Contents

Govt points to ex regime in response to CoE criticism of pressure on media in Slovenia

SDS under fire following dispatch about communist origins of Slovenian media

MEPs defend freedom of press, disagree over communist media dispatch

Govt points to ex regime in response to CoE criticism of pressure on media in Slovenia

STA, 8 April 2020 - Responding to criticism coming from the Council of Europe (CoE) over pressure on the media in Slovenia, the government has argued the situation is a result of Slovenian media having "their origin in the former communist regime".

While the CoE has been highlighting pressure on media occurring under the new government and named the state as the "source of the threat", the government wrote that it welcomes that the CoE Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists is taking a stronger interest in the media situation in Slovenia.

It added that the CoE's attention should be drawn to the broader context of the media situation in the country, including historical facts in the development of the media market.

"The majority of the main media in Slovenia have their origins in the former communist regime, and even in the late 1990s the positions of editors-in-chief were held by the former members of the infamous security service UDBA," says the letter accessible on the website of the CoE Platform.

Sent to the CoE by Slovenia's Permanent Representation to the CoE on Tuesday, the letter also says that up until 2004 the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija had been run directly by "former communist structures".

The letter says that "more or less all attempts to create new media that would not be based on the legacy of of the totalitarian past have failed" because new media had not received money from advertising. One of the few media that survived was Catholic Radio Ognjišče, surviving above all because listeners supported it with their contributions.

The situation changed partly only in the period between 2004 and 2008, "when for the first time the parties originating in the former regime lost the authority for four years", the letter says of the period when Janez Janša was prime minister for the first time.

"During this period, the law governing the operations of RTV Slovenija also changed with a view to promoting greater plurality of the media space. As a result, in some media that in one way or another are financed by all citizens, individuals who were not connected with the former totalitarian party also took on leading roles."

However, already in 2008, when the Borut Pahor government took over, there was "tremendous persecution of all editors and journalists who were not part of the former regime's network," the letter says, referring to editor dismissals at the STA and RTV Slovenija, and saying that similar actions had been taken in some private media.

The letter also says that media in Slovenia had during this time undergone ownership consolidation. "With the consent of left governments, the majority of the main media have been sold to individuals who are known to the general as Slovenian tycoons, many were also members of Forum 21," an outfit established by former President Milan Kučan.

"Journalists themselves also contributed to their increasingly poorer public image. Jumps from journalism to politics are, unfortunately, too common for the public to fully trust the integrity of journalists," the letter says, naming here MEPs Tanja Fajon and Irena Joveva.

"There are not isolated cases of political rewards for journalists who appeared in public as the greatest fighters among journalists against parties that did not arise from the network of the former regime," the letter says, naming Rok Praprotnik and Dejan Karba.

The government expresses satisfaction in the letter that Slovenia had finally become the subject of international interest in terms of freedom of the press and the general state of the media in the country, saying that "warnings of the unbearable situation of the Slovenian national broadcaster should also be taken seriously".

It says that initiatives for a more rational spending of public funds are being misinterpreted. "While many media companies are struggling to survive... RTV Slovenija has hired an additional 400 people in the last 10 years alone, bringing the total number of the institution's employees to approximately 2,300."

The letter was sent to the CoE, after the latter issued an alert in response to Janša's tweet on 20 March. Janša tweeted "Don't spread lies, @InfoTVSLO. We pay you to keep us informed in these times, not to mislead the public. Apparently there are too many of you and you are paid to well."

Janša tweeted this after TV Slovenija aired an interview with a trade unionist who criticised the government's decision to raise the salaries of ministers and state secretaries.

Janša's tweet was criticised also by the Journalists' Association (DNS), the Journalists' Trade Union and the leadership of RTV Slovenija. The union and the DNS interpreted the tweet as a threat to RTV Slovenija employees about possible loss of employment or other repressive measures that may befall them unless they report in a way that suits the government.

This was the second alert by the CoE Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists issued to Slovenia in the past two weeks. On 27 March, the Platform said that investigative journalist Blaž Zgaga had received death threats from far right groups.

In response to that alert, the government said it "strongly rejects and condemns the case of alleged harassment... At the moment, we have no conclusive evidence as to how this event came about."

Zgaga was also mentioned in the letter sent to the CoE on 7 April, which said that his credibility was destroyed when claims of Janša's involvement in the Patria defence scandal were proven false.

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SDS under fire following dispatch about communist origins of Slovenian media

STA, 9 April 2020 - The senior coalition Democratic Party (SDS) has been criticised, not only by journalists and the opposition, but also by its coalition partners, after an official government dispatch to the Council of Europe's Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists claimed that all the main media stemmed from the communist regime.

The dispatch was a response to an alert issued by the Platform after Prime Minister Janez Janša tweeted in late March that the public broadcaster RTV Slovenia was misleading the public, adding "apparently there are too many of you and you are paid too well".

The Journalists' Association (DNS) said that the dispatch was far from reality of Slovenia's media market, that the writing reflected the ideological position of the the SDS and was undermining Slovenia's reputation abroad.

For 30 years, Slovenia has been a democracy with a media market, which has seen various anomalies, but is nonetheless operating in a relatively normal framework, the DNS said on Thursday.

Editorial policies, as well as ownership, vary from one media outlet to the next, so to claim that all are guided by an ideological war against the SDS is "peek paranoia", which has been evident in the existing attitude of the SDS and the incumbent government toward the media and journalists, the DNS said.

The association underlined that Slovenian journalists are performing their job in line with professional and ethical standards, and on par with their colleagues in other western democracies.

"In fact, the only instances of aberration are seen in media directly or indirectly linked to the SDS, which have received substantial funding from Hungarian companies. These have been conducting degrading campaigns against anybody who does not agree with SDS politics, they have manipulated facts and spread intolerance toward anybody who is different or thinks differently," the DNS said.

It added that the government failed to understand that freedom of the press is guaranteed by law in Slovenia, that public media are not state media and that the state, albeit the founder of public media, does not have the right to play editor.

Meanwhile, the director of RTV Slovenija Igor Kadunc repeated his reaction to the initial tweet in a statement for Radio Slovenija that RTV Slovenia was operating economically.

