STA, 9 March 2020 - The National Security Council adopted several measures on Monday to curb the spread of coronavirus, the most notable being temperature screenings that are to be introduced at Ljubljana airport. Extra measures are planned on the land border as well. The cabinet has prepared a EUR 1bn stimulus package to mitigate the impact on the economy.

The checking of passengers arriving at Jože Pučnik airport is expected to be introduced in a few days, while the authorities are still looking into the possibility of introducing preventive measures on the border with Italy.

Police can set up border control within 48 hours while small border crossings will probably have to be closed, Health Minister Aleš Šabeder said.

The National Security Council also agreed today that indoor events would have to be limited to 100 participants as of Tuesday, and that all sports events for 500-plus visitors, including the upcoming Alpine Ski World Cup events and the Ski Flying World Championships in Slovenia, would be carried out without spectators.

The organisers of the Planica World Championship have already announced they will honour the decision, but noted this will create a loss of EUR 650,000.

A number of higher education institutions across Slovenia have decided to cancel in-class lectures and switched to online lectures and e-classes to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The first to announce a suspension of the "teaching process" for a fortnight was the Koper-based University of Primorska, citing the outbreak in neighbouring Italy as part of the reason, while lectures have also been cancelled at the University of Novo Mesto and at least seven colleges of the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia's largest.

Schools and kindergartens will, however, remain open for the time being, agreed officials today.

Most hospitals and retirement homes have already banned visitors, while the Prison Administration has advised inmates to use the phone to contact their relatives although visits have not been banned.

The National Security Council also agreed today that the Finance Ministry would immediately release budget reserves for the purchase of protection gear. Slovenia will order half a million protective face masks as part of an EU public procurement of protective gear, said Health Minister Aleš Šabeder.

Since the coronavirus outbreak has severely affected businesses, the government announced today a stimulus package worth a billion euro for short- and long-term measures such as tax deferrals, state guarantees and credit lines.

The measures are designed to provide liquidity to businesses, preserve jobs, reduce losses and make sure companies' market position does not deteriorate, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said after a session of the council for competitive and stable business environment, an advisory body.

Of the total amount, roughly EUR 600 million will come from existing financial mechanisms available at SID Banka, the state-owned export and development bank, which will also provide EUR 200 million for new measures.

The Slovenian Enterprise Fund will have EUR 115 million available for small and medium-sized companies, while the Slovenian Regional Development Fund will offer a scheme under which companies will be able to roll over debt.

An emergency law will be adopted to co-finance temporary lay-offs. Over EUR 51m will be set aside for companies that have to temporarily lay off more than half of their staff. The state would provide 40% of wage compensation in such cases.

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Slovenia grew to 23 by 2pm today, with the greatest number of infected coming from the south-east (ten) and the Ljubljana area (nine).

All of the patients are feeling fine. They are being treated at the UKC Ljubljana, UKC Maribor and the Novo Mesto hospitals.

The NIJZ has so far proposed quarantine for about 50 people.

In 14 cases, patients were infected abroad, mostly in Italy, and in nine cases secondary infections occurred, but all were connected to the known cases.

Keep up to date on coronavirus and Slovenia here

STA, 9 March 2020 - The benchmark index on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange suffered the sharpest decline since the early stages of the financial crisis on Monday, moving in lockstep with global markets spooked by the potential impact of the global spread of coronavirus on economies around the world.

The SBI Top lost 7.28% to 817.92 points, the third sharpest decline since its introduction in 2006 and the biggest daily loss since October 2008, as the sell-off affected all blue chips regardless of industry.

Drug maker Krka and insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav were the hardest hit, the former losing 9.2% to EUR 63 and the latter down 9.4% to EUR 29. Another insurer, Sava, was down 7.3% to EUR 17.80.

Telekom Slovenije and port operator Luka Koper also lost in excess of 7%.

The only major issue to lose less than 5% was energy group Petrol, which was down 3.7% to EUR 340.

Turnover approached EUR 6 million, several times the normal daily volume.

With the market now being cheaper, perhaps you’d like to learn more about the SBI Top and the companies it includes – you can do that here

STA, 9 March 2020 - The government is preparing a stimulus package worth a billion euro to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on the economy. Short- and long-term measures such as tax deferrals, state guarantees and credit lines are planned, mostly from existing financial facilities, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said Monday.

The measures are designed to provide liquidity to businesses, preserve jobs, reduce losses and make sure companies' market position does not deteriorate, Počivalšek said after a session of the council for competitive and stable business environment, an advisory body.

