STA, 5 November 2020 - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption has detected multiple corruption risks concerning the purchases of personal protective equipment in spring as part of a focused review of these purchases. It will launch its own inquiries and inform the competent authorities of suspected wrongdoing that it not within its purview.

The findings will be forwarded to the National Review Commission, the Market Inspectorate, the Court of Audit, police, Financial Administration and the Agency for Medicines, Commission president Robert Šumi told the press on Thursday.

He did not specify the persons or authorities that individual cases of suspected wrongdoing refer to beyond saying that the Commission will launch its own inquiries targeting several persons, including public officials, as early as this month.

Following a series of media reports about suspected irregularities in the purchases of protective face masks and ventilators in the earliest stages of the epidemic, the Commission launched a focused preliminary inquiry into the matter.

Šumi said that the Commission realised how grave and demanding the situation was at the time, which demanded swift and effective action.

"We also realise that the purchasing of protective equipment was conducted in extraordinary circumstances, when the need to buy protective equipment to protect the citizens was the priority. Nevertheless, we emphasise that even in such circumstances it is necessary to act responsibly, transparently and with a high degree of integrity."

The watchdog detected risks in all phases of PPE procurement, pertaining to unclarity as to the role of individual stakeholders in the process.

As a result, it also detected specific risks throughout the process of a lack of traceability and transparency, unequal treatment of bidders and selected contractors and influence peddling by unauthorised persons.

Since this would be outside its remit, the watchdog has not passed its opinion on purchases through intermediaries, but it has detected issues regarding the role of the Agency for Commodity Reserves.

The watchdog's Katja Mihelič Sušnik noted a lack of clarity as to the role of individuals involved in the selection and purchasing. However, Šumi said the commission is yet to examine accountability of individual persons.

The commission can also initiate a process for the protection of witnesses, something requested by Ivan Gale, a former employee at the Agency for Commodity Reserves who came forward with allegations of wrongdoing in spring.

The watchdog will try, within the scope of its powers, to establish a causal link between Gale's alleged disclosure and his recent dismissal from the job at the agency, said Šumi, adding that Gale had been subject to close examination by the watchdog as well as a person involved in the processes under examination.

The watchdog has acquired information on alleged wrongdoing based on media reports, complaints and public disclosure.

The oversight has been running since May 2020, involving extensive documentation, interviews with various individuals and meetings with organisations.

Mihelič Sušnik said the watchdog had not had difficulties in acquiring documents; the investigation focused on purchases of protective face masks and in part on ventilators.

The commission has issued 15 recommendations to the key stakeholders in the purchasing procedures, pertaining to detailed defining of roles of individual players, the quantities of purchases and the required proofs and selection measures and criteria, among other things.

The commission sent its report today to the government, the Agency for Commodity Reserves, the ministries involved in the PPE procurement procedures, and the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration.

The report contains tables of all 61 contracts and three purchase orders and tables listing the revenue of chosen suppliers, while it does not include the values of orders and supplies, said Mihelič Sušnik.

STA, 5 November 2020 - The government has extended a ban on movement between municipalities and a ban on gatherings of more than six people for another week, while it has allowed some more services and businesses to reopen.

The businesses that are being allowed to reopen from Friday include pedicure services, and specialised shops selling baby, childcare and mother care items, technical goods, cars, bicycles, furniture, photographic and photocopying services, watch and jewellery shops.

Presenting the changes to the relevant decree, which were adopted at the government correspondence session today, Economy Ministry State Secretary Ajda Cuderman said restrictions were being eased on activities "where there's a very small possibility of transmission of infection".

For pedicure she said it was "of exceptional importance for preventive care of the many older people, and to prevent any serious conditions with the elderly, who have been warning of that".

The establishments that are being opened will need to observe additional safety measures, including limiting customers to one per 30 square metres, as opposed to 20 square metres per customer so far.

In shopping centres, entrances and exits for customers will have to be separated, with hand sanitisers at both ends and regular airing required, among other things.

