Do foreigners in Slovenia feel more or less safe sitting out covid-19 here than in their home country, and what are their experiences? A new series on TSN, starting with the writer Andrew Anžur Clement from America, currently holed up in Ljubljana. All the stories in this series are here

Firstly, how are you? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.

All things considered, I’m doing fine. I live in Slovenia full time; my relatives normally spend about half of the year here. Currently, I am alone as they have had to cancel their travel plans. I work from home, writing and selling a product that is bought online, so from that aspect my life hasn’t changed. I’m even having pretty good sales!

True, I’ve had to cancel some lunches. However, I grew up in the US and then moved around to different countries in Europe for my studies. Before moving to Ljubljana to write, I was a researcher in the context of a double PhD program in Belgium and the UK, with supervisors in both countries. While I think that telecommuting and video conferencing have been new or jarring to a lot of people, for me they were an essential part of life for years.

The downside of normally working from home is that I also have very few ‘excuses’ to leave my apartment, other than to run out to Hofer every few days. I underestimated the importance to my sanity – and to my creative juices -- of being able to do something to ‘just get out of the house,’ like taking a long walk when the weather is nice. All things considered, though, that is an annoyance at worst.

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

I was unaware of the virus’s existence for a lot longer than most people. I was on a plane, flying back to Los Angeles for a visit in mid-February. There was an Asian gentleman with a cough within earshot and the flight attendant made him wear a mask, all the while insisting that he was sure the man wasn’t infected. I remember thinking ‘What is coronavirus?’

I flew back to Slovenia on March 5^th. My mother was worried about me travelling because of the virus. I still didn’t think it was going to be a big issue outside of Asia. I attended the SNG’s performance of the opera Louisa Miller on March 6^th. Within the next day or two large public gatherings were banned; I believe it was the last performance given by the Ljubljana opera to date.

I don’t think that I fully realized that this was going to affect me until President Trump banned all flights between the US and Europe. My family had been planning to come to Slovenia for three months starting in late March. We are now on different sides of the Atlantic for the foreseeable future.

What is your impression of the way Slovenia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?

Insofar as my personal concerns about actually catching the virus, I feel as safe as can be reasonably expected, given the circumstances and the measures that the government has implemented. I am more concerned about getting sick with something other than coronavirus and not being able to get treatment, given how general medical services have been scaled back. I also worry about needing to get something done and not being able to do it. I have to say that I am less concerned about the latter now, at least in the short term, as public services still seem to be functioning. I had a bit of a scare when my washing machine broke yesterday. The employees at Big Bang were characteristically helpful via online chat and a new one should be delivered to my apartment in a few days.

Still though, I have more general concerns regarding how long this state of affairs is going to persist, or how long it will continue to be sustainable. My business isn’t really that affected by the lockdown in the nearer term, but I have concerns about the longer-term macroeconomic implications of the lockdown. Despite the bailouts in both the US and Slovenia, these can only go so far. At what point will economic pressures make continuing the lockdown undesirable or even unviable? Especially in Slovenia, where the lockdown seems more comprehensive than the US, I also worry about what will happen when so called non-essential services start to become more necessary. For instance, what about when people start to need things like haircuts?

Don’t get me wrong, a number of people are going to die from the coronavirus pandemic. It is serious and that is sad. But part of me honestly wonders if we are kidding ourselves by thinking that we can beat the pandemic in this or any other manner, especially when the only response to the lockdown not working, thus far, has been forcing more lockdown. Where and when does it end? That is probably my biggest worry.

Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Slovenia doing better/worse?

Judging by what I’ve heard from family and friends in the States, I would say that the reaction in Slovenia has been more orderly than the response in the US, both on the part of the government and the population. In Slovenia, the government seems to have taken more proactive and calm measures when the outbreak came. People, while somewhat recalcitrant to voluntarily socially distance at first – during the three days between when the epidemic was declared in Slovenia and the start of the lockdown the cafes along the Ljubljanica were completely full -- they calmly complied, with very little panic buying or hysteria once mandatory orders were put in place. In the US, especially during the earlier days of the outbreak, it sounds to me like the government’s measures followed a wave of public panic, in a process that fed on itself. We didn’t have this in Slovenia. My local grocery store has been great and the shelves are even better stocked than usual; my American friends find this shocking.

