STA, 16 May 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša said there was no general opening of the border with Italy or Austria and Hungary. This can only be a measure taken by both sides, he tweeted on Saturday, the day when Italy announced it would open its borders on 3 June.

"Talks are still under way, an administrative basis is being drafted and will be adopted," Janša added.

He also stressed that heath restrictions still applied on the border with Croatia even if this Slovenian neighbour opened its borders for EU citizens on Sunday.

At its Thursday's session, the Slovenian government changed the measures applying to border crossing on Slovenia's external EU border and at check points on its internal EU borders.

Upon entering Slovenia, Slovenian citizens and citizens of other EU countries are no longer required to go into quarantine.

Croatia meanwhile relaxed entry into the country for EU citizens for business reasons as well as for personal reasons or if foreign citizens have booked a holiday.

At today's meeting in Slovenia, the Slovenian and Croatian interior ministers, Aleš Hojs and Davor Božinović, urged easier crossing of the border, but stressed that the health situation must be taken into consideration.

The pair confirmed that Slovenian citizens can enter Croatia as tourists, but must provide contact data to be contacted in case of a possible Covid-19 outbreak.

Hojs also said Slovenia was particularly interested in a similar easing with Austria. "I hope we'll manage to agree it in the coming days and weeks," he said after meeting Božinović.

Austria is gradually opening its borders, planning to open the border with Germany on 15 June. Tomorrow it is to open the border crossings with the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary so far closed.

Hungary opened its borders on 1 May for business travel from Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and South Korea.

STA, 15 May 2020 - All anti-Covid-19 restrictions that have not yet been lifted remain in place regardless of the government's declaration of the end of the coronavirus epidemic, the Health Ministry has announced. The decree came into effect on Friday, but it will be effective as of 31 May.

The measures will be eased when it is certain that the virus transmission is not to be expected anymore, depending on the epidemiological developments, the ministry's Public Health Directorate Vesna Kerstin Petrič said on Friday.

Related: Slovenia Declares End to Covid Epidemic, Borders Open to EU Nationals

The government decree, adopted last night, raised a lot of questions regarding the validity of the restrictions. Kerstin Petrič explained at today's government briefing on coronavirus that all of them were still in effect until further notice.

She urged Slovenians to continue doing all they could to help keep the epidemic at bay by maintaining social distancing as well as using face masks and heeding respiratory hygiene guidelines.

Mateja Logar of the UKC Ljubljana infectious disease clinic agreed with Kerstin Petrič, saying that the end of the epidemic did not mean the end of all restrictions. It means that the state's boost for the economy will be reduced, certain legal decisions will be amended, but all the preventive measures stay put, she said.

According to her, the epidemic is still ongoing, however it is true that the epidemiological status shows favourable trends in the past ten days. "Time will tell whether or not it was the right moment to lift the measures quickly and en masse," she said.

Government spokesman Jelko Kacin told the STA that the only effective result of the government's decree declaring the epidemic over was stepping up easing of the border restrictions - quarantine is hence no longer necessary for EU residents entering Slovenia, unless they were outside the EU for more than two weeks.

Kacin added that the decision was based on the recent favourable epidemiological trends. Had the government not declared the end of the epidemic on Thursday, then the first and second anti-corona bills would have been valid in June as well, he explained.

Kerstin Petrič concurred that accelerating the easing of the border restrictions was enabled by the promising epidemiological situation in Slovenia and other EU countries.

She also said that the situation would be monitored regularly and in case of any adverse developments, the border policy would be amended.

"If a new outbreak emerges in Slovenia's vicinity or a major hotspot in the country, the government could step up the restrictions," said Kacin, adding that the measures could not be discriminatory towards any EU country.

He added that the coming weekend would be a decisive time for the future assessments of the epidemiological status and people's movement.

Logar meanwhile said it was hard to predict whether a second Covid-19 wave would occur, but warned that, historically speaking, most epidemics had a second phase.

The government's decree does not affect efforts to reopen schools, pointed out Education Minister Simona Kustec at the briefing. Kindergartens will see the return of roughly a half of all the children on Monday, said Kustec, while a third of the primary school students, the first to third grades, will go back to school.

Children from Slovenia's neighbouring countries who are studying in Slovenia will carry on with remote learning though.