Bojan Veselinovič, the director of the STA, also a public media outlet, meanwhile denied allegations levelled against him in the dispatch, which explicitly mentions Veselinovič firing editor-in-chief Borut Meško, who later died due to severe illness.

Coalition partners Modern Centre Party (SMC), New Slovenia (NSi) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) have distanced themselves from the letter, all of them saying that they had not been informed about the contents of the dispatch. The parties also said that they would demand to learn who authored the dispatch, sent to the CoE on 7 April.

The SMC said in its response to the STA that it only learnt about the letter from the media and that its position was clear: "any attack and pressure on the media is unacceptable."

The NSi as well said it had not been informed about the dispatch and would demand explanations "within the coalition", including about who wrote the dispatch. Similar sentiment was echoed also by DeSUS.

The opposition was also critical, with the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), the Social Democrats (SD), the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) and the Left calling for an emergency session of the parliamentary culture and foreign affairs committees to demand explanations from Foreign Minister Anže Logar.

The opposition parties believe the dispatch amounts to abuse of power for political purposes and an action that undermines the country's international renown.

The Left called on Logar to resign, while LMŠ MP Nik Prebil said in a statement that no government minister, least of all the foreign minister, must allow that such documents "bear a personal or party connotation".

Meanwhile, Matjaž Nemec, an MP for the SD and the chair of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said he expected Logar to explain to the committee why the dispatch could be interpreted as reinforcement of a political agenda through diplomatic networks.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry denied having drafted the dispatch. Instead, government Communications Office (UKOM) head Uroš Urbanija, told the newspaper Delo that his office had written the letter and that neither Logar nor Janša were aware of its contents.

Urbanija, a former home desk editor at the STA, former editor at RTV Slovenija, as well as Nova24TV, told the paper that the letter had been sent in a clear procedure of UKOM receiving a question from the press and responding to it without any special notification to government officials.

The ministry, while denying having written the letter, said it forwarded the explanation to the CoE in line with established diplomatic practice.

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MEPs defend freedom of press, disagree over communist media dispatch

STA, 9 April 2020 - Slovenian MEPs have expressed support for freedom of the press after an official dispatch was sent to the Council of Europe (CoE) saying that all the main Slovenian media had their origins in the Communist regime. But while MEPs from right-leaning parties expressed support for the dispatch, others labelled the writing as politically motivated.

Sent to the CoE's Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists on 7 April, the dispatch was a response to an alert issued by the Platform after Prime Minister Janez Janša tweeted in late March that the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija was misleading the public, adding "apparently there are too many of you and you are paid too well".

MEPs Milan Zver and Romana Tomc, both members of the senior coalition Democratic Party (SDS) and the European People's Party (EPP) group, expressed belief that Slovenian media had not yet reached EU standards.

"Slovenian media space has been occupied above all by monochrome dominant media outlets which have been in the hands of the old (neo)Communist nomenclature since the beginning," Zver said in a statement for the STA.

"Unfortunately, political pluralism was not followed by media pluralism, one of the pillars of modern democracies," he added.

The dispatch "describes the actual state of affairs of so-called independent journalism and the so-called independent media in Slovenia," Tomc said, adding that the media space in Slovenia is completely "unbalanced".

"Therefore it would be very beneficial if relevant international institutions started more comprehensively dealing with this problem, to which we have been drawing attention for a long time," Tomc added.

Franc Bogovič of the People's Party (SLS), also a member of the EPP, said he wanted to see substantial discussions about social responsibility of the media, as well as plurality and autonomy of Slovenian media.

"Political ideas and individuals on the centre-left political spectrum get a lot more room" in the media, he said, adding that the three biggest daily newspapers are owned by persons from a certain "economic-political-media circle" which is trying to interfere with the state.

Ljudmila Novak of the New Slovenia (NSi), also a member of the EPP group, said that constructive criticism can only be of help to the authorities. She believes that Communist heritage and the influence of left-leaning political parties can still be felt in some media outlets.

"Some political parties, their leadership and membership originate in the former Communist regime. Therefore this can be felt also in some media. Unfortunately, the media under the patronage of some political parties or in their ownership are the least democratic of all."

Meanwhile, MEPs from the ranks of the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Klemen Grošelj and Irena Joveva, a former journalist for the STA and commercial broadcaster POP TV, said that the dispatch amounted to politically-motivated abuse of state institutions to promote party agenda.

Social Democrat (SD) MEPs Milan Brglez and Tanja Fajon, were also critical. Fajon, also a former journalist who worked for TV Slovenija, said the dispatch was politically-motivated and disgraceful.

She said the dispatch failed to mention contentious funding from Hungary of media close to the SDS, as well as threats by Janša and his supporters to individual journalists.

Brglez meanwhile regretted that Foreign Minister Anže Logar put the interests of his party before the interests of the state. The Foreign Ministry meanwhile denied having drafted the dispatch, while the head of the government Communication Office Uroš Urbanija said the dispatch had been written by his office and that to his knowledge neither Logar nor Janša had been aware of its contents.

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STA, 9 April 2020 - In the new reality of closed borders Slovenia like most others countries is struggling to secure what are often foreign seasonal workers in agriculture. The hop trellis construction is currently the most pressing issue and it looks like it will be resolved with two large organised transfers of Romanian workers.

According to the head of the Association of Slovenian Hop Growers Janez Oset, five buses carrying 193 Romanian workers will be brought in presumably on Saturday.

Oset, who told the STA in March that the growers needed between 800 and 1,000 seasonal workers in the spring but that only 250 of what are usually Romanian workers had arrived by then, explained the association had managed to secure a permit for the transport of the workers across Hungary.

He said face masks had been provided for all of them, while the workers also need to have special Romanian agro health insurance for a 45-day period so eventual treatment costs are covered. All will moreover need to provide a certificate they are not SARS-CoV-2 carriers.

In line with instructions from the Health Ministry, compulsory 14-day quarantine for those entering the country also applies for seasonal workers, but Oset said this was not feasible given the work needed to proceed immediately.

He is instead in favour of a quarantine regime that would involve accommodation organised by the hop growers, who would need to take the workers' temperature on a daily basis and isolate any symptomatic individuals.