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

I’ve been pleased with the communications from the Slovene authorities, which have seemed calm and orderly. TSN has also been great about proving me with a daily digest of updates.

I have not received anything from the US, but I am not registered with the embassy.

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

A non-temporary internet connection! I am currently connected to the outside world by a phone line clamped to the side of my building with a C-clamp. This was meant to be a temporary fix following some renovations to my apartment and while my street got optical cable installed. If it snaps and everything is still locked down, how do I get it fixed? Can I even get it fixed? Especially during the windy weather last week, this was easily my biggest worry.

One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis.

Like I imagine many writers are, I am almost a total introvert. At first, I found staying at home all the time to actually be somewhat relaxing, if I chose to look at it that way. I enjoyed the peace and quiet along the Ljubljanica, which my apartment fronts on. As this drags on, though, I find the few interactions that I do have with actual humans, which once would have been totally normal, have become more ‘taxing.’ Sounds that I once wouldn’t have noticed outside have started to seem unbearably noisy. Seriously, if everyone is supposed to be on lockdown can someone turn off the hourly Puppet Theatre song? Maybe related to this is the constant ramp-up to social distancing and protective wear orders. After ‘suiting up’ in my ski mask and gloves to go the store today, I felt like a character in some post-apocalyptic, dystopian movie heading out to face mortal peril!

Before I was a writer, I was a migration researcher. I also have had to extensively research things like the siege of Sarajevo for my books. One key take-away from both is that attempting to keep people from moving, or creating a situation where moving is extremely hard and dangerous, will not completely keep people from moving. It will simply make them move differently. I think we are already seeing this borne out by the Coronavirus crisis and predict that the longer this goes on, the more of it there will be, for better or worse.

Anžur Clement is an American of Slovenian descent. Originally from the Los Angeles area, he’s been living in Europe for over ten years. For the past two of them, he’s have settled in Ljubljana’s city centre where he writes historical fiction, fantasy and alternative history novels. Two of his books are available for free here.

If you'd like to add your story to this series, please get in touch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or find TSN on Facebook

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 Saška Grušovnik. You can see more of her work here.

Contents

Number of coronavirus cases rises by 56 to 897, 16 deaths confirmed

Drive-in testing introduced in Koper

3D printed face masks joining fight against Covid-19 in Slovenia

Hospital director resigns after contentious tweets

Number of coronavirus cases rises by 56 to 897, 16 deaths confirmed

STA, 2 April 2020 - The number of coronavirus cases in Slovenia rose by 56 in a day to stand at 897 by Wednesday midnight. So far 16 people have died from the disease. In the last 24 hours, 1,095 tests were conducted, the government said on Twitter.

A total of 112 patents were in hospitals around the country today, 29 of them in intensive care. Four persons were released from hospital in the last 24 hours and one person died.

So far, a total of 24,857 tests have been performed.

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Drive-in testing introduced in Koper

STA, 2 April 2020 - The Koper Community Health Centre, one of the 16 coronavirus testing points in Slovenia, has introduced the country's first drive-in system for taking swabs from potentially infected persons to significantly reduce the time needed for a single test.

In addition to saving time for employees and patients - one test takes 10 instead of 30 minutes - the centre also saves on protective equipment, Ljubica Kolander Bizjak, the director of the centre, has told the STA.

Under the new system, a person who suspects that they are infected contacts their personal physician, who decides if they should be tested. The person then contacts the community health centre and gets a date for the test.

The person then drives to a dedicated parking and is swabbed, and then instructed to remain self-isolated until the results of the test are known.

The drive in testing has been introduced on proposal from employees, who were taking samples in a designated container, where the process took 30 minutes per person, as the container needs to be ventilated for at least 15 minutes and sanitised.

Kolander Bizjak said that drive-in testing was performed in two locations in Koper. The average daily number is 40, but the number sometimes reaches 60, and if a test would take 30 minutes, the system would get "clogged", she added.