All the preventive measures in educational institutions remain in place, she added. Some 80%-85% of teachers and other educational workers are expected to return to work.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Updated at 18:15 with response by tourism officials, with the added text here

STA, 15 May 2020 - The National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) has issued a set of recommendations for the tourism and hospitality sector to make sure that both staff and guests will be safe as bars and restaurants again start serving food and drinks indoors on Monday, and tourist accommodation with up to 30 rooms reopens.

Restaurants are urged to exclude all self-service options from their offering, including salad buffets, salad dressings, spices and bread baskets, while spoons, forks and knifes should come in a cotton bag or wrapped in a napkin for each guest individually.

Related: Slovenia Declares End to Covid Epidemic, Borders Open to EU Nationals

The NIJZ believes it would be best if physical obstacles were placed between tables, while playgrounds for children, toys, newspapers and magazines should be off limits.

All staff and guests will be required to wear face masks or other type of protection covering nose and mouth at all times, except when sitting at the table. Communication between the waiter and guests should be reduced to a minimum.

To avoid contact with other guests, it will be best to make reservations, while those arriving at a restaurant unannounced will be requested to follow markings on the floor.

The NIJZ has also prepared detailed recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces and kitchenware, so guests should not be surprised to see tables without tablecloths and waiters dressed in cotton clothes.

Similarly, guests who will stay at small hotels that will reopen on Monday, should not be surprised to see changes in rooms decor as all textile decorative elements will have to be removed.

Tourist accommodations will also have to adjust their check-in procedure to minimise contact among guests. Hand sanitisers will also be used before and after handling any documents, and using pens.

Promotional material will only be available upon request, while rooms with multiple beds will only be available for members of the same household, which will be checked during check-in.

Updated text below

Gregor Jamnik, the head of the Slovenian Association of Hotels, welcomed the guidelines, urging his colleagues to act in line with both mandatory and voluntary standards.

He deems safety precautions a new trend in tourism that should be welcomed as soon as possible to remain competitive.

Meanwhile, Fedja Pobegajlo, director of the Tourism Chamber, said today that the recommendations were expected. He has expressed satisfaction over the institute releasing guidelines for all the tourism sectors that are currently in the process of reopening.

Moreover, he has called on NIJZ to provide a set of recommendations for those that are yet to relaunch business as usual and thus help them get ready. Apart from large hotels, spas, swimming pools and casinos remain closed for now.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here

STA, 14 May 2020 - The Slovenian government has formally called an end to the coronavirus epidemic. Key containment measures remain in place, but the one major restriction has been lifted: EU nationals will be free to cross the border, with some caveats.

The current epidemiological situation "makes it possible to relax measures that were urgent to contain and manage Covid-19, but they cannot yet be completely abolished," the Government Communications Office said in a press release after Wednesday's session.

It noted that Slovenia had had 35 cases in the past 14 days, while the reproduction number, which shows how many people a patient infects on average, had fallen below 1.

Although the government decree marks the formal end of the epidemic, which had been declared on 12 March pursuant to the communicable diseases act, the majority of public health measures remain in place.

The government said testing, contract tracing, isolation, quarantine for high-risk contacts, observance of caught etiquette and physical distancing would remain the key measures to fight the epidemic.

In another decree, the government decided to allow EU nationals to cross the border at selected checkpoints, ending the policy of seven-day quarantine.

Third-country nationals will be subject to a two-week quarantine, with some exceptions.

The decree will enter into effect a day after it is published in the Official Gazette, presumably on Friday.

More information on borders

STA, 15 May 2020 - EU residents are free to cross into Slovenia from Austria, Italy and Hungary at pre-determined checkpoints while most non-EU nationals will have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine, in what is a major step for the country as it accelerates the easing of restrictions.

Under the government decree adopted late on Thursday, there will be 19 checkpoints on the border with Austria, nine on the border with Italy and five on the border with Hungary.

The listed checkpoints largely correspond to checkpoints where passengers may cross at present.

Some crossings are open only to locals or daily cross-border commuters and special exemptions are in place for owners of land on both sides of the border.

Three airports and two ports are among the ports of entry listed in the government decree.

The decree also covers Slovenia's border with Croatia, which is the external EU border, but there it does not limit crossing to specific checkpoints.

Under the new rules, those with permanent or temporary residence in the EU will be given instructions issued by the National Institute of Public Health upon entering Slovenia but will not need to quarantine, which they have to do for seven days at present.

When such a person declares they have coronavirus or symptoms thereof, or clearly show symptoms, they will be rejected at the border if they do not have permanent residence in Slovenia; those who do will be referred to medical services.