"It is high time the workers from Romania, who have been working at hop farms in Slovenia for years, came and help," Oset said, arguing any additional delays would lead to the harvest being lost.

Oset, who expects another group from Romanian workers in about 10 days, said he had written to Prime Minister Janez Janša and Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec about the situation. He noted Germany had flown in 80,000 workers from Romania to assist its hop growers.

The Agriculture Ministry has meanwhile said that it has become actively involved in addressing worker shortages in the sector. The ministry said it established communication with student job services and the Employment Service.

The ministry is also coordinating with other government departments so as to enable other people to help out in agriculture if they wish to do so, with the ministry counting on pensioners, those temporarily laid-off and students.

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This summary is provided by the STA:

PM's tweets put Slovenia's future financial support to WHO in question

LJUBLJANA - The government's coronavirus spokesperson Jelko Kacin rejected interpretations Slovenia had already decided to freeze membership payments to the World Health Organisation (WHO) given that PM Janez Janša said everybody would need to follow the example of the US in taking this step. Asked to comment on a series of tweets by Janša targeting the WHO, including Wednesday's "We all have to do it" in response to US President Donald Trump's announcement the US was going to put on hold funding to the WHO, Kacin said Slovenia was yet to decide on this.

PM says substantial easing of lockdown only after key conditions met

LJUBLJANA - Elaborating on the timeline of the announced easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, PM Janez Janša said a number of conditions would need to be met before any substantial softening was possible. One of those was the transmission rate falling bellow one. Moreover, the healthcare system must not be under excessive pressure, sufficient testing capacities need to be secured and working instruments need to be in place for the transitional period, plus options to monitor the infected.

Coronavirus death toll climbs to 43, confirmed cases reach 1,124

LJUBLJANA - The coronavirus death toll in Slovenia has reached 43 as three people died on Wednesday. The number of confirmed infections rose by 33 to 1,124. Hospital data indicates the situation is stabilising, with hospitalisations and intensive care cases flat. A total of 108 persons were in hospital yesterday, of whom 34 in intensive care. So far 128 persons have been discharged from hospital, eight of them yesterday, government spokesmen Jelko Kacin said.

SDS under fire following dispatch about communist origins of Slovenian media

LJUBLJANA - The senior coalition Democratic Party (SDS) came under fire from journalists, the opposition as well as its coalition partners after an official government dispatch to the Council of Europe's Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists claimed that all the main media stemmed from the communist regime. The dispatch was a response to an alert issued by the Platform after PM Janez Janša tweeted in late March that the public broadcaster RTV Slovenia was misleading the public, adding "apparently there are too many of you and you are paid too well".

PM discusses anti-Covid-19 measures with Fedriga

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša exchanged information on the current coronavirus situation with Friuli Venezia Giulia President Massimiliano Fedriga via videoconference. The pair discussed measures imposed in Slovenia and the Italian region to contain the Covid-19 spread, and vowed to cooperate and exchange relevant experience. The government said that the region bordering Slovenia had been more effective in tackling the epidemic than other northern-Italian regions, which played an important role for Slovenian western and coastal regions.

MEPs urging Slovenia to welcome refugee children

LJUBLJANA - Five Slovenian MEPs called on the government to join EU countries taking in unaccompanied refugee children stranded on Greek islands. In call initiated by Tanja Fajon (S&D/SD) and joined by Milan Brglez (S&D/SD), Klemen Grošelj, Irena Joveva (both Renew/LMŠ), and Ljudmila Novak (EPP/NSi) noted that on 9 March EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on member states to assist 1,600 unaccompanied Syrian children. A number of EU countries have lent a hand, but not Slovenia.

More than 4900 net jobs lost in April, show early data

LJUBLJANA - The coronavirus pandemic and measures to contain infections have hammered the Slovenian labour market hard with unofficial data from the country's Employment Service showing the registered unemployment total rising by 4,922 in the first eight days of April to 82,777. Between 1 and 8 April, 6,093 people lost their jobs. Meanwhile, 1,169 people were removed from the unemployment registry, of whom 817 found jobs.

Slovenia requests international aid over protective equipment transport

LJUBLJANA - The government asked for international assistance in securing transport for protective equipment and other supplies to ensure there is enough equipment to battle the coronavirus epidemic. The Defence Ministry said the request would be made via NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre. Between 16 March and 8 April, the Agency for Commodity Reserves submitted 55 orders for protective equipment and other medical supplies worth EUR 181 million without VAT. Suppliers have so far delivered on 15 contracts totalling EUR 3.17 million without VAT.

Non-urgent health services to resume

LJUBLJANA - The government decided to allow non-urgent health services to resume under certain conditions after these have been suspended in the efforts to contain the coronavirus epidemic in the country. Such as out-patient specialist and diagnostic services, rehabilitation and other non-emergency treatments will be resumed for patients "with negative epidemic anamnesis who do not have symptoms of a respiratory infection and whose health condition could worsen should the health service be omitted or delayed". Detailed instructions are yet to follow.

Passenger flight ban extended again

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian air traffic remains restricted as the government yet again extended a ban on passenger flights that was already prolonged in late March. Flights within the EU are suspended until 27 April, with the rest banned until further notice. The ban was originally put in place on 17 March, suspending passenger flights from and to EU countries until 30 March and other flights until further notice. In line with the EU law, the government then extended the ban for two weeks.

Trade in goods continued to grow in February, exports up 12%

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's trade in goods continued to grow in February, the month before Slovenia introduced strict lockdown measures amid the coronavirus epidemic. Exports grew by 11.7% and imports by 5.9% over February 2019, data released by the Statistics Office show. Exports reached EUR 2.98 billion and imports EUR 2.75 billion, putting the monthly surplus at EUR 232.3 million and export-import ratio at 108.4%. EU markets accounted for 70.3% of Slovenia's exports and 69.2% of imports.

Krka shareholders looking at much higher dividend

NOVO MESTO - The supervisory and management boards of Krka proposed the shareholders of the drug maker be paid dividends of EUR 4.25 gross per share. Not only is the proposed payout almost a third higher than in 2019, Krka is actually one of few listed companies whose shareholders may get dividends this year. The company said the boards would propose at the AGM scheduled for 9 July that EUR 133.85 million in distributable profit from 2019 is allocated for dividends.