Cuderman indicated that other services such as beauty shops and ophthalmologists would be allowed to reopen when the coronavirus situation has improved.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs said the ban on restriction to movement and gatherings was being extended for another week with small technical amendments to the decree.

He said that Serbia was additionally added to the list of Covid-19 unsafe red countries for which quarantine applies, from Monday, but said that the government advised against all non-essential travel outside the country anyway.

He said the same restrictions to travel across the border as for Slovenian citizens also apply to foreigners residing in Slovenia who have relatives in other countries of the former Yugoslavia.

"As you arrive on the border and you don't produce [proof of] one of the reasons for the crossing of border municipalities, you will be fined," said Hojs, referring to foreign residents.

Additionally, oversight of compliance with restrictions to movement can now also be exercised by city traffic wardens, aside police officers and health inspectors.

The government has also added new sports to the list of those where competition can resume for top athletes, including water polo and futsal.

This is the second time that the government has extended top-tier lockdown restrictions since imposing the highest level of restrictions on 24 October to cut coronavirus cases.

Only stores selling essential items or services remain open, including grocery shops ans supermarkets, produce markets, pharmacies, shops selling medical and orthopaedic equipment, farming and gardening stores, florists, DIY shops, car and bicycle repair shops, bank, postal and insurance offices, newsagents, pet food stores.

Delivery services are also allowed and restaurants can offer takeaway. A week ago, the government also allowed libraries and repair services to reopen.

The government will review the restrictions again in a week.

Schools to Continue Distance Learning

STA, 5 November 2020 - After two weeks of holidays, primary school pupils will not return to schools on Monday due to the coronavirus situation in Slovenia, as distance learning will be introduced once again. Secondary schools have already launched remote teaching at the beginning of this week.

Kindergartens remain closed as well, but childcare will continue to be available to parents who work in vital services.

Education Minister Simona Kustec said that the government would review the decision in a week, either extending or ending the measure.

Universities and other higher education institutions also remain in remote schooling mode. Moreover, schools for children and adults with special needs will remain closed as well.

The latter, especially, can be demanding for students, parents and teachers, with the minister saying a special memo had been sent to special needs teachers, adding it was expected the teachers did their best for special needs education to be as normal as possible.

When asked whether the government had considered reopening schools that have few or no coronavirus cases, Kustec said that the Slovenian Constitution stipulates that all students get the same access to education, meaning that school must be the same for everybody.

The government has instructed schools and local communities to organise free meals for underprivileged children, which will be covered by the state budget.

Municipalities and schools are to invite parents and children to apply for meals, which they will be able to pick up at their school. Lunch deliveries are also to be organised for children who cannot pick up their meals.

The Association of Towns and Municipalities (SOS) has meanwhile said that meals should be organised by the state and primary schools, adding that municipalities can assist the schools if required.

The association noted that under the law, the state provides funds for education programme, while local communities are obligated to maintain and invest in infrastructure. In line with this, it is also the state's obligation to provide warm meals to pupils in emergency situations.

The Ljubljana municipality also responded by saying that it cannot take on this obligation. Organising meals in this way, in Ljubljana this would amount to 5,000-6,000 a day, is impossible and irrational, the city said. It proposed that children be allowed to come to school to eat, adding also it would be even better if schools reopen completely.

The Education Ministry forwarded to the STA on Tuesday numbers showing the extent of coronavirus infections in schools and kindergartens.

In kindergartens, 524 members or 3.74% of all staff have contracted the coronavirus since the beginning of the school year in September. Additional 637 staff (4.55%) have been quarantined.

In primary schools, the number of reached 1,207 (4.84% of staff), with additional 1,261 people (some 5%) in quarantine, while in secondary schools, it reached 110 (1.18%), with another 1,261 in quarantine (just over 5%).

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STA, 5 November 2020 - Following an uptick to about 2,000 cases on Tuesday, daily coronavirus infections recorded in Slovenia fell to 1,685 in 5,991 tests performed on Wednesday. The number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients however increased from 979 to 1,023 and 30 people died, both new highs. The number of patients in intensive care rose by 3 to 161, a new record too.