Third-country nationals must undergo a mandatory two-week quarantine, with exceptions for diplomats, members of rescue and relief services, attendance of funeral, lorry drivers and persons with certificates issued by the competent Slovenian ministry showing they will provide urgent services.

Notably, if it is believed a person entering the country may not be able to leave because of the measures of neighbouring countries, they will be denied entry.

The new policy will initially benefit mostly owners of property in Croatia, thousands of whom have been keen to visit their holiday homes but many reluctant to do so due to the mandatory seven-day quarantine upon return.

But even more importantly, it paves the way for a relaunch of cross-border tourism, which has been suspended for two months due to lockdown measures around the world.

It will also be a relief for businesses, which have been calling on the government to relax rules for business travel as cross-border commerce kicks into higher gear.

The decree was adopted last night, after the government formally declared the epidemic over while keeping in place all measures adopted to combat the disease.

While the decree comes into effect today, it will only be in application from 31 May on.

The decision was based on the assessment of the National Institute of Public Health, but unless the government declared the epidemic over last night, measures from the mega stimulus package, now in force until the end of May, would be extended by a month.

Slovenia has had low single-digit daily case increases since the end of April and the epidemic, declared on 12 March, is seen as being under control.

The country has confirmed 1,464 Covid-19 cases and 103 people have died since the first case was recorded in the country on 4 March. The biggest hotspots were care homes.

Slovenia is the first European country to declare an end of the coronavirus epidemic.

Only yesterday some medical professionals expressed reservations in a anticipation of such a move, as some restrictions were only being lifted now so it was hard to say what the easing would bring.

STA, 14 May 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša dismissed allegations of government misconduct in the purchasing of protective personal equipment as he argued in parliament on Thursday that quick action saved dozens of lives after the government was faced with empty stockpiles of protective gear when it took office a day after the epidemic was declared.

Purchasing of protective equipment and critical medical supplies was conducted in line with legislation that allows short procedures in an epidemic, Janša said as he delivered the opening address in a parliamentary debate on a government report on PPE purchases.

But being aware of the risks, the government made sure all contracts were made public and it urged the Court of Audit to conduct a review of the procedures, with the coalition itself proposing a parliamentary inquiry into the matter.

Critics have accused the government of making the wrong choice by opting to secure equipment through intermediaries rather than directly from suppliers, but Janša dismissed the criticism.

He said providers initially demanded advance payments for the equipment and since these demands escalated the decision was made to try to purchase the equipment without advance payment.

He said many other countries opted to pay suppliers in advance but received either gear without the proper certificates or did not receive the orders at all.

"I don't know of a single European country where this did not happen. I talked to many colleagues. All had these same problems. I think Slovenia lost by far the least, if anything," he stressed.

Indeed, he said even the recent EU delivery of 30,000 surgical face masks was problematic and illustrated the general problems with supplies, as Slovenia was just today told that the equipment did not have proper certificates and should not be distributed to users.

Slovenia has so far paid about EUR 30 million for the supplies. "Everything that had been paid has also been delivered."

The government has also been criticised for picking untested intermediaries for the supplies, but Janša suggested the scandal erupted because existing suppliers, who had high margins, did not get in on the game.

Indeed, he said "those in charge who are now referred to as whistleblowers" had before that signed contracts with high margins with old suppliers, a reference to the deputy head of the Commodities Reserves Agency Ivan Gale, who accused senior officials of exerting undue pressure on the agency in the course of the purchasing.

"And now attention is of course being deflected. But every contract can be individually examined, there is no problem about that."

Janša said the events would now mean that Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek would "probably have to attend various commissions of inquiry for three years after the epidemic ends" to explain the purchasing.

"But this was a time when lives were at stake and what he did during that time, together with many colleagues ... saved dozens of lives."

The coalition parties echoed Janša's views, including Počivalšek's Modern Centre Party (SMC), which argued it had been warning former PM Marjan Šarec while still in his government that he was reacting too slowly.

The coalition shares the view that a good job had been done in unprecedented circumstances, that the responsible authorities should be allowed to do their work and that the finger-pointing should stop.

The opposition parties however did not hold back in their statements, with words like "theft", "crime" and "war profiteering" being used time and time again.

Former PM Šarec, who said the government report was not worth the paper it was printed on, rejected the accusations levelled against him, noting borders and schools had been closed, large events banned and visits to elderly homes prohibited already under his watch.