Slovenia seeking flexibility in EU culture funding

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia advocates funding flexibility and allowances for the specifics of smaller countries when it comes to the financing of cultural programmes, Culture Minister Vasko Simonito told his EU counterparts at a teleconference on Wednesday. "Each member state has its own cultural, economic and linguistic characteristics. But without cooperation among us European projects are questionable as well. It is therefore urgent that all measures currently adopted by the European Commission make allowances for the diverse needs of cultural sectors in individual countries."

Survey: One out of three Slovenians continue to go to work

LJUBLJANA - A survey conduced by Aragon found that almost one out of three Slovenians (29%) continue to go to work as they used to before the measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic were introduced, and a similar proportion work from home (28%). An additional 16% have been temporarily laid-off and 9% are on annual leave with 5% working short time and as many are on sick leave. More than half of the respondents believe the epidemic poses a great risk for their jobs and companies they work for.

Poll shows growing optimism regarding coronavirus situation

LJUBLJANA - Slovenians are increasingly optimistic regarding the situation around the coronavirus epidemic, shows the latest survey by Valicon, as a vast majority of respondents believes that things are turning for the better. The share of people who are concerned about their jobs has increased, but it is still relatively low. Some 89% of respondents said that things were getting better or much better, compared to 66% a week ago and 56% two weeks ago. Slovenians also express optimism when it comes to the current situation, with 58% assessing it as more positive than negative.

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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, and you can see more of his work here.

Contents

Coronavirus death toll climbs to 43, confirmed cases reach 1,124

PM says substantial easing of lockdown only after key conditions are met

Passenger flight ban extended again

Non-urgent health services to resume

Coronavirus death toll climbs to 43, confirmed cases reach 1,124

STA, 9 April 2020 - The coronavirus death toll in Slovenia has reached 43 as three people died on Wednesday. The number of confirmed infections rose by 33 to 1,124, show the latest government data.

Hospital data indicates the situation is stabilising, with hospitalisations and intensive care cases flat. A total of 108 persons were in hospital yesterday, of whom 34 in intensive care.

So far 128 persons have been released from hospital, eight of them yesterday, government spokesmen Jelko Kacin said.

Two groups stand out: infections have been confirmed in 225 residents of nursing homes and in 208 health workers, of whom 72 work in nursing homes.

The Šmarje pri Jelšah nursing homes, site of one of the first major outbreaks, remains a hot spot as 137 residents and staff have been infected.

The Slovenian government has not been releasing the details of the death cases for a while quoting protection of personal data, but at least in the early stages of the epidemic the vast majority of fatal cases were in retirement homes.

Kacin said today that there were "a lot of elderly people" among the fatalities.

Hospital data shows that the age structure of the infections is strongly skewed towards the older population. At UKC Ljubljana, all fatalities have been in patients over the age of 60 who had underlying health conditions.

The average age of those hospitalised is 68, with the majority falling in the 50-60 age bracket, Mateja Logar of the infectious diseases clinic told the press today.

Testing in Slovenia continues at roughly the same pace as 1,144 tests were performed yesterday, for a total of 31,813 since testing began.

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PM says substantial easing of lockdown only after key conditions are met

STA, 9 April 2020 - Elaborating on the timeline of the announced easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, PM Janez Janša stressed on Thursday a number of conditions would need to be met before any substantial softening is possible. The government spokesperson Jelko Kacin said movement would remain limited to municipal borders for at least eight more days.

Janša wrote on twitter that a softening of measures would need to be preceded by the transmission rate falling below one. Moreover, the healthcare system must not be under excessive pressure, sufficient testing capacities need to be secured and working instruments need to be in place for the transitional period.

He also wants legal and technical possibilities in place and available at sufficient capacity to monitor those who test positive and to manage a potential spread.

Janša pointed to the ever chancing circumstances globally, for instance in Japan where a state of emergency was declared today even tough Japan was thought to have contained the epidemic during the first wave.

Kacin, the government's spokesperson for the crisis, commented on the situation at the regular daily briefing. He said that the movement of people would remain restricted to municipal borders at least until the weekend next week.

"If we lift the movement restrictions too fast, we will all get the false feeling that the epidemic is behind us and that we're safe. We first need to prepare for this mobility," he said.

He explained the announced easing of retail and service sector restrictions after Easter would be reassessed next Tuesday on the basis of the situation in hospitals. The easing would apply for tyre repair shops, car washes, mechanic shops, and technical goods repair services.

The government is also thinking about relaunching public transport, but Kacin could not yet speak of a timeline.

Meanwhile, opposition parties responded to the developments by mostly stressing the measures needed to be coordinated with experts and that results so far have been good, while they also suggested some restrictions could already be lifted.

The SocDems for instance repeated that people should be allowed to move across municipal borders, although possibly not flock to tourist sites, the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) sees no need to still restrict shopping time for vulnerable groups, while the Left feels the expanded police powers should be cancelled immediately.

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Passenger flight ban extended again

STA, 9 April 2020 - Slovenian air traffic remains restricted as the government yet again extended on Thursday a ban on passenger flights that was already prolonged in late March. Under today's decree, flights within the EU are suspended until 27 April, with the rest banned until further notice.

The ban was originally put in place on 17 March, suspending passenger flights from and to EU countries until 30 March and other flights until further notice. In line with the EU law, the government then extended the ban for two weeks.

The ban does not apply to aircraft transporting cargo or mail, aircraft conducting special transport without passengers or ferry flights, or to foreign planes or helicopters on humanitarian or health missions.

Passenger air traffic has ground to a halt across the world as countries try to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

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Non-urgent health services to resume

STA, 9 April 2020 - The government has decided to allow non-urgent health services to resume under certain conditions after these have been suspended in the efforts to contain the coronavirus epidemic in the country.

A release issued after Thursday's government session says services such as out-patient specialist and diagnostic services, rehabilitation and other non-emergency treatments will be resumed for patients "with negative epidemic anamnesis who do not have symptoms of a respiratory infection and whose health condition could worsen should the health service be omitted or delayed".