Of the total amount, roughly EUR 600 million will come from existing financial mechanisms available at SID Banka, the state-owned export and development bank, which will also provide EUR 200 million for new measures.

The Slovenian Enterprise Fund will have EUR 115 million available for small and medium-sized companies, while the Slovenian Regional Development Fund will offer a scheme under which companies will be able to roll over debt.

An emergency law will be adopted to co-finance temporary lay-offs. Over EUR 51m will be set aside for companies that have to temporarily lay off more than half of their staff. The state would provide 40% of wage compensation in such cases, according to Počivalšek.

The Economy Ministry has EUR 6 million at its disposal to help companies in trouble and may activate EUR 20 million for guarantees.

The currently stringent rules on telecommuting may be relaxed in the event of emergency, but they will be additionally liberalised with a special emergency law. "We want to facilitate flexibility," said Tilen Božič, state secretary at the Labour Ministry.

There are already rules in place allowing companies to defer tax liabilities, but the currently stringent conditions will be relaxed.

The financing of tourism promotion will be stepped up to help an industry that is already among the worst hit by the global spread of coronavirus.

Počivalšek said it was necessary to be prudent without causing panic. "I'm an optimist and I am confident we'll be able to shield our economy to the maximum extent from major impacts of the coronavirus crisis."

Slovenia had 23 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Monday afternoon and the spread of the disease has already prompted some companies to advise workers to stay home if they suspect they or their family members may be sick.

Health insurance rules stipulate that workers ordered by the authorities to self-isolate because they are considered as high-risk persons are entitled to full compensation of pay that their employers must provide.

The same goes for persons who had recently visited areas strongly affected by coronavirus but are healthy. They may be asked by their employers to stay home, but they are entitled to full pay.

For persons confirmed to have COVID-19, the Health Insurance Institute (ZZZS) covers 90% of pay from the first day of absence from work, meaning that employers do not have to pay them wages.

Normally, employers cover the first 31 working days of sick leave, whereupon the ZZZS covers their sick pay.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia can be found here

STA, 9 March 2020 - A growing number of higher education institutions across Slovenia are cancelling in-class lectures and switching to online lectures and e-classes to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The first to announce a suspension of the "teaching process" for a fortnight was the Koper-based University of Primorska, citing the outbreak in neighbouring Italy as part of the reason.

Lectures have also been cancelled at the University of Novo Mesto and at least seven colleges of the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia's largest.

The latter advised its members to call off lectures at auditoriums seating 100 or more students for at least two weeks. It also cancelled large events such as conferences itself.

While the university does not have a list of the colleges that suspended or adapted the teaching process, data from its members' web sites show at least seven have done so.

The Faculty of Architecture cancelled all lectures and tutorials, as have the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, and the Faculty of Arts until Friday, replacing them with remote teaching activities.

The Faculty of Medicine suspended certain activities outside its premises until 20 March and the Faculty of Law cancelled all lectures and tutorials, replacing them with individualised study.

Slovenia has so far confirmed nineteen COVID-19 cases. On Saturday, the authorities banned all indoor public gatherings of more than 500 people.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia can be found here

STA, 9 March 2020 - The Koper-based University of Primorska has suspended "teaching process" for a fortnight due to the coronavirus outbreak in neighbouring Italy.

Announcing the measure on the university's official Facebook profile, chancellor Klavdija Kutnar said the decision had been prompted by advice and information from the National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) and its Italian counterpart Istituto Superiore di Sanita dell'Italia.

Having studied that information and considering that Italy is the largest coronavirus hotspot in Europe, "we have decided for the measure for preventive reasons. We are a university that interacts daily with neighbouring Italy," the chancellor said in the post.

The measure is valid until 20 March. Students will be given further instructions about the possibility of a distance teaching process, such as online lectures and e-classrooms. They will be kept up to date on potential further changes.

Until Sunday afternoon, Slovenia recorded 16 COVID-19 cases out of close to 1,000 people tested. Meanwhile, the virus claimed 366 lives in Italy where the number of infections rose to 7,375 yesterday.

Keep up to date on coronavirus and Slovenia here

STA, 8 March 2020 - Slovenia is far from having a coronavirus epidemic, Nina Pirnat, director of the National Public Health Institute, said on Sunday, expressing hope that the protective measures will prevent it. The number of the coronavirus infections in the country has meanwhile risen to 16.

 Asked about closing down schools, Pirnat said this would be a disproportionate measure at the moment and that the main measure in Slovenia and most neighbouring countries was still hygiene.