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3D printed face masks joining fight against Covid-19 in Slovenia

STA, 2 April 2020 - Shortages of protective gear during the coronavirus pandemic have prompted that new platforms of providing much needed equipment are opening up in Slovenia, such as creating face masks using 3D printers. An initiative has started developing hospital gear as well as supporting home production.

The Let's Protect Slovenia initiative has printed out the first 3D face shields in Slovenia in cooperation with the Primorska University, Izola hospital and Ljubljana Technology Park.

The university has said that the first prototypes have been already despatched to the hospital where they are being tested in the physical world.

Slovenia has thus actively joined foreign countries where the 3D printing technology is already used to mitigate shortages of the coveted gear during the pandemic.

The masks are printed at the university and are compatible with microbiological filters that are part of medical respirators.

A filter model that has been employed in developing 3D-printed masks is certified to be 99.99% efficient in protecting the wearer. The masks are meant for multiple use to boot.

Apart from providing the gear for hospitals, the initiative has also given guidelines on how to use 3D printers to make masks at home. Last week, it made available an open-source format for the Gladius Friends 3D-mask model.

Any 3D printer can be used to make this type of a reusable mask. The initiative thus launched a campaign titled Mask for a Friend, urging citizens to print masks for themselves and their friends.

Open-source groups in the US and other European countries have started to make use of the prototype of such a home-made mask as well.

It is important to note though that the mask has not been certified as a medical equipment or personal protective gear.

Reservations about the mask for domestic use have emerged as well as warnings regarding its safety. The 3D Slovenija group has warned against using the shield, saying such products are porous and of questionable quality, cannot be sufficiently disinfected, are difficult to fit or seal, with home-made filter systems even posing a potential danger to health.

The platform has thus proposed that it would be more viable to make only the prototype and then use printing modes of higher quality or even industrial devices to make the masks, mimicking the production process of dive masks.

Meanwhile, the Let's Protect Slovenia initiative insists that it is looking for the best possible solutions in the given situation, conceding that non-certified equipment is not optimal and that there is room for improvement.

Temperatures higher than 56 degrees Celsius kill coronaviruses and printed equipment can be disinfected in an oven. "We've tried disinfecting at 60 degrees Celsius, 45 minutes in an oven, and it works. I myself have tried it at even higher temperatures and the material endured," said microbiologist Teja Bajt of the initiative.

On the other hand, concerns have been raised about the material reacting to temperatures of 40 degrees already and the chemicals used in the process. The problem with disinfecting it is thus great, said Matej Auguštin, who works for pharmaceuticals.

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Hospital director resigns after contentious tweets

STA, 2 April 2020 - Slovenj Gradec hospital director Janez Lavre has resigned after finding himself in the limelight over a series of tweets which included threats to withhold coronavirus ventilator treatment to critics of the government.

Health Minister Tomaž Gantar has already accepted the resignation, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Lavre, a physician who was once considered as potential health minister, published last week a series of politically charged and unethical tweets related to the situation in the country as the nation is fighting the epidemic.

"Great, you are not getting a ventilator," Lavre said in a response to Social Democrats (SD) presidency member Uroš Jauševec expressing satisfaction over the SD deciding not to back a government proposal to give the army certain policing powers.

He also lashed out against investigative journalist Blaž Zgaga over a tweet critical of the government: "You may be positive soon and then let's hear you squeak." He also referred to critical journalists as vermin in at least two of his tweets.

Lavre, a member of New Slovenia - Christian Democrats (NSi) until last year, closed down all of his social media accounts on Monday and issued an apology.

He said he was aware that the statements were inappropriate, offensive and unethical, and blamed them on the workload and mental stress in the face of events related to the handling of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Announcing the resignation "in relation to the inappropriate public communication by the director", the ministry said today that the matter would be "subject of further proceedings".

The Medical Chamber has already launched due proceeding and said the matter would be discussed by its committee for legal and ethical issues.

Back to the contents

STA, 2 April 2020 - Telekom Slovenije, the majority state-owned telecoms incumbent, posted a group net profit of EUR 1.2 million for 2019, a fraction of the EUR 33.3 million it recorded a year before, largely due to a one-off payment over a now dissolved media joint venture.