Detailed instructions on how the patients will be admitted and handled will be drawn up by a group of experts at the Health Ministry.

The instructions determine preventive and other measures to ensure safe handling of patients and efficient prevention of the spread of Covid-19, as well as how the patient's negative status will be checked.

Non-urgent health services can only be provided by those providers who have the staffing, organisational and technical conditions in place to provide suitable, quality and safe health services.

The decision was taken to disburden primary care providers, ensure a smooth flow of patients from primary to secondary level of care and to provide health care for other patients as soon as possible in as much omission of such services could lead to a deterioration in the patient's health condition.

The change in the relevant decree, which will come into affect the next day after being published in the Official Gazette, is also aimed at reducing the impact of measures taken on the prolonging of waiting times.

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STA, 9 April 2020 - A survey has found that slightly less than a third of Slovenians continue to go to work as they used to before the measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic were introduced, and a similar proportion work from home. More than half of the respondents think that the epidemic poses a great risk for their jobs and companies they are employed in.

In the survey carried out by Aragon, 29% of the respondents said they continued to go to work as usual, 28% said they worked from home, while 16% have been temporarily laid-off.

Some 9% of the people polled are on annual leave, 5% work short time, and the same percentage are on sick leave. Only a fraction of the respondents are on leave because they have to take care of small children as schools and kindergartens are closed.

Men are in the majority among those who continue to go to work as usual, and women are in the majority of those who have stayed at home to take care of small children. The share of women who are on temporary lay-off is slightly higher than that of men.

"All this implies that the coronavirus crisis, if it persists for a long time, could result in economic inequality between genders," the pollster said.

The survey also shows that Slovenians think that the number of persons who are actually infected with Covid-19 is four times higher than the number of officially confirmed cases.

It has been projected based on the survey that on 10 April, the number of officially confirmed cases is to stand at 1,470, which would put the number of perceived cases at around 6,600.

More than half of the respondents (56%) would take a vaccine against the coronavirus if it existed, with men being more inclined to vaccination than women (62% to 50%).

The survey was carried out between 28 March and 2 April on what Aragon said is a representative sample of 1,031 members of the online panel Plusplet.

The tax office issued a reminder that Thursday 9 April, and not tomorrow is the last date for tax payments (akontacija) by sole proprietors (SP). Anyone who will be late with the payment will not be able to apply for government subsidies related to pandemic relief. This is because tomorrow is a bank holiday, due to Easter.

The application form for two kinds of aid, social contributions waiver and monthly basic income, will be available on eDavki from April 14.

You can apply for a contributions waiver for March for the period from 13 March onwards (due on April 20), April (due on May 20) and for May (due on June 20). If you want to apply for a contributions exemption for March and April, you must submit a statement via eDavaki by April 30. The application deadline for the May contributions waiver is May 31. All applications can be made in one statement.

SPs can also apply via the same statement for the monthly basic income, which amounts to €350 for March, and €700 for April and May.

The conditions for the monthly basic income are the same as the contributions waiver.

- at least a 25% reduction of income in March 2020 compared to February 2020, or

- at least a 50% reduction of income in April or May 2020 compared with the income of February 2020.

Those eligible for help are SPs whose income will decline by more than 20% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 and will not exceed 20% growth of revenue in the second half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 although this is not clear on the official website. If this condition is not met, the beneficiary will have to repay all the aid they have received.

From the website of the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia.

STA, 8 April 2020- The programming council of the public broadcaster has come out in defence of independent and professional journalism after several RTV Slovenija crews have been attacked and Prime Minister Janez Janša accused the broadcaster of lying in recent weeks.

In a statement adopted after its tele-session, it condemned attacks on RTV Slovenija's independence and on the professionalism of its journalists.

Noting that constructive criticism is welcome because it can lead to improvement, "the council resolutely rejects all attacks which more or less openly aspire to damage RTV Slovenija's independence and the media professionalism of its staff".

The council said it supported upright journalism regardless of political or religious affiliation of journalists and regardless of their world-view.

It noted Slovenia being amid the Covid-19 epidemic, entering recession and witnessing increased social distress among its residents. But in this complex crisis, public media play an important role of bringing news, providing explanations and opening up debate.

The council said the situation demands great efforts and self-sacrifice also from RTV Slovenija, its leadership, editors, journalists and other staff to bring a professional public service.

Janša accused RTV Slovenija of lying in the first week after his government assumed power amid the coronavirus epidemic in a tweet targeting an interview with a trade unionist who expressed indignation about the government's pay raise. A few days later two TV crews were harassed verbally, with one of them also having the company's vehicle damaged.

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:

Minister announces gradual easing of retail and service sector restrictions after Easter

LJUBLJANA - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšk announced a gradual easing of restrictions in place for retail and service businesses after the Easter holidays. He said tyre repair shops, car washes, mechanic shops, and technical goods repair services would gradually reopen after Easter. Stores selling construction material will also reopen, which is important to ensure self-sufficiency and enable people to work from home, the minister said. Later, a gradual reopening of stores selling technical goods is planned Počivalšek stressed that the epidemiologic situation would be monitored and that everybody would have to follow recommendations of the Public Health Institute.

Four new deaths and 36 new cases of Covid-19 recorded

LJUBLJANA - A total of 1,214 Covid-19 tests were performed in Slovenia on Tuesday, with 36 persons confirmed as positive. Four patients have meanwhile died, increasing the death toll to 40, the government has announced. The total number of confirmed cases is up to 1,091, with 111 Covid-19 patients currently in hospital, after five were discharged yesterday. 35 patients are in intensive care. A total of 120 persons diagnosed with Covid-19 have been discharged from hospital.

Italian, Slovenian presidents agree solidarity key in overcoming coronavirus

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor discussed efforts to overcome the coronavirus pandemic with his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella. The presidents underlined the importance of solidarity and cooperation among nations, and expressed regret at the EU's inability to respond earlier and more effectively. They expressed support for the measures adopted by the governments of their respective countries, as well as efforts at the level of the EU to overcome the economic crisis. "NATO, as well as the EU, are being challenged and it is not clear what will happen after the crisis. That is why it is key to preserve democratic values and the feeling for community," Pahor's office said.