Health Minister Aleš Šabeder noted that several violations of the ban on large indoor public events which was issued yesterday had been reported. The ban aimed at preventing further spreading of the virus entered into force at 7pm last night.

"We were notified today that several facilities were opened last night despite the ban. We will check if sanctions are envisaged for this. If there are not, we will make amendments," he said.

He said the organisers of indoor events were acting irresponsibly, and called on all citizens and institutions to strictly honour the ban. "This will create economic damage but the priority is protecting the people," he said.

The authorities are also checking reports that some Italian-based companies which have closed their production are sending their workers to their Slovenian subsidiaries.

Šabeder said he had talked about this with Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, and that the pair had agreed certain measures would need to be taken.

Šabeder will also talk on the phone with his Austrian counterpart later this evening to discuss Austria's measure to prevent the spreading of the disease, and possible joint measures.

The outgoing prime minister, Marjan Šarec, has called a session of the National Security Council for Monday. "We will get acquainted with the events so far," she said, rejecting criticism that such a meeting should have been called earlier. "We called the meeting when we assessed the time is right."

Šarec said the Ministry of Health could declare an epidemic if necessary without the National Security Council. "None of the neighbouring countries has closed schools yet. It is important that we take corresponding measures. Only Italy has taken such measures so far," he said.

The outgoing PM called on all citizens, especially medical staff, not to go on non-urgent trips abroad, especially not to Italy.

The Foreign Ministry advised Slovenians on Friday to postpone any non-urgent trips, while the Metlika area in the east of the country, where an infected doctor had contact with a large number of people, citizens have been advised to avoid any kind of gatherings, including private ones.

Officials said today the measures for Metlika remained in place and that no stricter measures were required for the time being.

Šarec said that after preliminary information from Metlika it was feared that an epidemic would be declared for the area but the National Public Health Institute assessed this was not the case.

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections has meanwhile risen by four to 16 since Saturday evening. By 2pm today, 981 tests were conducted.

According to media reports, the newly infected persons are a rescuer and two nurses from the Metlika area, who had been in contact with the infected doctor there, and a 31-year-old woman from the coast, who got ill while in Switzerland.

Keep up with the news on coronavirus and Slovenia here

STA, 7 March 2020 - Health Minister Aleš Šabeder has issued a decree banning all public indoor events for 500-plus visitors as the number of confirmed coronavirus case increased by four to 12. The ban enters into force at 7pm tonight. A session of the National Security Council has been called by Prime Minister Marjan Šarec for Monday.

National Public Health Institute director Nina Pirnat told the press that the transmission risk was increasing, which is why the institute proposed limitations to public events.

Along with the ban on large indoor events, the Health Ministry is proposing that organisers of smaller events also reconsider.

Asked about events like movie screenings or prom dances, Minister Šabeder told POP TV's evening news show that organisers should consider whether it is urgent that their event be held and consider cancelling it if this is not the case.

He is aware that economic and financial damage is occurring, "but right now it is people's health that matters the most". Šabeder said experts were united in their view on the matter and that Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek also understood the situation.

The Health Ministry told the STA that schools would remain open, but that the situation was being monitored closely. Šabeder argued that classrooms were smaller after all and that Education Minister Jernej Pikalo confirmed closing school was not warranted for now. However, "let us wait until Monday", Šabeder added.

The concert of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli scheduled today at Ljubljana's Stožice Arena has been postponed. Cankarjev dom, Slovenia's largest cultural and congress centre, also cancelled today's events and while it initially announced it would postpone all events with 100-plus participants, it later said it would wait for detailed instructions from the Health Ministry.

It is not yet clear what will happen to the Ski Flying World Championships scheduled in Planica from 19 to 22 March, but it is possible the events will take place without spectators.

Meanwhile, additional measures have been announced for the Metlika area in the east of the country, where an infected doctor had contact with a large number of people, including at the elderly home, which has been closed. People in Metlika have been advised to avoid any kind of gatherings, including private ones.

The institute also proposed a meeting of the National Security Council and outgoing PM Šarec has already announced it will be held on Monday.

A total of 785 people have been tested for the coronavirus in Slovenia so far. According to epidemiologists, all 12 positive cases established by 2pm today were "imported" into the country, meaning the individuals contracted the virus abroad or were in close contact with somebody who had been abroad, in most cases in Italy.

All of the affected individuals who have been hospitalised are in a stable condition and none of them has been diagnosed with pneumonia, Health Ministry State Secretary Simona Repar Bornšek explained.

