that the crisis could be a stepping stone to a healthier balance between personal and professional lives. Cigler Kralj also called on the EU to include employment and social targets in its strategies, including those reviving the economy.

Retailers worried about dwindling sales

LJUBLJANA - The Covid-19 lockdown has resulted in the retail sector posting very worrying results, Chamber of Commerce (TZS) head Mariča Lah said. The sector as a whole could see a EUR 6-7 billion drop in sales this year, which represents over 20% of annual revenue. After an initial spike in sales in the early stages of the crisis, even groceries have posted a drop in overall sales during the lockdown, said Lah, estimating the decrease could exceed 15%.

Almost EUR 88m in claims admitted in Adria Airways bankruptcy

LJUBLJANA - The official receiver of Adria Airways admitted EUR 87.7 million in claims from creditors out of a total of EUR 151 million reported since the air carrier entered into receivership last October. The receiver, Janez Pustatičnik accepted secured and unsecured claims by legal entities and individuals to the tune of EUR 72.6 million, including EUR 15.1 million claimed by employees for unpaid wages. Few claims will be repaid, given that the bankruptcy estate is valued only at EUR 6 million.

Fraport seeks govt aid to complete passenger terminal in time

BRNIK - Airport operator Fraport Slovenija called on the government to help with keeping the company afloat and completing a new passenger terminal in time. The operator's revenue plummeted by as much as 85% year-on-year since the start of the coronavirus epidemic in mid-March. Air traffic has been severely restricted with only cargo or mail transport allowed, along with some special flights. The new terminal, valued at EUR 21 million, was to open before Slovenia takes the presidency of the Council of the EU in July 2021.

Event organisers urge aid and time frame for gathering ban

LJUBLJANA - With no events taking place since 7 March and none envisaged for an indefinite period, event organisers urged authorities to adopt aid measures and provide a basic time frame for the ban on public gatherings so that planning can start for 2021. The Association of Concert Organisers said the entire sector was in jeopardy because of the indefinite duration of the measures, which made it impossible to reschedule concerts. They also want financial assistance for staff.

DARS reports lower vignette sales, lorry tolling revenue

LJUBLJANA - As traffic on Slovenian motorways has only recently started to gradually go back to normal, the national motorway company DARS reported a drop in sales of toll stickers and revenue from cargo traffic as a result of the lockdown measures. DARS sold 1.86 million toll stickers between December and March, which is 6% less than in the same period a year earlier. The value of the toll stickers sold was down by EUR 1.83 million to EUR 96.95 million.

Kolektor CGP to build Croatia's most expensive road

RIJEKA, Croatia - A consortium comprising Slovenia's Kolektor CPG, Croatia's GP Krk and Bosnia's Euroasfalt won a tender to build a state road in the Croatian port city of Rijeka. The three-kilometre road running on a very complex terrain will be built for EUR 61 million. The consortium was the best bidder in the public tender published by Hrvatske Ceste, Croatia's company managing state roads. The D 403 will link the container terminal at the Rijeka port and west Rijeka with the city's ring road.

Courts start processing non-urgent cases

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian courts were allowed to start holding hearings, deliver rulings and serve writes in non-urgent cases, after most activities were suspended on 16 March. Deadlines will still not apply in non-urgent cases in which writs would be served. "For clients this means that they will be acquainted with the case but not obligated to take any steps unless they want to," the Supreme Court said.

Record numbers using e-book library amid lockdown

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian online library Biblos has seen record numbers of users during the coronavirus lockdown. Almost 100,000 e-books have been borrowed since the start of the epidemic, almost as much as the total amount of e-books accessed during the entire 2019. Following the declaration of the epidemic, up to 10,000 readers accessed the platform per day, with the average daily amount of e-books borrowed standing at 1,740.

If you're learning Slovenian then you can find all our dual texts here

Last summer there seemed to be real movement on the planned IKEA store in Ljubljana’s BTC City, but seasoned observers knew it wasn’t worth delaying the purchase of a bookshelf, sofa or lamp, that they should continue to source alternative meatballs and buy their own pencils and tape measures.

The first reports of the Swedish furniture giant setting up shop on the sunny side of the alps came in 2014, although Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković later claimed that talks began in 2005. The story then dragged on for years, with the opening always about 18 months away, after just this last bureaucratic hurdle was jumped.