Chamber says private doctors should help restart healthcare

LJUBLJANA - Medical Chamber head Zdenka Čebašek-Travnik urged the government to use all medical staff, including private doctors and dentists, to restart the country's healthcare when it begins to gradually exit the coronavirus crisis. Arguing that the need for treatment will soar once the system returns to normal, she wondered for how much longer the government would tolerate private doctors and dentists not being able to perform medical services within the public health system. She believes society will have to decide weather and how it uses all resources, public and private, to provide for the medical care of all residents.

Questions raised about intermediaries in PPE supplies

LJUBLJANA - As countries worldwide grapple with how to secure sufficient personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, Slovenia has turned to intermediaries. Facing criticism, the Economy Ministry initially argued the Agency for Commodity Reserves cannot buy directly from Chinese manufacturers because the agency or the state cannot engage in direct financial transactions with subjects in China but can only deal with Slovenian subjects. Facing arguments that this was not true, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said in the evening the reason was the advance payment demanded by most suppliers. In response the criticism about deals with Slovenian intermediaries, the Agency for Commodity Reserves published a chart with information on contracts signed with various companies. The total value of all contracts signed so far is EUR 116 million without VAT. Goods worth EUR 6 million have been delivered.

Central bank suspends dividend payout by banks for a year

LJUBLJANA - The central bank suspended for a year the payout of dividends by banks and savings banks. The measure is aimed at securing sufficient capital so that the system could better sustain potential losses and be able to supply the economy and individuals with loans. The measure "relates to profits made by banks and savings banks in 2019 and 2020, and to retained profit and reserves from previous years. It is expected to be in force for one year," the central bank said, adding it would adjust the action if necessary. The measure is likely to enter into force at the end of the week and will not be applied retroactively, meaning it will not affect banks that already chose to pay out dividends this year.

Govt points to ex regime in response to CoE criticism of pressure on media in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA/STRASBOURG, France - Responding to criticism coming from the Council of Europe (CoE) over pressure on the media in Slovenia, the government has argued the situation is a result of media having "their origin in the former communist regime". While the CoE has been highlighting pressure occurring under the new government, the government wrote that the CoE's attention should be drawn to the broader context of the media situation in the country, including historical facts in the development of the media market. Meanwhile, the programming council of RTV Slovenija issued a statement condemning attacks on the broadcaster's independence and on the professionalism of its journalists after recent attacks on its crews and twitter comments about its reporting and wages published by PM Janez Janša.

Vojko Urbas new head of criminal police

LJUBLJANA - Vojko Urbas was appointed acting director of the Criminal Police Department and took over from his predecessor Boštjan Lindav. He was appointed by acting Police Commissioner Anton Travner, who has led the force since the Janez Janša government was appointed in mid-March. Urbas has been in the police force for 34 years, of which 19 years at the Crime Police Department. He will be in charge of almost 1,000 Slovenian criminal police officers until Branko Japelj returns from work abroad. Lindav, who the police says has rich operative and managerial experience, will meanwhile become criminality advisor to Travner.

Coronavirus posing risk of surge in domestic violence

Ljubljana, 08 April (STA) - The coronavirus crisis has raised fears about a spike in domestic violence, which has been detected in many countries during the pandemic. The latest data from Slovenian police do not show a significant increase in such cases since lockdown was put in place, in fact a spike in reported cases prior to the epidemic levelled off since the lockdown. But police as well as NGOs warn that based on their experience, it could well be that the circumstances themselves are thwarting reporting of such emergencies, with victims being less able to phone and report or even to contact a friend or relative.

Religious leaders urge believers to stay home

LJUBLJANA - The top leaders of major religious groups in Slovenia called on believers to stay home, pray and peruse religious texts as they addressed the daily government coronavirus press briefing. Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore, bishop of the Slovenian Evangelical Lutheran Church Leon Novak, the head of the Slovenian Jewish Community Boris Čerin-Levi, the Islamic community's leader Mufti Nedžad Grabus and Peran Bošković, the leader of the Ljubljana Serb Orthodox community, stressed observance was important but people should stay home to help contain the spread of coronavirus.

Chinese twin cities rush to provide PPE to Maribor

MARIBOR - Maribor received 10,000 face masks from Hanghzou, its twin city in China, after turning to its partner cities in China for help with the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE). The FFP-2 masks that arrived yesterday are essential for staff working with persons infected with coronavirus. Donations have also been announced by other cities. Maribor's twin city Chongqing has pledged a donation of 15,000 FFP-2 masks, while partner cities Nanjing, Huaian and Nanchang have promised a total of 62,000 surgical masks and some thermometers.

Calls to secure drinking water during epidemic mark Roma Day

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Roma warned about tenacious discrimination and their communities struggling in the face of the coronavirus crisis as they observed International Roma Day. The calls to secure drinking water to all settlements were echoed by Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina, while Education Minister Simona Kustec congratulated the Roma, saying Slovenia was making extra efforts to provide education for Roma children. She stressed that such initiatives were ongoing even during the COVID-19 epidemic.

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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 Klara Jan, with a poster from a series organised by Tam Tam.

Contents

Four new deaths and 36 new cases of Covid-19 recorded

Minister announces gradual easing of retail and service sector restrictions after Easter

Chinese twin cities rush to provide PPE to Maribor

Questions raised why not cut out intermediaries in PPE supplies

Religious leaders urge believers to stay home

Four new deaths and 36 new cases of Covid-19 recorded

STA, 8 April 2020 - A total of 1,214 Covid-19 tests were performed in Slovenia on Tuesday, with 36 persons confirmed as positive. Four patients have meanwhile died, increasing the death toll to 40, the government has announced.

The total number of confirmed cases is up to 1,091, with 111 Covid-19 patients currently in hospital, after five were discharged yesterday. 35 patients are in intensive care.

So far 30,669 tests for the new coronavirus have been performed in Slovenia. A total of 120 persons diagnosed with Covid-19 have been discharged from hospital.