All out stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here

STA, 6 March 2020 - The Foreign Ministry issued an alert on its web site on Friday, advising Slovenians to postpone all non-essential trips abroad in the face of the spreading of the new coronavirus. Meanwhile, two new cases of infection have been confirmed in Slovenia, putting the total number of cases in the country at eight.

The ministry's unprecedented call has been met with severe criticism from the Association of Travelling Agencies, which said it may spell bankruptcy of all Slovenian travelling agencies.

The association stressed that no other EU member had issued such warnings.

Because of the spreading of the new virus, some hotels in the country have already temporarily closed their door. Spas seem to be less affected than accommodation facilities in Ljubljana, lakeside resort Bled and on the coast.

Hotels in the capital are detecting a 30% decrease in occupancy rate and an even bigger slump in revenue.

Calls have been mounting for measures that would offset the negative effects of the virus on businesses, and the Labour Ministry has reportedly drawn up an emergency bill to subsidise companies for part of pay of workers temporarily laid off because of the virus.

The Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business (OZS) said today that Slovenian small businesses, including hoteliers, coach companies and pub and restaurant owners, were hit hard.

Tourist guides expressed concern as well, listing cancellations spanning the entire tourist season and a looming threat of complete loss of income.

Yesterday, several associations, including the trade union of employees in the hospitality sector from the ZSSS trade union confederation, the Employers' Association and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have urged immediate action from the government.

Meanwhile, two unrelated new cases of infection were confirmed today, one in the north-east and one in the south-east, putting the number of coronavirus cases in the country at eight.

The seventh case was related to the previous one, with the infected person being the wife of a 32-year-old man from the Štajerska region who tested positive for the virus on Thursday.

Both are employed at the Maribor UKC hospital, but the authorities say all precautionary measures had been taken to prevent further spreading of the virus.

State secretary at the Health Ministry Simona Repar Bornšek told the press today that all confirmed coronavirus patients were stable.

According to the information collected so far, the first seven infected patients have recently been in Italy.

Information is, however, still scarce on the eighth case, a doctor working in a community health centre in Metlika.

Currently, the search is on for the persons who had been in contact with him and according to Health Minister Aleš Šabeder their number exceeds 40.

The minister said that having doctors affected was "the worst possible scenario". But he noted that the medical staff got infected on trips abroad and not at work.

Some additional protective measures were introduced today, including a recommendation for hospitals and retirement homes to ban visits. Schools and kindergartens remain open.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here

STA, 6 March 2020 - Certain hotels in Slovenia have been temporarily closed in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the head of the Slovenian hotelier association Gregor Jamnik told the STA on Friday, highlighting that the situation was serious, with hotels recording cancellations and few new bookings on a daily basis.

The situation varies according to individual hotels - spas are less affected than accommodation facilities in Ljubljana, lakeside resort Bled and on the coast, said Jamnik.

Currently, hotels in the capital are detecting a 30% decrease in occupancy rate and an even bigger slump in revenue. So far, there is no detailed information provided for other parts of Slovenia.

Apart from closing doors for the time being, certain hotels have already started slimming down their workforce as well, said Jamnik, adding that the revenue lost to the outbreak would be impossible to offset.

Meanwhile, the Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business (OZS) warned today that Slovenian small businesses, including hoteliers, coach companies and pub and restaurant owners, were already feeling the ramifications of the coronavirus spread, urging the government to introduce temporary tax exemptions and sick pay subsidies.

Tourist guides expressed concern over the situation as well, listing cancellations spanning the entire tourist season and a looming threat of complete loss of income.

There are currently seven confirmed cases of infection with the novel coronavirus in Slovenia. The outbreak has taken a heavy toll on Italy, one of Slovenia's key tourist markets. The Foreign Ministry advised today against all travel to northern Italy and against non-urgent travel to other parts of the neighbouring country.

Small business group calls for tax relief and subsidies

STA, 6 March 2020 - Small businesses are already feeling the effects of the novel coronavirus spread, shows a recent survey by the Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business (OZS) indicating that some 80% of its members experience disruption. The chamber is thus urging the government to introduce temporary tax exemptions and sick pay subsidies.

Among those already seeing a slump in sales and demand are pub and restaurant owners, bus and shuttle companies, and hoteliers.

The survey was conducted between 4 and 6 March and included 233 respondents, who estimate that revenue will be halved in the first half of 2020, said the OZS today, urging tax breaks amid the coronavirus outbreak as well as subsidising paid sick leave for workers on furlough due to the emergency situation.

The OZS proposed additional measures as well, such as allocating funds for keeping companies afloat during the outbreak. "The measures should be adopted as soon as possible since we're already on red alert," said OZS head Branko Meh.