The share of positive tests, at 28.1%, decreased by four percentage points on Tuesday, government spokesperson Jelko Kacin pointed out. According to him, the rolling 14-day average per 100,000 residents fell to 1,114, which he said was a good sign.

He added the reproduction number had fallen to 1.11 on 4 November, from 1.14 on 3 November, 1.17 on 2 November and 1.21 on 1 November.

According to the latest data on tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org, Slovenia's coronavirus case count has increased to over 41,000, with an estimated 23,432 cases still active on Wednesday. The death toll stands at 471.

Kacin said the the number of infections has also increased in care homes, with 101 new cases among residents on Wednesday contributing to 1,133 active infections among them.

He announced a government session would take place today following which another press conference will be held to present potential changes to coronavirus measures. He expects the existing restrictions will be extended, as "no risk is permissible in the face of such numbers". He does allow for the possibility of some measures changing.

Meanwhile, also on hand at the morning briefing was Matjaž Jereb of UKC Ljubljana's infectious diseases clinic, who stressed that the 160 critically ill patients were more double the figure in the entire spring wave of the epidemic when 72 patients needed intensive treatment.

Jereb, who heads the intensive care department at the clinic, expressed hope that the general figures presented today hold and that Slovenia has reached the peak of the second wave.

He warned that the number of hospitalisations would continue to grow, as patients arrive with a week's delay, which is how long it usually takes for complications to develop.

"We expect the number of hospitalisations to peak in a week or two, with the possibility of an additional delay for the intensive care peak. Everything will be clear by the end of November," Jereb assessed.

He sees the bed availability situation as alarming, warning that while additional beds were being provided this could not go on indefinitely.

There is also a shortage of healthcare staff, with staff falling ill and being exhausted as well. Some issues are also emerging with access to medicinal equipment, with Jereb highlighting infusion pumps.

Meanwhile, the press quizzed spokesperson Kacin about the decision on how the education process will be resumed next week following two weeks of holidays, but Kacin could not yet provide any details.

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STA, 4 November 2020 - Slovenia has recorded a new uptick in daily coronavirus infections with 2,027 of 6,311 tests performed on Tuesday returning positive results, or as many as 32%. The country also reported 29 fatalities, a new daily high, according to government data.

Despite a new increase in daily cases (the last time the country recorded over 2,000 cases was on 28 October), government spokesman Jelko Kacin noted that the reproduction number kept falling, which he labelled as a valuable and encouraging piece of information.

The R0 number fell to 1.14 on 3 November, from 1.17 on 2 November and 1.21 on 1 November with Kacin projecting it will reach a point when one infected passes on the virus to just one other person in three to four days.

So has the incidence per 100,000 residents been halved to an average 535 a day over the past seven days, compared to 1,120 over the past 14 days, as of 2 November, which Kacin said showed the measures taken by the government and put into practice by the people had borne fruit.

However, the situation in hospitals remains very serious, said Kacin, who echoed PM Janez Janša's warning last night that the situation would remain serious for at least a month longer.

Covid-19 hospitalisations have increased to 979, up by 54 from the day before, with 158 patients now in intensive care units, twelve more than the day before. Sixty-three patients were discharged home yesterday.

Kacin also presented charts showing an increase in hospital admissions. Yesterday, there were 57 new admissions per million residents, discounting discharges and fatalities.

Still, Robert Carotta, the coordinator for Covid-19 hospital beds at the Health Ministry, said there were enough hospital beds and equipment, the main problem was staff, especially intensive care staff, but even that "is sustainable" for the time being.

"Compared to other countries in Europe, Slovenia is coping excellently with the epidemic. Regardless of the fact that we had one of the steepest growth in Covid-19 infections, Slovenian healthcare is working and everyone who needs care gets it," said Carotta.

Similarly, Bojana Beović, the government's chief Covid-19 adviser, commented yesterday that despite the large number of patients needing hospital treatment, "we have not had the chaos seen in Italy or Belgium", which she said was thanks to excellent staff.