Back to the contents

Minister announces gradual easing of retail and service sector restrictions after Easter

STA, 8 April 2020 - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšk announced on Wednesday at a government coronavirus crisis briefing that his ministry had proposed a gradual easing of restrictions in place for retail and service businesses after the Easter holidays.

He said tyre repair shops, car washes, mechanic shops, and technical goods repair services would gradually reopen after Easter. Stores selling construction material will also reopen, which is important to ensure self-sufficiency and enable people to work from home, the minister said.

Later, a gradual reopening of stores selling technical goods is planned, meaning shops selling household appliances and furniture.

Počivalšek stressed that the epidemiologic situation would be monitored and that each individual would have to follow recommendations of the Public Health Institute.

Production has not been restricted so far and will also not be restricted in the future, the minister added, noting that employers must provide for the safety of staff.

No coronavirus hotspots have been recorded in production facilities, so in most companies work is running without disturbances, he said.

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Chinese twin cities rush to provide PPE to Maribor

STA, 8 April 2020 - Maribor, Slovenia's second city, has received 10,000 face masks from Hanghzou, its twin city in China, after turning to its partner cities in China for help with the supply of much needed personal protective equipment (PPE). Donations have also been announced by other cities.

The FFP-2 masks that arrived yesterday are essential for staff working with persons infected with coronavirus. They will be distributed to the UKC Maribor hospital, the community health centre, the city's two care homes, home nursing care service and taxi services.

Maribor's twin city Chongqing has pledged a donation of 15,000 FFP-2 masks, while partner cities Nanjing, Huaian and Nanchang have promised a total of 62,000 surgical masks and some thermometers. The donations are due to arrive in the coming days on a special flight organised by the government.

"We are very happy about the great response by our partner cities, which have selflessly rushed to help us even though strict measures to contain the virus remain in force in China," Maribor authorities said, adding that Mayor Saša Arsenovič will thank his Chinese counterparts in a letter.

The city also expressed its gratitude to the Slovenian Consulate in Shanghai and the Embassy in Beijing for assistance with the paperwork and logistics.

Maribor is also benefiting from experience of the Chinese cities in battling Covid-19. Among other things, it has received a handbook on Covid-19 prevention and treatment from Hangzhou, and been offered to get involved in MediXchange for Combating Covid-19, an international project set up by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba with the Zhejiang University hospital.

The project features a platform to facilitate communication and cross-border cooperation as well as provision of computer capacities and data to enhance key research efforts in the fight against the novel virus. The platform also allows medical staff to communicate in order to share practical experience and information.

Maribor has recorded 22 of the 1,055 confirmed coronavirus cases in Slovenia.

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Questions raised why not cut out intermediaries in PPE supplies

STA, 8 April 2020 - As countries worldwide grapple with how to secure sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic, Slovenia has also faced the problem of unreliable intermediaries, which the country's chief auditing authority says could be cut out altogether.

Supplies for the country are being ordered by the Agency for Commodity Reserves, which the Economy Ministry says cannot buy directly from Chinese manufacturers because the agency or the state cannot engage in direct financial transactions with subjects in China but can only deal with Slovenian subjects.

"This is not a government's decision, it is a matter of valid legislation," the ministry said in response to media queries about the matter.

However, the newspaper Dnevnik and news portal portal Necenzurirano.si have cited the Court of Audit in reporting that there is no such legal restriction that would prevent the agency from entering into business deals with Chinese suppliers directly.

"Slovenia being an EU member it is obliged to comply with the rules of the EU single market as well. However, public procurement regulations do not provide a basis for limiting public procurement solely to Slovenian bidders," the Court of Audit is quoted by the two media outlets.

Asked by Necenzurirano.si which regulation prevented the agency from buying abroad, the Economy Ministry said that "doing business with foreign subjects in a state of emergency in the global market of protective equipment and agents at the moment would entail excessive risk."

Foreign manufacturers often demand advance payments, and the Agency for Commodity Reserves does not have representatives abroad who could check the suitability and reliability of offers, the ministry explained.

The news portal reported on Monday that the agency had received as early as 23 March an offer from a Chinese PPE manufacturer sent by a group of Slovenian academics via their Chinese colleagues. The Slovenian academics contacted Slovenia also through the PM's office and coordinated technical specification of the equipment with Economy Ministry State Secretary Aleš Cantarutti. The portal's information indicates there are more such direct offers.

The Agency for Commodity Reserves agreed more than EUR 130 million worth of deals with various Slovenian companies over the past three weeks. Most of them are companies that had not supplied such equipment in the past, the portal reports.

The country's anti-graft watchdog has already called on the Court of Audit to review operations of the Agency for Commodity Reserves once the coronavirus emergency has ended.

The opposition Left meanwhile expressed concern that Slovenia could find itself in a repeat of the Patria corruption scandal, in which the Finish defence contractor Patria was accused of handing out kickbacks in return for a multi-million euro order of armoured personnel carriers.

The Left says that the companies importing masks, above all from China, have no previous experience in the field, and that contracts worth upwards of EUR 100 million have been signed in a non-transparent way in recent weeks.

"These have been signed with intermediaries... who should have been cut out. Počivalšek's ministry is enabling provisions and profits from million euro deals by lying that there is no other way," the party said about alleged restrictions in doing business with Chinese companies.

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Religious leaders urge believers to stay home

STA, 8 April 2020 - The top leaders of major religious groups in Slovenia called on believers to stay home, pray and peruse religious texts as they addressed the daily government coronavirus press briefing on Wednesday.

Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore, bishop of the Slovenian Evangelical Lutheran Church Leon Novak, the head of the Slovenian Jewish Community Boris Čerin-Levi, the Islamic community's leader Mufti Nedžad Grabus and Peran Bošković, the leader of the Ljubljana Serb Orthodox community, stressed observance was important but people should stay home to help contain the spread of coronavirus.

The Slovenian Bishop's Conference has already adopted guidelines on how to celebrate Easter during the epidemic, urging social distancing and protecting public health, said Zore, adding that the organisation followed the example set by the Italian Catholic Church.

The Slovenian Catholic Church acknowledges the role mass ceremonies play in celebrating Easter, however it is also aware of the possible devastating consequences such gatherings could have during an outbreak.