Telekom had been ordered by a court of arbitration in late-2019 to buy out its partner in the joint venture, the Greece-based Antenna Group, for EUR 17.6 million plus interest, significantly above what it initially offered.

The company said on Thursday that without the one-off charge for the media venture Antenna TV SL and the associated events it would have posted a 13% increase in like-for-like profit over the year before.

Group profit before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was at EUR 205.4 million, an increase of 11%, whereas pre-tax profit (EBIT) rose by 73% to EUR 31 million, shows the financial report.

Group net sales stood at EUR 675.4 million, which is 6% below the 2018 level. The company however says that the figures are not directly comparable since Blicnet, a Bosnian subsidiary which was sold in 2018, was still included in financials for 2018.

Additionally, revenue contracted in the segments international wholesale traffic, mobile subscriptions and IT sales, while increases were recorded in the segments e-health, energy and financial services.

Group operating revenue thus totalled EUR 681.7 million, down one percent over the year before.

Investments amounted to almost EUR 168 million, which is below plans. The company says it had optimised purchasing and achieved the goals with lower investment outlays.

Having spent EUR 93 on dividend payments last year, Telekom does not plan to pay out dividends this year. While it has an accumulated profit of EUR 30.2 million, it plans to retain it quoting "uncertain impacts and unclear consequences" of the coronavirus pandemic.

Telekom CEO Tomaž Seljak is quoted as saying that the company quickly responded to the pandemic to ensure uninterrupted operation, but due to uncertainty about the gravity and duration of the pandemic it cannot reliably estimate how it will affect its operations.

STA, 1 April 2020 - Sociologist Valerija Korošec says it is high time to introduce a universal basic income (UBI, or Univerzalni temeljni dohodek – UTD), arguing it is a vital safeguard against the consequences of crises. She thinks Slovenia will introduce it this year to lead the way in a post-corona and post-Brexit EU when it chairs the bloc in 2021.

Although she admits a crisis such as the coronavirus epidemic, when fires are being put out in panic, is not the best time to do that, she believes UBI is urgently needed as the pandemic wreaks social and economic havoc, because it is a means of protection when social systems stop working.

The researcher at the government's macroeconomic think tank IMAD thinks Slovenia will introduce it this year, saying UBI supporters have intensively worked on it since the financial crisis for the past ten years, so they have "ideas and solutions ready".

Korošec says the measures the government is introducing to help the self-employed are not UBI. The government will cover all their social contributions and pay them what a "basic income" of 350 euro for March and 700 euro for April in case of a loss of income.

But the sociologist says these are short-term measures unsustainable in the long run, which do not constitute an optimal use of social resources, are not unconditional and do constitute a subsistence minimum.

She says those who have written the EUR 3 billion fiscal stimulus bill to mitigate Covid-19 ramifications for society "are people who are trying to put the money into preserving the existing system, not into developing a different, more sustainable system".

UBI advocates in Slovenia have been pushing for UBI for the last 15 years, often describing it as a social transfer to give people minimal existential security. But Kroščec says UBI is not just one measure, "it is a broader social paradigm, a way in which society should be organised to be resistant to crises and shocks".

Under the UBI paradigm, society should be organised based on three pillars, which reflect all ideals of the French Revolution: a universal or unconditional pillar, a democratic one and a market one, explains the researcher.

"The universal pillar should become the most fundamental level of social security to strengthen society's foundations, so that a society can survive, or else it can easily be crushed to pieces."

Korošec, Slovenia's representatives on the international and European UBI networks, BIEN and UBIE, says UBIE would like UBI to be introduced in at least one European country by 2020 and in five by 2025.

"Countries are actually competing which one will be the first and best in introducing the most optimal UBI solution." And although Canada seems to be the closest, having experimented with UBI already in the 1970s, Korošec expects Slovenia to be actually the first country in Europe to introduce it this year.

"Perhaps we won't call it UBI, but we will have to introduce policies based on the basic principle of every public policy taking care of all people universally, this will be the starting point."

Korošec believes Slovenia's EU presidency in 2021 is "an excellent opportunity to start developing such a progressive idea and become a beacon for the EU".