Health Minister Tomaž Gantar, who also addressed the government press briefing today, said the health system had adapted exceptionally well to the new situation as regular services were being scaled down to make space for Covid-19 patients.

Offering some figures, he said the number of Covid-19 hospital beds had been expanded from 227 regular and 54 ICU beds on 16 October to 821 and 150, respectively, and the number of testing points had expanded from 16 in the first wave to 50 with more being added.

The providers have been urged to increase ICU beds by a further 100 over the next ten days, as the number of Covid-19 patients is expected to keep increasing over the next few weeks.

Gantar said this meant lockdown restrictions could not be eased yet. "Until the need for new admissions is higher than the number of patients discharged, it makes no sense talking about easing the measures," he said.

To scale up testing, the ministry has formed a taskforce which has approved 17 to 19 rapid antigen tests and based on their availability in the market, the ministry can secure enough to test employees in critical services on a regular basis, to detect even asymptomatic cases.

The ministry would also like to allow testing within 24 hours to persons that are showing symptoms or have been in contact with the infected. Gantar said more than 10,000 such tests could be ordered in a matter of days.

A mass testing using rapid tests is "a realistic option, almost a necessity", Gantar said about the possibility of mass testing hinted at by Janša a while ago, but he said the priority was those employed in the critical infrastructure.

The country's coronavirus case count has increased to 39,410, with an estimated 23,417 cases still active, according to tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org, which puts the rolling 14-day average per 100,000 residents at 1,117 as of 3 November.

A total of 441 patients with Covid-19 have died.

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STA, 3 November 2020 - Tomaž Kavčič, a chef running a Michelin-starred restaurant, has made an urgent appeal to prevent what he sees as an imminent collapse of the top-notch culinary industry, floating the idea of a positive discrimination as a way out of the coronavirus lockdown.

In a letter addressed to the public and decision-makers, the chef writes that the top-class cuisine sector is on the brink of collapse.

"If we let it collapse, it will take starting from scratch (...) Generations of chefs, waiters and sommeliers may disappear, become scattered at the far ends of the world or leave for other type of business," he wrote.

Despite the relatively positive experience following the spring shutdown, Kavčič, the chef of the Pri Lojzetu restaurant at Zemono Castle in the west of the country, has "the feeling it won't be the same this time around".

Talking with the STA, he said it was right that healthcare, education and other key systems should take an absolute priority and that the first job at hand was to deal with the health crisis and abide by government measures.

However, he also hopes that Slovenia as one of the first countries in the region to adopt restrictions in the second wave of coronavirus, will also be the first to restart businesses.

When the time comes, he proposes a gradual reopening of hospitality establishments where those that respect all government preventive measures and can meet the highest safety standards be allowed to open first.

"My proposal is that a group to form the needed standards and examine compliance with them should also involve experienced experts from our hospitality field," Kavčič says in his appeal to the authorities.

Creative hospitality should be recognised as "the top of the pyramid, as providers who guarantee highest standards at all levels".

Hospitality providers should be divided between those who can create the conditions to serve in their establishments, those who can meet the conditions for delivery and those who cannot meet proper standards in the given circumstances.

"It would be a positive discrimination to preserve at least a tiny bit of normality and keep in shape an industry that is becoming a leading motive for visiting Slovenia," says Kavčič.

He also called for financial aid proportionate to last year's revenue and to the headcount, a full writedown of social charges, interest-free bank loan repayment deferrals, equalising VAT rates for food and beverages at 9.5% (rather 22% for beverages) and allowing movement between regions and municipalities based on a restaurant bill or booking.

However, Kavčič says the priority at the moment is to behave responsibly so that the coronavirus situation in the country can improve.

STA, 3 November 2020 - In his address to Slovenian citizens, PM Janez Janša said on Tuesday that the winter will be long and that "we are in for at least a month of a hard battle with the virus and then months of great caution". Nevertheless, he is convinced that Slovenia can successfully weather the health crisis.