There was thus no great excitement in June 2019 when it was reported that IKEA had finally obtained the permits needed to start construction, since the same story noted an ongoing dispute about an access road and that the store would open, as usual, in about 18 months.

But the long wait for affordable Swedish design in a big box setting – some 15 years according to Mayor Janković – will soon be over. As the following videos show, the building, façade and roof are now completed. The work is now focused on interior installations and external elements, including the distinctive IKEA navigation tower, and is being carried out under full corona conditions.

In summary, the place is 34,000m2, will offer 9,500 products and have 52 room settings, while the restaurant will serve both Swedish and Slovenian food – perhaps a klobasa? Plants will be on the roof along with solar panels that should provide most of the power the store needs, making Ljubljana’s IKEA one of the greenest in the world.

No word yet on the opening date, but sometime in the autumn seems certain, in just over 18 weeks.

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 Xenia Guzej. You can see more of her work here.

Contents

Number of confirmed coronavirus cases rises again

Interior minister promises gradual reopening of checkpoints on Italian border

Retailers worried about dwindling sales

Event organisers urge aid and time frame for gathering ban

Number of confirmed coronavirus cases rises again

STA, 5 May 2020- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by six to 1,445 on Monday after no new cases were recorded on Saturday and Sunday, when fewer testes were conducted. Yesterday, 1,338 people were tested. The number of hospitalised persons stood at 56.

A total of 17 patients were treated in intensive care yesterday and one person died of Covid-19. Three people were discharged from hospital, putting the number of those discharged so far at 244.

Four of the six new positive cases were recorded at the Ljutomer care home, where 57 people were tested yesterday. One resident recovered.

The director of the National Institute of Public Health, Milan Krek, said at today's press conference that the newly infected came from hotspots and not from general population, so the data on infections were encouraging.

He said this allowed for the gradual easing of restrictive measures that was under way but warned that if the situation deteriorated, restrictions would need to be reintroduced immediately.

"We must get used to living in a way that we don't spread infections ... If we follow instructions, the virus cannot spread among people and we can function normally," he said.

Krek said decisions on any further easing of restrictive measures would be made in about two weeks, when the effects of the current easing of restrictions will show.

He warned that the epidemic was not over yet and that the first wave of infections in an epidemic was typically followed by a second wave, which was expected in the autumn at the latest.

So far, 1,445 people tested positive for coronavirus in Slovenia, 637 men and 808 women. 98 people died of Covid-19.

A total of 57,474 tests have been conducted so far.

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Interior minister promises gradual reopening of checkpoints on Italian border

STA, 4 May 2020 - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs visited the communities along Slovenia's western border on Monday, announcing the reopening of two border check points with Italy and discussing the possibility of reopening several others.

In Nova Gorica, a town right on the border, he said that a check point in the city would reopen, and that another would reopen in Goriška Brda, the rural area north of Nova Gorica.

He indicated this would happen at the end of this week or early next week.

"The border with Italy, as we knew it before the epidemic, will not be the same for a long time. The new check point will have the same regime as the Vrtojba crossing," said Hojs, referring to one of the few border crossings with Italy that remained open during the epidemic and allowed entry only to healthy individuals.

The check point in Nova Gorica is to be controlled by police officers, while opening hours have not yet been defined, Hojs said, adding that the 6am to 11pm would be ideal.

He also expressed disappointment with the EU's response to the global pandemic and expressed hope that the EU would show greater solidarity "to mitigate economic consequences of this crisis".

Hojs also visited the town of Kobarid, where he discussed the potential opening of border check points in Robič and at Predel pass.

The reopening of crossings would simplify the lives of those who commute across the border and also might help the tourism season, Hojs hopes.

He also said that Prime Minister Janez Janša had held "certain talks" about border crossings opening with the President of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Massimilano Fedriga.

The minister's meeting with mayors from the region also discussed the relaxation of measures and their effect on the events the Soča Valley is famous for.

While the big annual festivals have been cancelled, organisers still hope to go through with smaller events in late summer. Hojs said that further relaxation of restrictions would depend on the number of Covid-19 infections two weeks after the May Day holidays.

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Retailers worried about dwindling sales

STA, 5 May 2020 - The Covid-19 lockdown has resulted in the retail sector posting very worrying results, Chamber of Commerce (TZS) head Mariča Lah said. The sector as a whole could see a EUR 6-7 billion drop in sales this year, which represents over 20% of annual revenue.