Slovenia is small enough, lies "at the crossroads of Slavic, Romance and Germanic nations" and is "in many ways reminiscent of Scandinavian countries", so it could well "unite and lead the way in post-coronavirus- and post-Brexit Europe".

"However, if European society is not clever enough to introduce UBI now, there will be no more EU in ten year's time," the doctor of sociology says.

In 2010 Korošec drafted a proposal to introduce UBI in Slovenia, which was then used by Belgium to introduce a universal child allowance.

In the last ten years Korošec has significantly rethought how it would make sense to introduce UBI. She has started considering not only UBI financed by the state in cash but also the introduction of universal basic resources. Today her thinking thus revolves around local UBI, a universal child allowance for all children in the same amount, as well as energy UBI.

"At a time when we don't know how the world will revolve, this is particularly important. Instead of money we want to give people a warm apartment or guaranteed electricity that must come from renewable sources," she said.

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:

Number of coronavirus cases up by 39 to 841, death toll at 15

LJUBLJANA - A total of 1,288 tests for the new coronavirus were performed in Slovenia on Tuesday, with 39 new Covid-19 cases confirmed to increase the total to 841. Two more patients died, bringing the total to 15. Of the 119 Covid-19 patients in hospital, 31 are in intensive care, up from 28 on Monday. Nursing homes remain the main hot spots, with 137 residents and 30 staff at care homes having contracted the disease. To address the rapidly worsening situation in nursing homes, authorities are looking for solutions, urging residents' families to secure domestic care if possible.

Extended police powers to be thrown out of anti-coronavirus legislation

LJUBLJANA - The coalition backtracked somewhat on the decision to extend police force for the purpose of controlling the Covid-19 epidemic. Amendments filed by the coalition strike out the possibility for police to track people in quarantine without a court warrant, create photo robots and enter apartments. This was after Information Commissioner Mojca Prelesnik said the measures would be tantamount to a police state. The package aiming to curb the coronavirus epidemic would still allow the police to search for people, use photo facial recognition, set up road blocks, temporarily prevent the movement of people and collect and process data.

Support for proposal to give army police powers in doubt

LJUBLJANA - The government's proposal to invoke a legislative provision giving the army limited police powers to help police secure the southern border against illegal migration appeared unlikely to garner the required two-thirds majority in parliament as the Defence Committee debated the proposal. The opposition National Party (SNS) announced its support, while the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), the ruling party in the previous government, was unhappy because the government failed to accept its compromise solutions, while the Social Democrats do not think the situation at the border is such as to warrant the powers, and the Left are dead set against.

Govt tables legislation determining procedure to ban certain referenda

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted an amendment to the referendum act that prescribes the National Assembly's course of action in case of a referendum initiative challenging a law that cannot be challenged under the constitution, which would include laws imposing measures designed to curb the Covid-19 epidemic. The amendment, which the government wants to be rushed through parliament, seeks to implement the constitutional regulation of the legislative referendum of 2013 in terms of procedure. The constitutional amendments passed in 2013 ban referenda on laws vital to the country's defence and security or dealing with natural disasters.

Dozens more Slovenians returning home

LJUBLJANA - Dozens Slovenians returned home on flights organised by the Foreign Ministry. Around midnight a plane from Lisbon carrying 16 Slovenians touched down, and another 20 arrived home from Thailand, the Philippines and Switzerland by bus from Zurich airport. They were ordered a 14-day self-isolation. A plane from Helsinki is expected to land in Ljubljana tonight, bringing 45 passengers from Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Italy through Copenhagen. The ministry said that after 6 April no more special flights will be organised from distant locations.

Four more crossings on Slovenia-Austria border to close

LJUBLJANA - Only nine points on the Slovenian-Austrian border will remain open as of 2 April after the Austrian government has put in place additional restrictions to contain the spread of coronavirus. The border points at Karavanke, Šentilj (the motorway and rail crossing), Gornja Radgona and Kuzma will operate around the clock. Trate, Radlje and Ljubelj will be open from 5am to 9pm, while Vič will be open between 5am and 11pm. Holmec, Jurij, Korensko Sedlo and the crossing in Šentilj that is on the main road will be closed, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry said. However, efforts are under way to keep Holmec open.