The opposition parties demand that the PPE purchases be investigate throughput, with Miha Kordiš of the Left for instance accusing Economy Minister Zdravko Polivalšek of lying when saying no advance payments were being made.

Kordiš also argued other countries had used their diplomatic network for the procurement, while Slovenia refused to do so. "You will pay back the commissions with interest," he said.

The session ended with a 50:0 vote confirming the government's report on PPE procurement, which pointed the finger at the previous government while mostly praising the current one. The vote was however boycotted by four opposition parties, which said it should not have been allowed procedurally.

All our stories on this can be found 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 Xenia Guzej. You can see more of her work here.

Contents

Just one new coronavirus infection in almost 1,000 tests

PM Janša indicates formal end of epidemic near

Just one new coronavirus infection in almost 1,000 tests

STA, 14 May 2020 - Only one out of 984 tests for the novel coronavirus conducted in Slovenia on Wednesday came back positive, raising the total of cases confirmed so far to 1,464. No new fatalities have been reported, leaving the death toll unchanged at 103.

Only 32 patients diagnosed with Covid-19 remain in hospitals, according to government data as of midnight, after seven more were discharged yesterday.

Only seven Covid-19 patients still need intensive care after two were moved to regular wards yesterday.

A total of 66,678 tests for Sars-CoV-2 have been conducted so far.

Back to the contents

PM Janša indicates formal end of epidemic near

STA, 14 May 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša indicated in parliament on Thursday that the government could soon declare the coronavirus epidemic over, having brought the situation under control in the two months since it took office.

"Slovenia has contained the epidemic. Today it has the best epidemiological status in Europe," he said, adding that the epidemic could formally be declared ended at a time which will "probably coincide with the date of the expiry of the first two anti-corona packages."

The first two economic stimulus packages provide emergency measures until the end of May.

Janša said this showed that "in very difficult circumstances our planning was practically precise to the day, assuming of course that based on the responsible conduct of everyone in these days and weeks, the epidemiological status remains the same as it is or does not significantly deteriorate."

He said Slovenia was transitioning from the period of epidemic to a period in which the second wave looms, which made it possible to revoke general protective measures and only keep very specific measures in place as long as needed.

Janša made the statement at the National Assembly, where he presented a government report on the purchasing of personal protective equipment.

Back to the contents

STA, 13 May 2020 - The government decided on Wednesday to allow a majority of sports activities to resume as of 23 May, including practices and recreation in indoor facilities, and trainings and competitions in team sports.

The decree does not apply to fitness and wellness centres and swimming pools, with the exception for the latter applying to registered athletes, government spokesman Jelko Kacin told the STA, adding that outdoor water sports, for example rowing, would also be allowed.

Prime Minister Janez Janša tweeted earlier in the day that competitions in team sports would be allowed to resume on 23 May.

Commenting on the decision, Slovenian Football Association (NZS) president Radenko Mijatović said this was a "great relief for football and sport in general". He added that the NZS was planning to organise the first matches in June.

"We have already had talks with clubs, and their wish was that at least four weeks of practice are held before the first official matches. This means that we plan to organise them in the first or second week of June," he told the STA.

"This decision means a lot for football in Slovenia from the competition aspect, as we the [national] champion and participants in European competitions will be decided on the pitch," Mijatović added.

On Monday, the NZS decided to continue with the premier league and the national cup for men, depending on the situation related to the epidemic, while ending the second league for men and the first league for women.

Registered athletes in individual sports are already allowed to train in outdoor facilities, with the exception of facilities belonging to educational institutions, and to participate in competitions up to the national level.

As of 23 May, team competitions and practices in facilities belonging to educational institutions will also be allowed, as well as extracurricular sport education of children and youth.

All activities must be carried out in adherence to public health rules issued and without spectators.

STA, 13 May 2020 - The government confirmed on Wednesday the plan to re-open kindergartens, primary schools for the first three grades and the final grade, and secondary schools for final-year students on Monday. Certain restrictions will apply, including on the number of children and students per classroom.

Under instructions recently issued by the Education Ministry, up to 10-15 children are allowed to sit in a single classroom in primary and secondary schools, and up to 8-10 children in an individual kindergarten group.

The 10-student limit will apply to the first three grades of primary school, while the 15-student limit will apply to the ninth grade of primary schools and the final grade of secondary schools.

Students of the remaining grades in primary and secondary schools are expected to continue to be schooled remotely until the end of the school year.

The recommendations also note that all school employees and nine-graders will be required to wear face masks - nine-graders only outside their classroom and employees all the time.