"This could have far-reaching consequences," Lah said at Tuesday's government coronavirus briefing.

After an initial spike in sales in the early stages of the crisis, even groceries have posted a drop in overall sales during the lockdown, said Lah, estimating the decrease could exceed 15%.

"This cannot be offset by the end of the year even if the situation completely normalises."

Closed for a month and a half, non-grocery shops, those selling home appliances, furniture and construction material, have posted an even bigger drop.

With EU 15 billion in annual revenue, these shops account for around half of the retail sector's annual revenue.

The retailers thus welcome Monday's partial reopening of non-grocery shops below 400m2, but would also like non-grocery shops within shopping centres to reopen soon.

Lah said the chamber would like the government to follow Austria's example, where such shops are already open, and to narrow the required two metre distance among shoppers to one metre.

She believes small shops in large shopping areas are discriminated against in comparison with the same type of shops in city centres.

Nevertheless, she deems it important to follow the safety rules "even if they sometimes seen odd".

Rents are also a major burden on shops, accounting for a large portion of their costs, so Lah criticised the government measures in this respect.

She said that shops renting space from the state or municipality are exempt from paying rent under the second coronavirus stimulus package, while the state had failed to step in to help a private legal entity renting from another private legal entity.

The TZS had proposed that in this case the state subsidise the rent in the amount relative to the drop in a shop's revenue, but the proposal had not been included in the law.

Lah thus hopes it will be included in the third package of measures the government will draft to help businesses cope with the problems stemming from the epidemic.

The chamber's head also commented on the shoppers' rather reserved approach to shopping as non-grocery shops reopened, noting that footfall had been lacklustre.

She believes shopping habits are bound to change in the long-run while Slovenian shoppers are proverbially quite cautious with money.

Lah believes their thriftiness will also depend on the pace of economic recovery after the coronavirus crisis.

During the epidemic Slovenian shoppers resorted massively to online shopping, which was below the EU average before the crisis.

Lah noted that revenue from online shopping in Slovenia is still relatively low, but added that in order to be successful, retailers should developed both brick-and-mortar and online shopping.

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Event organisers urge aid and time frame for gathering ban

STA, 5 May 2020 - With no events taking place since 7 March and none envisaged for an indefinite period, event organisers in Slovenia have urged authorities to adopt aid measures and provide a basic time frame for the ban on public gatherings so that planning can start for 2021.

The Association of Concert Organisers said that many countries had adopted measures to protect the music industry and in particular the organisers of concerts and other events.

Stressing that the survival of individuals and the sector as a whole is at stake, the Association of Concert Organisers said organisers had not been able to reschedule agreed events and were saddled with preparation costs of those that had to be cancelled.

With planning usually taking six to 12 months, they would like to see a time frame put on the gathering ban, so that preparations can get under way.

As for the aid measures, the association would like to be able to issue vouchers for cancelled events instead of refunds and have the state cover social contributions for the self-employed in the sector for the duration of the ban along with a basic monthly income of EUR 700.

The organisers would also like the state to cover the contributions of those staying on open-ended contracts during the ban as well as the unemployment benefit for those made temporarily redundant.

Another proposal involves a two-year rent freeze for venues owned by the state or municipalities and a 50% rent discount a period of 12 months after the ban on public events is lifted.

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STA, 4 May 2020 - Cement factory Salonit Anhovo restarted production on Monday after a two-week suspension, heeding strict preventive measures to contain the Covid-19 spread. Shoe maker Alpina also pressed ahead at full steam today to meet the delivery deadlines after partly relaunching manufacturing in early April. Alpina shops reopened as well.

Salonit Anhovo used the break, imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak, to carry out maintenance works. Necessary cement deliveries were not suspended during the past two weeks, the company, based in western Slovenia, has said.

The restrictions, which were introduced already in March, remain in place, laying down that the staff should wear protective gear and use hand sanitisers as well as maintain a physical distance. The company's crisis task force meanwhile makes sure that the measures are implemented and heeded.

"Construction sites in Italy are reopening; the Slovenian market recorded in April a 20% drop in realisation compared to the expected figures. The company believes that the demand for our cement will further increase on the domestic market since the construction sector is key for relaunching the economy," Salonit Anhovo chairman Julijan Fortunat has said.

Meanwhile, Alpina, famous for its winter sports footwear, has recorded a decrease in demand due to the coronavirus crisis as well as this year's mild winter.