Public broadcaster journalists targetted in assaults

LJUBLJANA - Three teams of journalists of the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija have been assaulted in recent days; in two cases they were harassed verbally, and in another the company's vehicle was damaged. The incidents were condemned by the Journalists' Association (DNS) and politicians, including PM Janez Janša. RTV Slovenija reported the attack in which its vehicle was damaged to police. According to the broadcaster, police unofficially stated that an increase in violence in society had been detected in these challenging times. The broadcaster stressed that any form of violence was unacceptable and called for tolerance.

Slovenian, Estonian presidents discuss Covid-19 pandemic

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and his Estonian counterpart Kersti Kaljulaid discussed the coronavirus pandemic and measures to contain over the phone, agreeing on mutual assistance should the respective country need it. While endorsing measures taken by their government to curb the outbreak, Pahor and Kaljulaid stressed that democratic values and the rule of law must be respected. The pair also highlighted the role of rapid and effective action at European level, urging a videoconference and a joint message by presidents of the countries taking part in the Arraiolos group to call for more unity, solidarity and efficiency within Europe.

Businesses urge boost measures after production resumes

BRDO PRI KRANJU - Business representatives urged Prime Minister Janez Janša and relevant ministers in a meeting at Brdo pri Kranju to include measures ensuring companies stay afloat after resuming production in a second coronavirus crisis stimulus package. "At today's meeting of employers' organisations, the prime minister and key ministers, businesses pointed out that following the No. 1 package, it was necessary to actively consider a quality No. 2 package which would provide liquidity support after restarting production," said Boštjan Gorjup, head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS).

BSH among first major Slovenian manufacturers to restart production

NAZARJE - BSH Hišni Aparati, which was one of the first large manufacturers in Slovenia to halt production over the coronavirus epidemic, is also among the first to resume business. The company, the largest producer of small household appliances in Europe, operated at 15% of capacity on Monday and hopes to be at 50% next week. We mostly had to close because public transport was suspended, as 75% of our workers used the bus to come to work...The second reason was the absence of protective equipment and the fact that an outbreak in our factory would have meant an excessive peril for the Upper Savinja Valey," BSH director Boštjan Gorjup told Finance.

Slovenian researchers involved in new virus identification effort

MARIBOR - Two researchers from the University of Maribor, in cooperation with British and Chines researchers, have come up with a new way of identifying viruses and bacteria which could speed up the process of determining the type of infection. Tine Curk and Urban Bren of the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering are members of a team that started their work months ago, but their findings are timely as the method they have developed can be used for coronavirus. It currently takes a whole day before the results of a coronavirus test are in, while the new approach could significantly speed up the process, Bren said.

Telekom Slovenije solution allowing remote monitoring of Covid-19 patients

LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije announced that the UKC Ljubljana hospital was already using its telehealth solution to remotely monitor individual Covid-19 patients, with talks under way to introduce it at two more hospitals. Peter Pustatičnik, head of e-health at Telekom Sloveije, told the STA that the solution, developed with their partners, had originally been developed for chronic patients, but the coronavirus pandemic revealed wider applicability. It allows the monitoring of patients in domestic care, constant communication with health staff, while reducing the risk of transmission.

No major violations of stricter movement rules

LJUBLJANA - Police report that residents in Slovenia mostly respect the movement restrictions introduced on Monday to contain the Covid-19 epidemic, moving largely within their own municipality. There are a few exceptions to the rule, allowing Slovenians to go to another municipality to go to work, do farm work, provide assistance to persons in need of care, and to access emergency services, pharmacies, diplomatic missions and judicial authorities. On Monday the police referred 107 cases to the health inspectorate, which is responsible for fining, and in 85 cases, the police warned people of inappropriate conduct.

Robert Šumi takes over as new anti-corruption commission head

LJUBLJANA - Robert Šumi, a researcher at the Police Academy, took over as the new head of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption for a six-year term. He highlighted the importance of strengthening integrity in all walks of life. Preventive in nature, integrity is the flip side of the coin of fighting corruption and it has the potential to bring results in the long run, Šumi was quoted as saying in a press release. In this respect the commission as a preventive oversight institution plays a very important role, said Šumi, stressing his goal was a society with a high degree of integrity and zero tolerance to unethical actions.