He said the government is limited by a Constitutional Court ruling to assess restrictive measures weekly, but "it is clear already that some measures will have to be in place for longer".

"If we are successful in the coming weeks, we will be able to spend Christmas and the New Year in a more normal way than the autumn holidays."

The prime minister believes that as fast antigen tests become more accessible, it will be possible to contain individual outbreaks of the virus more easily.

While the European Commission expects a vaccine could be deployed for all Europeans in April-June 2021, he said that if it is available earlier, it would be used for vulnerable groups.

.@JJansaSDS: Edina obramba pred splošnim razpadom zdravstvenega sistema je drastična omejitev naših stikov z drugimi. Nekaj, česar naše generacije pred to pandemijo niso doživele še nikoli v takem obsegu. pic.twitter.com/EqaOY0IUCl

— Vlada Republike Slovenije (@vladaRS) November 3, 2020

.@JJansaSDS: Prepričan sem, da večinsko to solidarnost vsekakor zmoremo. Ne narekujejo jo zgolj čustva, ampak tudi zdrav razum. A zgolj večina za uspeh, kot smo videli pretekla dva meseca, ni dovolj. Potrebni smo vsi ali vsaj zelo velika večina. pic.twitter.com/k68RFpQpWi

— Vlada Republike Slovenije (@vladaRS) November 3, 2020

"It will be tough, but we can do it. Because the great majority of us is aware that with the urgent measures, we protect everything we have as a community."

He said that unlike the pessimism and anger transpiring from many posts, concrete work on the front line and an enormous readiness of many to help prove that we increasingly understand what is at stake.

Yet Janša believes that just a majority is not enough to succeed. "It takes all of us or at least a very big majority. A plebiscite majority of reason and solidarity."

The prime minister moreover urged "various influencers who claim that the government takes the measures to scare people" to stop.

"It was enough. The entire democratic world takes the measures because it values and protects lives," he stressed.

"Using the global health crisis for undermining is exploiting distress, it is a mean, worthless doing," said Janša.

He added that a longer period of restrictions affecting education, culture, spiritual and all the other activities is bound to have negative consequences.

"So our common, urgent and mandatory strategic goal is to contain the epidemic as soon as possible to the point where it will no longer pose a threat to the normal functioning of healthcare and where we can again control it with consistently tracing contacts as we did during the summer months."

Janša urged people to refrain from non-urgent contacts and socialising, saying "no law or measure can defeat the virus", only reason and mutual solidarity can.

He said the sixth package of measures to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus was being drafted, which will "unfortunately not be the last one".

Although Slovenia does not have the best healthcare system in Europe, nor is it the richest country in Europe, it has the most altruistic people working in healthcare.

"This is the reason for which nobody will be left without the necessary healthcare or intensive care," he stressed.

Turning to his government, which has been doing "an extremely hard double job full of hard decisions and sleepless nights, warranted and unwarranted criticism, media pogroms and weighing beyond double standards ever since March", Janša pledged it will continue to do its job.

"We are as enduring as the Slovenian nation, which hundreds of storms have not uprooted from its land," Janša concluded his address.

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STA, 3 November 2020 - Slovenia's death toll from Covid-19 has risen to 412 after 24 more patients with Covid-19 died on Monday. A further 1,176 infections were recorded as more than one out of four tests came back positive. The number of those requiring hospital treatment exceeded 900.

Data released by the government show that 4,587 tests were performed on Monday, which means a positivity rate of 25.64%, slightly up from the day before.

Presenting the latest figures, government spokesman Jelko Kacin noted an improvement over the past week in terms of daily tally of cases and the rate of positive tests (which peaked at almost 35% on 27 October).

"The data encourage us to persevere in compliance with the measures. But the number of those requiring hospital treatment keeps increasing," he said.

Bojana Beović, the government's chief Covid-19 advisor, warned in an interview on the morning show on TV Slovenija that due to a change in testing policy a much better indicator of the state of the epidemic than the number of positive cases now was hospital admissions.

