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 Maruša Štibelj. You can see more of her work here.
Nine new coronavirus infections, two new deaths bring death toll to 79
Large companies largely opting for Covid-19 crisis bonus
State to guarantee up to 80% for loans to SMEs, 70% for large companies
Protective equipment apparently stolen from Ljubljana hospital
Covid-19 pushes consumer sentiment lowest on record
Nine new coronavirus infections, two new deaths bring death toll to 79
STA, 22 April - Nine new coronavirus infections were recorded in Slovenia on Tuesday, the same as on Monday, with the number of tests the highest so far, at 1,459, government data show. So far 1,353 infections have been confirmed. Both the number of hospitalised patients and patients in intensive care continues to drop.
The number of deaths rose by two to 79 on Tuesday.
The number of hospitalised patients has been decreasing for a week and now stands at 82, while 24 patients are in intensive care. Eight were released home on Tuesday.
A total of 44,435 tests have been conducted in Slovenia so far.
Among the infected, 159 are medical staff, and 291 residents of care homes, fresh data from the government show.
So far, 326 Covid-19 patients have been admitted to hospital and 210 released home.
The UKC Ljubljana hospital has 34 Covid-19 patients today, UKC Maribor 28, the Celje general hospital 13 and the Golnik hospital seven.
Back to the contents
Large companies largely opting for Covid-19 crisis bonus
STA, 22 April 2020 - Some large companies have already paid their employees a bonus for working during the coronavirus crisis, with others yet to do so. Some will pay the bonus as set down by the government emergency law, others their own one, while some companies have opted for both, they have told the STA.
Pharmaceutical companies Krka and Novartis have not suspended their operations during the epidemic so they plan no pay or staff cuts and will not ask for state aid for idle workers.
All Krka employees who have been working during the crisis and will work until the end of April will receive a 10% performance bonus on top of their monthly pay, or at least EUR 326 gross for a full working month.
Krka supervisors will meanwhile donate 30% of their fees to those in need in their local community.
Tool maker Unior will pay all of its employees a crisis bonus as set down by the Covid-19 emergency law, while its management will not receive performance bonuses for the 2019 business year.
Similarly, home appliance maker Gorenje, which owned by China's Hisense, will pay out a crisis bonus under the emergency legislation.
The bonus will be calculated on the basis of hourly rates for work in April and May, or EUR 200 for a full working month.
Pay at Gorenje has not been cut, not even for managers, which the company however mentioned as an option for the future.
At the NLB bank, members of the management and supervisory boards will have their pay cut by 15% until the end of the year and will not get performance bonuses. Other high-profile professionals at the bank will see their pay cut by 10% during the epidemic.
Part of the money saved there will be redistributed among the NLB employees who have for various reasons been sent home during the crisis. These idle workers will receive a wage compensation in the amount of 85% of their average pay from the last three months.
Although banks and insurance companies are not obliged to pay out a crisis bonus under the emergency legislation, NLB employees working during the crisis will receive one.
Retailer Mercator workers have already received a 30% crisis bonus for March. The crisis bonus under the emergency law will however be paid with the April salary, meaning in May, for both March and April.
Despite a 50% drop in its sales, energy company and fuel trader Petrol has paid out its own crisis bonus to the workers most at risk during the epidemic.
The Petrol management meanwhile cut its salary by 20%, heads of departments saw their salaries reduced by 10% and other employees by around 5%. The measure will stay in place until the end of May, but could be extended.
National telco Telekom Slovenije has not cut pay, saying its employees were extremely busy providing uninterrupted services during the epidemic.
Some 70-80% of its employees have been working from home, and those under the most stress received a special bonus for difficult working conditions.
Port operator Luka Koper will pay a crisis bonus for March and April in May, with a decision to cut executive pay expected in the coming days.
HSE, the group bringing together several electricity producers, will pay out the crisis bonus in line with the emergency legislation.
Its management has not cut its pay, saying it is already some 15% lower than it could be under the law on management pay in state-owned companies.
State to guarantee up to 80% for loans to SMEs, 70% for large companies
STA, 22 April 2020 - As part of the second stimulus package to help the Slovenian economy cope with the coronavirus epidemic, the state will provide quick liquidity aid to companies to the tune of EUR 2 billion. Loans to micro companies and SMEs will be guaranteed for up to 80% of the principal, and up to 70% for large companies.