Slovenia among countries with fewest non-executed ECHR rulings

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is yet to implement 13 rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which makes it one of the countries with the lowest number of such rulings, according to the Council of Europe's annual report on the supervision of the execution of the court's decisions for 2019. The report highlights as a success the implementation of a group of judgements against Slovenia related to child custody and contacts between parents and children. Under enhanced supervision by the CoE's Committee of Ministers are still Mandič and Jovič cases related to overcrowdedness at Ljubljana prison.

Sociologist urges universal basic income

LJUBLJANA - Sociologist Valerija Korošec says it is high time to introduce a universal basic income (UBI), arguing it is a vital safeguard against the consequences of crises. She thinks Slovenia will introduce it this year to lead the way in a post-corona and post-Brexit EU when it chairs the bloc in 2021. Although she admits a crisis such as the coronavirus epidemic is not the best time to do that, she believes UBI is urgently needed as the pandemic wreaks social and economic havoc, because it is a means of protection when social systems stop working.

Govt replaces its reps at Public Health Institute

LJUBLJANA - The government replaced all four representatives of the state on the seven-member council of the National Public Health Institute (NIJZ), a move that completes an overhaul at the NIJZ after Ivan Eržen was named acting director on 20 March. The first of the four government representatives in the NIJZ council was replaced on 17 March, with Mateja Lesar appointed to replace Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the head of UKC Ljubljana's infectious disease clinic. The remaining three members were replaced today as Rok Tavčar, Matej Forte and Matjaž Vrtovec were named in place of Branko Bregar, Blanka Česnik Wolf and Tomaž Rusimovič.

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 Tjaša Derstvenšek, from the agency Pristop. You can see more of thois series of posters Contents

Extended police powers to be thrown out of anti-coronavirus legislation

No major violations of stricter movement rules

Disadvantaged students to get equipment for online classes

STA, 1 April 2020 - Three teams of journalists of the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija have been assaulted in recent days; in two cases they were harassed verbally, and in another the company's vehicle was damaged. The incidents have drawn condemnation by Slovenia's top officials and Journalists' Association (DNS).

RTV Slovenija reported of a verbal assault and damage to the company vehicle in the Odmevi late night show on Tuesday evening, noting the attack had been reported to police.

According to the broadcaster, police unofficially stated that an increase in violence in society had been detected in these challenging times. The broadcaster stressed that any form of violence was unacceptable and called for tolerance.

The same call was made in the Odmevi show by Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina.

The DNS said today that in the first case journalists had been verbally assaulted by the head of the Velenje municipal administration, Iztok Mori, a few days ago, in the second incident that happened on Tuesday, an unknown perpetrator in Ljubljana first threatened a team of journalists and then cut the tyres on the vehicle of the camera crew, while the third assault happened this morning.

In the incident, a team of journalists from the Dobro jutro (Good morning) show from the Maribor regional centre was harassed while making an interview in a street in Maribor.

RTV Slovenija reported the two most recent cases to police, the DNS noted, condemning both assaults.

Any assault on journalists, who are conducting their work in line with professional and ethical standards, is completely unacceptable, especially in times of crisis, when reporting is crucial to keep the public informed, the association said.

"As a society we may not accept a situation in which verbal and also physical assaults become occupational risk that journalists are exposed to while on the job."

The association has prepared a set of instructions for journalists who are targets of threats or attacks or on-line harassment. It has also called on all journalists to report all threats to police and urged their employers to provide journalists with the necessary support.

The attacks were condemned by senior officials and parties, including Prime Minister Janez Janša, who tweeted: "We condemn any form of street violence targeting journalists or anyone else, as well as any instigating of such acts".

The assaults were also denounced by the opposition Social Democrats (SD) and the junior coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC).

On his Twitter profile, Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik, an SMC member, described intimidation of journalists and their work as an unacceptable and abject act. "During the Covid-19 epidemic journalists are risking their own health to keep the public accurately informed about the developments, for which I'm truly grateful to them."

The SMC added that at this time in particular the need was for powerful, loud and autonomous media that make sure that the public is informed on the developments.