The number of Covid-19 hospitalisations has risen to 925, up from 868 the day before, with 146 requiring intensive care, eleven more than the day before. A total of 57 were discharged home yesterday.

The number of active cases has increased to 22,896, and the total case count to 37,382. The rolling 14-day average has increased to 1,092, according to tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org.

As hospital admissions keep increasing and are expected to continue for a while longer, hospitals are increasingly stretched, mainly in terms of staff, also because of a number of those on sick leave.

Dragan Kovačić, the acting director of the Celje hospital, the country's third largest, said 177 nurses and 23 doctors were currently on sick leave, or roughly 10% of the staff.

"We expect the numbers to keep increasing, as the stressful situation, work in personal protective equipment, long working hours ... take their toll," he said, addressing the government press briefing by videolink.

Matjaž Vogrin, the medical director of UKC Maribor, Slovenia's second largest medical centre, told yesterday's briefing that 133 staff were absent for being infected or self-isolating, with about as many more on sick leave for other reasons, including burnout.

Both Kovačić and Vogrin noted that the mortality rate among hospitalised Covid-19 patients was much lower than in many other developed countries, with 3.3% of patients hospitalised with Covid-19 in Celje or 15.2% of patients in intensive care having died.

Vogrin said yesterday that the ICU mortality rate was about 30% compared to 50% in Germany.

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STA, 2 November 2020 - A total of 25 patients with Covid-19 died in Slovenia on Sunday. There were 557 new coronavirus cases from 2,244 tests, show official government data. Hospitalisations continued to rise.

The number of tests was significantly smaller than a week ago, reflecting the decision by epidemiologists to reduce testing to focus on the most vulnerable groups. The share of positive tests declined to just under 25% from almost 28% on Saturday.

Jelko Kacin, the government's Covid-19 spokesman, told the press on Monday that the figures showed government measures had been timely, but he stressed that Sunday figures in general were atypical. He said it would probably take until Wednesday to see whether and how the curve is flattening.

There are currently 868 patients in hospital compared to 821 yesterday, as 113 new patients were admitted and 50 were discharged from hospital. 135 are in intensive care, up from 131.

Speaking at the government's daily coronavirus briefing, Kacin said the pressure on hospitals remained severe. Marko Vogrin, the medical director of UKC Maribor, added that the number of hospitalisations would continue to rise in the coming days, with health staff exhausted.

Leon Cizelj, the head of the reactor technology department at the Jožef Stefan Institute and author of an influential model of the epidemic, told the STA yesterday that hospitalisations were expected to peak at around 960 towards the end of this week, while ICU admissions are expected to reach a record of roughly 245 in mid-November.

On the brighter side, an X-ray machine that was moved from the Role field hospital to the outdoor premises of UKC Ljubljana's Infectious Diseases Clinic this weekend will facilitate safer and quicker treatment of Covid-19 patients, said Dimitrij Kuhelj, the head of the hospital's radiology department.

Chest radiograph can be used to diagnose or monitor Covid-19 pneumonia, noted Kuhelj. UKC Ljubljana currently treats some 200 Covid-19 patients.

Slovenia has so far recorded 388 Covid-19 deaths, while the number of positive cases has been 36,206, according to data by the tracker Covid-19 Sledilnik.

The 14-day increase in new cases per 100,000 population, a benchmark widely used in the EU, rose to 1,075, while the number of active cases increased to 22,521.

Third Covid-19 wave to hit in late December

STA, 2 November 2020 - The third wave of coronavirus infections is expected during the flu season at the end of December, said epidemiologist Irena Grmek Košnik on Monday, adding that the influenza period usually lasted until March or April.

"The third wave will be very challenging since doctors will not know whether the patient has the flu or Covid-19. Given that, flu vaccination is of vital importance," said Grmek Košnik, an epidemiologist with the Kranj unit of the National Institute of Public Health, at the government coronavirus briefing.