Zore called on the believers to stay at home and help slow the spread of coronavirus. He appealed to them to find comfort in home-based prayers and watch the ceremonies via public broadcaster or social networks.

Novak highlighted the importance of Easter's message which gives people hope in the times of disease, while Bošković noted that the crisis had revealed how helpless people could be. He also stressed the importance of cooperation and solidarity.

While Christians are celebrating Holy Week, the Jewish communities are observing Passover or Pesach. Čerin-Levi described it as a holiday celebrating freedom, adding that living in a free, democratic country such as Slovenia was a privilege "that could be shared regardless of faith, ethnicity, culture or language".

Ramadan, a month of fasting and reflection, is drawing nearer for Islamic communities. "We were looking forward to Ramadan and prayers in the new, long-awaited mosque. Unfortunately, the building is among those closed," said Grabus, adding that the community would heed all the instructions and restrictions imposed to contain the epidemic.

Asked about a potential financial fallout that would affect the clergy due to cancelled ceremonies, Zore said that many priests had been struggling to make ends meet even before the crisis and were supported by a priests' solidarity fund.

He also thanked the government for lending a hand to priests in need of help, a reference to the recently adopted fiscal stimulus bill, which includes a waiver of social contributions for the employees of religious communities.

Novak highlighted that everyone, not just religious communities, had been affected by the crisis and its economic ramifications.

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Do foreigners in Slovenia feel more or less safe sitting out covid-19 here than in their home country, and what are their experiences? All the stories in this series are here. If you' like to contribute, see here or at the end of the story

Who are you, and what are you doing in Slovenia?

Hi, my name is Anya Piatkowska. I am Polish and moved to Slovenia two and a half years ago after living for two years in Ireland and 12 in London. I live in Medvode with my husband and two children.

I am an International Life Strategy and Transformational Coach and Founder of 'Art of Life' model. The title might sound a little bit abstract but is actually very simple. My work is all about guiding people to their potential, supporting them through life changes and reminding them how to shift energy and enjoy life even more, from inside out! This kind of work with people is the absolutely best thing, I believe, you can give to people to help them have an exceptional life. You can contact me or read about it on www.anyapiatkowska.com . Or you can find me on Facebook at my fan page, or the group Grow International Slovenia for people interested in self-development and networking with other open-minded international and local people. Mum of 2 and Explorer, Nature and Conscious Living passionate. 

Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.

I am doing well. Just a little bit insane about home-schooling (especially when still not so fluent in Slovene). Despite teaching skills for a living, home-schooling seems to be a real challenge for me. I want to say a huge thank you and show my respect for all teachers, who take care and teach our children every day. Especially in Medvode, we have really great one! Being a transformational coach - a person who guides people through life changes and growth – I am not only taking care of myself and my family’s sanity but also that of other people who turn to me for support, boith on social media and in 1-on-1 sessions

What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business?

Apart from being a transformational coach, I also work for a company. And I was just informed about the government help which will support people in full-time employment like me. Which is not the same as full salary, but very helpful in times like we have now. My main concern is people who are without any income at all. 

When did you realize that coronavirus was going to be a big issue?

This pandemic has been a big issue for me since last week. As a coach who works on holistic life wellbeing and transformation, I am getting more and more messages about people’s mental states. About real daily life situations and the difficulty of managing one’s feelings. People are waiting for things to going back to normal and not feeling good about such a huge change in their lifestyle. In my opinion, we should start to learn how to adapt instead of thinking about when will things be like before coronavirus. As they never will be. Plus what we resist, persists. 

I am writing a book called Art of Life-Human Mini-Guide, which hopefully will help people after the pandemic calms down. Help to build a new reality in the new circumstances we are all in. In my opinion, this guide will be the essence of what I wish my children and everyone should know for an exceptional life. Which might be hard to imagine right now. And what I think is worth mentioning is that my target group are other expats, as a group who often uses guidebooks to know, plan and enjoy their next move and journey. I want to do the same thing in Art of Life-Human Mini-Guide,but guiding how to strive as a full human, instead of just surviving as a lone sailor. And also to give people some practical tools for daily life, and beautiful art to help them to connect with their heart and soul. I hope they at least wish to consider things from a different perspective. And open themselves to take the responsibility to adapt to new circumstances in a more conscious way.

What is your impression of the way Slovenia is dealing with the crisis?

I am quite impressed with the people I know. They really care and listen to what's advised in the current situation. I am also very impressed with the precautions and disinfecting customers hands and trolleys before entering the supermarket. And the small number of people who can enter it at the same time. 

How it compared to Poland?

My home country Poland has similar but even more strict rules. Poland is a big country, which means more people. This means the population is not so easy to organize (I do not like the word to control) in such serious circumstances. As my mother said, "young people who do not have studies now, they decide to socialize and party even more because they have time", so the rules got even stricter recently. I believe that here in Slovenia we reach and inform each other more effectively because there are not so many people. 

What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?

My husband is working with well-informed people, while I am not watching any news, just for some mental hygiene. But of course I know and support all restrictions and precautions we are advised now. I read Total Slovenia News updates though, and often share them in my Facebook group Grow. International. Slovenia. So people can understand how important it is to focus on positive things and mental hygiene – which might be challenging for people who were not interested in self-development before – along with the greater hygiene we need with our behaviours and daily routines. 

What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation?

I’m always eager to learn and grow more every day, so I’d probably take more books. I still prefer to feel a paper book over a Kindle or other reading app, though I appreciate them a lot, too.

What’s one thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis?

I actually talk about this on my website, but definitely I’ve learned to trust the process and that everything is happening for the reason. Even if it sounds brutal thinking of all the people who are dying now. But with a much bigger perspective this is a huge lesson for humanity. Which we might or might not learn from. We are all equal and connected, and we can see it right now perfectly as we all face the same situation, no matter who and where we are.

We can also focus only on the problem or, like I always say, we can start to focus more on the solution and on what we need to do now to protect ourselves as a species. So we can not only survive but also thrive from this life challenge. Hopefully we will focus more on a healthier, less stressed and more cooperative society. More connected to each other, nature and our hearts. Instead of chasing things which are not so important anymore.