Parts of the corrections to the first package and of the second package were presented on Wednesday by the head of the advisory task force Matej Lahovnik, who said that in the second package, the government "aims for quick liquidity aid to the economy."
Pointing to the loan guarantees, he said that the amount was limited to 10% of annual revenue or labour costs, with an additional condition being that the company must participate in the settlement of claims.
"By doing so, they assume a large part of the risk. We count that commercial banks will provide fast and effective liquidity aid," Lahovnik said, adding that the government would create a guarantee scheme modelled after Germany.
As for the adjustments of the first package, he said that subsidies for wages and social security contributions for workers on temporary lay-off would apply for companies whose annual turnover was down by 10% compared to the pre-crisis period.
Lahovnik noted that potential beneficiaries should be aware that the fiscal space was not unlimited and that this was state aid to the economy financed by taxpayers, which would have to be refunded at some point in the future.
"The aid is intended for companies who have found themselves in trouble due to the crisis, and is not aid intended for those who had been in trouble earlier," he stressed.
The advisory task force also recommends that production and services should be relaunched as soon as possible while sticking to the health protection protocols.
Lahovnik notes that Germany, for instance, was putting an emphasis on work from home, time corridors, same workers working in same shifts, safety distance and use of protective equipment. "Slovenia will have to implement these measures."
He also proposed subsidies for shortened working time under the German and Austrian model, noting that funds at the EU level were also available for such a measure.
Protective equipment apparently stolen from Ljubljana hospital
STA, 22 April 2020 - The police are investigating a suspected theft of protective equipment in the UKC Ljubljana hospital. Two persons have been detained, the police told the STA on Wednesday, revealing no further details. UKC Ljubljana general manager Janez Poklukar has condemned the incident.
Slovenia's largest hospital reported the alleged robbery in mid-April, said the Ljubljana Police Department, adding that it has since conducted two house searches at properties of the detained persons. Since the investigation is ongoing, the police cannot divulge any additional information.
Prior to the police statement, UKC Ljubljana published a press release saying that the hospital "has detected deviations from safety equipment" quota and immediately notified the police of the situation. It has also ordered an emergency inventory of personal protective equipment.
The 24ur.com web portal has reported that the suspects had been stealing UKC supplies and then selling them online.
The hospital, which is currently treating 34 Covid-19 patients, finds it regrettable that the epidemic has been exploited for profiteering, however it hopes that would not leave a mark on its efforts during the crisis, the press release reads.
Poklukar deplored the incident, pledging that UKC Ljubljana "would do anything to protect its employees, reputation and patients". He did not want to comment on whether the staff was among the suspects.
Meanwhile, Slovenia continues to see a number of donations coming in - pharmaceutical company Bayer has donated EUR 40,000 to the country for mitigating the ramifications of the epidemic as well as 1,200 protective masks and several hundred gloves to three healthcare organisations in Slovenia. Moreover, the Addiko bank has given 13,000 face masks to 13 care homes.
Covid-19 pushes consumer sentiment lowest on record
STA, 22 April 2020 - Slovenia recorded the biggest drop in consumer sentiment in April since March 1996, when the statisticians started keeping record, the Statistics Office said on Wednesday. The index dropped by 30 percentage points in monthly comparison and by 41 points year on year, which statisticians attribute to the coronavirus epidemic.
All four components of the index deteriorated in April compared to March. Consumers' expectations about the financial situation in their households were down by 30 percentage points and the expectations about the economic situation in the country by 41 points.
Consumers were also pessimistic about the number of unemployed (down 39 points) and about the prospects for savings (down by 13 points).
In annual comparison, consumer sentiment deteriorated mainly because of less optimistic expectations about the number of the unemployed and about the economic situation in the country (down by 59 points each).
People's expectations about the financial situation in their households and prospects for savings were also down, by 34 and 11 points, respectively.
Expectations about the ability to buy a car, build or purchase a flat, and the ability to renovate it, which are measured only every three months, were also down in April, by 12, 6 and 15 points, respectively.
