STA, 29 September 2020 - A total of 99 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 were confirmed in 2,382 tests on Monday. No deaths were recorded yesterday, according to the most recent data released by the government.
The national Covid-19 tracker Sledilnik says that there were 1,656 active cases in Slovenia in Monday, with 84 patients requiring hospital care, while 16 were in intensive care.
The figures indicate that Slovenia is flattening the curve of contagion, after a record 192 new cases were detected on Thursday and the share of positive cases in total tests performed on a single day climbed to a record 8.24% on Saturday, while on Monday it was 4.16%.
In total, Slovenia has recorded 5,487 coronavirus cases and 149 SARS-CoV-2 deaths.
Janša says stricter measures not needed at the moment
STA, 29 September 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša said on Tuesday that despite a higher number of Covid-19 cases than in the first wave, hospitalisation figures in Slovenia were still manageable and did not yet call for stricter measures. Speaking at an AmCham Slovenia event, he announced a plan for different future scenarios would be presented shortly.
At the meeting, which focused on key challenges and reforms ahead for Slovenia and its role in the EU, Janša said that Slovenia was still in "the orange zone".
He said the government had already drawn up plans for the future, with the measures also depending on hospital bed occupancy numbers. On Monday, 84 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised, with 16 receiving intensive care.
Responding to criticism of some of the government's actions, Janša said much had been learned in the spring. "If we hadn't learned, the situation would be much more critical today," he said.
He added health and social welfare establishments had also managed to keep infections at bay much better now than at the beginning. There are still some problem points, but the reason mostly lies in people not keeping to the measures. However, the situation is still manageable without stricter measures, Janša argued.
Commenting on the contact tracing app, whose wide use he had said was the only path to a normal functioning of society until vaccination, the prime minister acknowledged that wide and effective use has not happened.
He argued this was also the result of the app being voluntary. Given Slovenia's location in the centre of Europe, the app would function better if it was pan-European, Janša says, expressing regret the EU failed to come to an agreement on this.
While the app is producing some results, these are not enough to be an alternative to the measures. This is why we wear masks, keep a distance and have other restrictions. This is causing debate, but many of these restrictions would not be needed if the app were used and existing measures were respected more consistently, Janša assessed.
He meanwhile pointed the government's latest stimulus package, announcing that after the vaccine stops the pandemic, additional targeted measures would follow for sectors that will need longer to recover. He feels this will be a much smaller problem, as optimism will be driving European and global economy forward then and everything will be easier.
Man gets into a fist fight with security guard over face masks
STA, 29 September 2020 - A man got into a fist fight with a security guard in one of Ljubljana's shops on Saturday after the security guard warned him and his family that they need to wear face masks if they want to enter the shop.
A couple with a child entered the shop in the Šiška borough without face masks, which are obligatory in all enclosed public areas in Slovenia.
After the security guard asked them to put face masks on or leave the area, the woman followed his instructions, while the man punched the security guard in the face.
According to the Ljubljana police department, the security guard then attempted to keep the man in place for disobeying his warning and attacking him, but the man resisted and started beating the security guard until another security guard intervened.
During the fight, the stroller that the man was holding overturned, but the child did not fall out or got injured.
The injured security guard was rushed to the hospital, police said, adding that investigation is under way.
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