The Žiri-based company's director Jernej Osterman told the STA that the demand for sports footgear plunged by 30-40% compared to last year. Sales of other shoe products have been virtually non-existent in the past month and a half due to shop closures.

In April, online sales surged only to bring in revenue that cannot even begin to compare to the company's average monthly figures, he said, adding that hiking shoes had been most popular since Slovenians had regained appreciation for walks amid the lockdown.

Alpina reopened 27 out of its 48 shops today, with roughly half of the shop personnel returning to work as well. Others remain on furlough.

Osterman does not expect an influx of shoppers, even though the shops have been closed for so long. Instead, he believes the crisis will have an impact on shopping habits by reducing consumption.

"Due to pessimism, the consequences for the economy could be even significantly bigger," he said, urging a more optimistic approach as well as purchasing domestic products and thus keeping Slovenia's economy afloat.

Alpina director also expressed hope that the expected third stimulus package would provide aid to companies in June and July as well, which would help further mitigate the economic fallout.

STA, 4 May 2020 - The Health Ministry has decided to rescind a EUR 8 million contract with company Geneplanet for the purchase of 220 ventilators Siriusmed R30. This was proposed by Geneplanet after the ventilators came under fire as being unsuitable for Covid-19 patients.

Geneplanet has already delivered 110 of these ventilators to the Commodity Reserves Agency. The ministry decided to keep 90 of them under the condition that additional equipment be delivered, which would make them suitable for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

Twenty ventilators, which are still at the Commodity Reserves Agency storage will be returned, while the rest, 110, will not be delivered, the ministry has told the STA.

The decision was sent by Health Ministry Tomaž Gantar to the head of the Commodity Reserves Agency Tomi Rumpf upon recommendation of a medical expert group headed by infectious diseases specialist Bojana Beović.

Geneplanet has said it wanted to rescind the contract so as to clear its name following allegation of favourable treatment in the procurement of the ventilators.

Moreover, internal medicine specialist Rihard Knafelj, a member of an expert group tasked with going over the bids to the state for ventilators has told the Tarča current affairs show of public broadcaster TV Slovenija that the expert group assessed the Siriusmed R30 ventilators as the least suitable of those they gave their go-ahead for.

Meanwhile, Tomislav Mirkovič, an UKC Ljubljana doctor, who used to head the hospital's intensive care unit, said at today's government coronavirus briefing that experts were fairly united in the view that the Siriusmed R30 is suitable for use on Covid-19 patients provided a compressor and an air humidifier with heated pipes are supplied additionally.

Geneplanet said today that all of the ventilators delivered to Slovenia already have a built-in compressor and that the company offered to upgrade them with a humidifier and double-heated pipes.

It reiterated that the ventilator is being used in a number of countries, had all the necessary certifications and had been tested in real life. "For most Covid-19 patients the current version of ventilators is appropriate," the company also said.

Geneplanet also said that all of the ventilators delivered had been tested and that many are already in use at hospitals in Ljubljana, Maribor, Celje, Murska Sobota, Ptuj, Nova Gorica, Trbovlje, Slovenj Gradec, Izola and Brežice.

The company underlined that it had acted lawfully, with due diligence and in line with business practices in bidding to deliver the ventilators.

Meanwhile, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek is facing a vote of no confidence following allegations of wrongdoing in the procurement of ventilators.

Ivan Gale, deputy director of the Commodity Reserves Agency, alleged in Tarča a week ago that Počivalšek had instructed the agency to pay a 100% prepayment to Geneplanet in this deal.

Gale also told the newsportal 24ur.com today that Prime Minister Janez Janša's spouse, Urška Bačovnik Janša, who is a medical doctor, has also interfered in the procurement of equipment.

Gale forwarded to the newsportal an email showing that Bačovnik Janša had forwarded to Počivalšek in an email the contact of Miran Blatnik, the husband of Celje Hospital infection ward head Janja Blatnik and the director of Xan-Max, with which the agency signed a EUR 9.8 million contract on 21 March.

Publicly accessible data show that the contract was later rescinded. Bačovnik Janša tweeted in response, saying she believed that thousands of other people did the same. "My conscience and my dedication to the medical profession dictated that I did what I did," she tweeted, adding that only those used to getting commissions can see such motivations in her actions.

All our stories on the PPE scandal are here