The epidemiological situation in the Gorenjska region remains poor because as much as 85% of Covid-19 patients there have had a mild case of the disease and felt well, meaning the virus had spread more easily.

Another reason for such an extensive spread of the virus in the region is private gatherings. Moreover, people who had been in close contact with the infected continued to go to work since there was no system of pay compensation in place in such cases between 12 October and last week, said the epidemiologist.

The situation has taken a turn for the better though including due to stricter measures, she added. This was also echoed by Jelko Kacin, the government spokesman, who said the region's infection curve was flattening out.

Regarding two cases of a repeat coronavirus infection in Gorenjska, Grmek Košnik said that further research was needed. Antibodies last for three months after the infection, according to the latest findings, however relevant research is on-going.

Grmek Košnik noted that the role of coronavirus superspreaders had been overlooked. Everybody could be a superspreader, she said, adding that contact tracing app #OstaniZdrav (#StayWell) should thus become mandatory.

Next week, additional rapid antigen tests and contact tracing protocols will help determine superspreaders as well, she told the briefing.

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STA, 2 November 2020 - The closure of restaurants as part of the Covid-19 epidemic lockdown measures has resulted in a steep rise in turnover for food delivery platforms such as E-hrana and Wolt, whose couriers on bicycles can be seen buzzing around major Slovenian cities all the time.

Slovenia's E-hrana, which was established in 2011, currently covers more than 400 restaurants around the country, 150 of which have joined during the coronavirus epidemic. New restaurants are being added to the list virtually on a daily basis.

"In the first wave, several restaurants decided to temporarily close their doors, while now the majority of restaurants have persisted and are trying to stay afloat with the home delivery system," the company has told the STA.

Since the latest lockdown, the number of restaurants which use E-hrana couriers has increased by around 30%, and the company has also expanded to Celje, which has joined the country's largest cities Ljubljana and Maribor.

The platform also allows restaurants which have their own delivery staff to receive online orders through E-hrana, meaning that its users from all around the country can get restaurant food delivered to their doorstep.

E-hrana processes a few thousand orders on a daily basis, and has more than 240,000 registered users. "The number of daily registered users has increased four-fold during the lockdown," the company said.

The significant increase in the number of orders is also attributed to the cold and wet weather, "which is when our season peaks anyway".

The Finland-based Wolt has also seen increased interest in its platform, including from various shops. During the second wave, the company has added 70 new restaurants from Ljubljana and Maribor to its list, which compares to 60 during the spring wave.

Wolt has also decided to help restaurants whose turnover has dropped with the lockdown. "In the coming weeks, we will select every week ten restaurants to deliver from free of charge," said the company which currently serves 330 restaurants.

Over the summer, the company was also looking for partners in shops which sell food and drink and other products, and now Wolt is also able to deliver to customer's homes products such as flour, light bulbs, products for childcare, electronics or washable masks.

While it currently covers only Ljubljana and Maribor, Wolt plans to expand to other cities as demand is growing. It is constantly opening new jobs and increasing the number of couriers, while also employing people in customers support, sales and marketing.

STA, 1 November 2020 - There were 1,342 new Sars-CoV-2 infections confirmed in Slovenia on Saturday, a continuation of the slightly declining daily cases count, albeit on a slightly scaled down weekend testing figure of 4,807. The 28% positivity rate is on par with that seen in recent days. A record 25 fatalities were recorded, raising the death toll to 363.

The number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients has increased by 5.4% to 821 and the number of those in intensive care by 7.4% to 131. The number of patients on ventilators grew by 5 to 70.

Since the start of the epidemic Slovenia has recorded 35,649 cases, of which 22,501 are currently active, while the rolling 14-day average has increased by 2.8% 1,074 per 100,000 residents, according to data tracker Covid-19 Sledilnik.

"The daily incidence is growing, but at a slower pace. Gorenjska remains the worst affected region," government spokesperson Jelko Kacin tweeted on Sunday.

All our stories on Slovenia and coronavirus – the most important is from a few days ago: Most anti-corona restrictions extended by a week, some by two weeks