Moreover, OZS pointed to the unenviable situation coach companies have found themselves in since the outbreak, listing cancellations from travel agencies spanning until June and demand dropping by as much as 95%. The chamber highlighted that companies would have to deal with long-term ramifications as well.

The Labour Ministry has already drafted an emergency bill to subsidise pay for workers temporarily sent on furlough. It has announced that it will send the proposal for examination to social partners as early as today so it was ready to be passed should the need arise.

Under the proposal, subsidies would be granted to companies that would be forced to temporarily lay off at least half of their workforce. The workers on furlough for up to three months would get 80% of the average pay for the past three months.

The state would cover 40% of their pay as well as 40% of the pay for the employees under quarantine ordered by the Health Ministry. The remaining 60% would be covered by employers.

The companies claiming subsidies would have to commit to preserve the jobs of the workers on furlough for at least six more months after the start of such temporary lay-offs.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here

STA, 5 March 2020 - Six cases of novel coronavirus infection have so far been confirmed in Slovenia in what appear to be at least two unrelated clusters. Preventive steps are being taken and measures are in the pipeline to help businesses affected by the global outbreak.

Three of the infected persons had been on a trip to Morocco, returning via Italy's Venice airport on a commercial flight in the afternoon of 29 February before continuing home.

A further two infected were a man and a woman who had travelled in Italy where they are presumed to have contracted the virus, Nina Pirnat, director of the National Public Health Institute, told TV Slovenija on late night news show.

During the programme, information came in about a sixth person testing positive for the virus. Details are not available yet, but the report said it was a younger man from the Štajersko region, in the north-east.

The health authorities established that the first person confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, identified as a Ljubljana man aged about 60, had been in contact with 19 fellow travellers on a ten-day organised motorcycle trip around Morocco, 16 from Slovenia and three from Croatia.

Moreover, the health authorities said that he had been in contact with seven persons in the community health centre in the Ljubljana borough of Vič, which the man visited on Wednesday, feeling unwell.

The physician, who attended to the patient before sending him in an ambulance to the UKC Ljubljana hospital to be quarantined in a separate ward, has self-isolated.

The doctor was wearing protective equipment while examining the patient, and the premises of the health centre were ventilated and sanitised, NIJZ officials said.

All persons who have been in close contact with the man have been tested. The Slovenian Health Ministry has also notified Croatia about the situation.

Until 6pm today, a total of 433 had been tested for the novel coronavirus in Slovenia, data from NIJZ show.

Addressing reporters in Ljubljana, Pirnat said they had been receiving calls from persons who had been at the Ljubljana emergency ward on Saturday evening, when the man visited it because of an injury.

All have been given instructions to monitor their condition and to call their GP if they start coughing, sneezing, have a fever or shortness of breath.

Pirnat said the likelihood of the man passing on the virus to other patients who were at the emergency ward at the time was very small because they were not in close contact.

The first patient had already had symptoms when he had arrived in Venice. He used a shuttle van to come to Ljubljana together with a few other persons. The van driver has also been tested and isolated.

The second infected person is not showing the signs of the illness and the other has minor symptoms.

Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the head of the UKC Ljubljana Department of Infectious Diseases, told TV Slovenija that all the infected persons were in good condition.

They are all under quarantine at the hospital. If there are more cases in need of hospitalisation, those who do not show symptoms would be sent home.

Measures are afoot to contain the virus with public events being cancelled, while hospitals had barred visitors days ago. Many community health centres are checking every visitor at the entrances.

Business braces for impact of coronavirus in Slovenia

Businesses have meanwhile been pointing to the impact of the global outbreak, calling for clear guidance and measures to help cope them with the situation.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) today said that many manufacturing companies could be affected by disrupted supplies over the next 14 days due to the outbreak in China. A slump in sales is also expected.

Due to the coronavirus spread in Europe, Slovenian companies active in tourism, hospitality, logistics, services and retail already report problems.

Several Slovenian travel agencies have seen a significant drop in business because of the new coronavirus. The agencies organising tourist trips in Slovenia are particularly affected, while those offering trips abroad are noticing a change of tourism flows.

Radio Slovenija has reported that the Labour Ministry has drawn up an emergency bill to subsidise companies for part of pay of workers temporarily laid off as a result of the impact of the global coronavirus outbreak.

Companies would be eligible for the subsidy if they were forced by business reasons to temporarily lay off more than half of the workforce.

The workers who are on furlough for up to three months would get 80% of the average pay for the past three months, of which 40% would be subsidised by the state and the rest by the employer.

Keep up with the latest news on coronavirus and Slovenia here