The SD condemned violence by anyone against anyone in the strongest term on its Twitter account, adding that there was no democracy without free and independent media, and urging the government to establish conditions immediately allowing journalists free and safe work.

"I condemn the intimidation that journalists are subject to in the strongest terms! At a time when those in power want to curb democratic standards in the country through various legal acts, media independence and confidence are the more important," SD leader Dejan Židan tweeted, adding that the party would do everything to protect democracy.

STA, 1 April 2020 - BSH Hišni Aparati, which was one of the first large manufacturers in Slovenia to halt production over the coronavirus epidemic, is also among the first to relaunch it. The company, the largest producer of small household appliances in Europe, operated at 15% of capacity on Monday and hopes to be at 50% next week.

"We mostly had to close because public transport was suspended, as 75% of our workers used the bus to come to work...The second reason was the absence of protective equipment and the fact that an outbreak in our factory would have meant an excessive peril for the Upper Savinja Valey. There are 1,500 of us here while the valley has 16,000 inhabitants," BSH director Boštjan Gorjup explained for the business daily Finance.

After closing shop on 15 March, BSH, which is a part of the international concern BSH Home Appliances Group, told around 150 workers to return to work on Monday. While planning to start working at 50% capacity next week, Gorjup, who is also the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), explained this still depended on suppliers.

"Those in China have been working for some time already. I expect that those in Italy will get a green light after an inspection where they need to prove they meet security demands, much like was the case in China. We also issued a document stating that their parts are crucial for us," Gorjup said.

BSH is now taking the temperature of workers entering the factory, while providing each one with two surgical masks, protective gloves and glasses. Work has been adjusted to provide a two metre distance between workers or through plastic barriers. They are coming to work by car now, with special parking space provided.

Gorjup said that demand for household appliances had not fallen with the crisis, with online purchases replacing conventional shopping.

The other major household appliance maker in Slovenia, Gorenje, which has a 3,400-strong workforce, meanwhile remains closed. On 20 March, the management of the company, owned by China's Hisense, decided to close all facility in Europe from 23 March to 5 April.

The company, which initially introduced extensive protective measures, said then it would close as a precautionary measure to contribute to efforts to contain the virus even though it had sufficient amounts of protective equipment and production material.

The management and the trade union agreed to resume production on 6 April unless this is prevented by additional measures in other countries that would hamper operations in the industry.

Also remaining closed is Renault's Novo Mesto-based assembly plant Revoz, which suspended production on 17 March. Revoz, which emloyss around 3,400 people, said future steps would remain on "both the situation in the country and the decisions of the Renault Group".

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 and designers. Today it’s Janja Rozman and Damjana Sušnik from Ljubljana Castle, from a series of posters organised by Tam Tam. You can see more of them here.

Contents

Number of coronavirus cases up by 39 to 841, death toll at 15

Solutions sought as Covid-19 situation in nursing homes escalates

Four more crossings on Slovenia-Austria border to close

Dozens more Slovenians returning home

STA, 31 March 2020 - Following the successful integration of lynx Goru, another wild cat brought to Slovenia from Romania was released into the wild on Tuesday after a 3-week quarantine. Lynx Katalin spent those weeks in a temporary enclosure to get used to the new environment, said the Forestry Service.

The release was coordinated as part of the Life Lynx international project. The initiative strives to restore the regional lynx population, which is facing extinction due to inbreeding.

Quarantine measures are imposed to ensure that once the animals are released, they stay in the area and mingle with other local lynx.

So far, the project has brought four lynx to Slovenia and Croatia, namely Goru, Doru, Alojzija and Katalin. The target is to introduce 14 animals in total to diversify the population's gene pool in the Dinaric Alps and south-eastern Alps.

All the animals have been given telemetric collars and are thus tracked and monitored in their natural habitat.

The project has already led to the first case of a successful breeding with the local population - the first lynx to be introduced to Slovenia under the project, Goru, mated with Teja, a female from Slovenia's declining population of the wild cats, soon after he was released in May last year.

A female kitten named Mala was determined to be their descendant by genetic tests in January.

Meanwhile, Katalin is the second lynx of at least ten to be released in Slovenia in the next four years.