In kindergartens, a group in the first age category (one to three years) may count up to eight children, and up to ten children in the second category (four to six years).

Employees in kindergartens are advised to wear face masks, especially when they encounter colleagues or parents of the children.

Secondary school students will have to bring a signed statement confirming that they did not have Covid-19 symptoms in the last 14 days and that they were not in contact with an infected person.

For primary school children and kindergarten children, such statement will have to be signed by their parents.

STA, 13 May 2020 - Slovenia will see a major easing of quarantine restrictions on Monday. Tourism will reopen starting with smaller operations. All shops will be allowed to open, while bars and restaurants will be able to serve patrons indoors again, the government decided on Wednesday.

The entire tourism sector, hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 epidemic, will in effect be allowed to gradually reopen on Monday except for major providers.

Under the new government decree, the only facilities that must remain closed are accommodation facilities with over 30 rooms, accommodation for spa guests, wellness and fitness centres, pools and water parks.

The entire tourism industry has been shut down for two months in a bid to contain the epidemic and the decision made today is the first easing of restrictions in this sector.

All provider will have to abide by public health rules mandating a safe distance between guests and other safety precautions.

The decision to allow all stores to reopen will come as a relief in particular for large retailers, as smaller shops with up to 400 m2 of shopping area reopened last week.

Bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen last week as well, but they could only serve patrons outside. And while most operations will now be allowed to fully reopen, the ban remains in place for night clubs.

The government has also decided to get rid of the requirements that common areas in apartment buildings must be disinfected twice per day, a measure that has proved highly unpopular. Disinfecting is no longer required as of tomorrow.

https://english.sta.si/2763316/govt-confirms-re-opening-of-kindergartens-schools-on-monday

Časoris is an online newspaper aimed at children. Each week we’ll take an article and post it here as a Slovene-English dual text.

V iskanju cepiva za novi koronavirus in vse viruse, ki pridejo za njim

In search of a vaccine for the new coronavirus and all the viruses that come after it

Written by Sonja Merljak Zdovc, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate

Kdaj bomo lahko spet šli v šolo, se igrali s prijatelji, obiskali dedka in babico?

When will we be able to go to school again, play with friends, visit grandparents?

To sprašujete otroci po vsem svetu. In politiki odgovarjajo: Ne vemo.

This is what children all over the world are asking. And politicians reply: We don’t know.

Veliko je odvisno od tega, kdaj bodo znanstveniki odkrili cepivo za novi koronavirus. Potem namreč ne bo več nevarnosti, da bi tisti, ki nam virus manj škodi, okužili naše stare starše, ki jih virus veliko bolj ogroža.

Much depends on when scientists discover a vaccine for the new coronavirus. Then there will be no danger that those who are less harmed by the virus will infect their grandparents, who are much more endangered by the virus.

Med znanstveniki, ki iščejo cepivo, je tudi Američan David Ho. Zaradi njegovih zaslug za razvoj koktejla cepiv za bolezen aids, ga je leta 1996 revija Time razglasila za osebnost leta.

Among the scientists looking for the vaccine is also an American, David Ho. Due to his acclaim for the development of a cocktail of AIDS vaccines, in 1996 Time magazine named him Person of the Year.

Ko je leta 2002 na Kitajskem izbruhnila epidemija sarsa, se je začel zanimati za družino koronavirusov.

When an outbreak of SARS broke out in China in 2002, he became interested in the coronavirus family.

Nekateri predstavniki družine koronavirusov povzročajo le blažji prehlad, drugi smrtonosne bolezni, na primer sars in mers.

Some members of the coronavirus family cause only a mild cold, others deadly diseases such as SARS and MERS.

Ho je koronaviruse raziskoval že ob izbruhu bolezni sars in mers. A bila sta tako kratka, da je zanimanje zanju kmalu pojenjalo in znanstveniki so opustili iskanje zdravila.

Ho has already been researching coronaviruses since the outbreaks of SARS and MERS. But these were so short that interest in them soon fell and scientists abandoned the search for a cure.

Od samega začetka Ho pozorno spremljal izbruh epidemije novega koronavirusa. Kmalu mu je prijatelj, ustanovitelj podjetja Alibaba Jack Ma, ponudil denar za razvoj cepiva proti novemu koronavirusu SARS-CoV-2.

From the very beginning, Ho closely monitored the outbreak of a new coronavirus epidemic. Soon, a friend, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, offered him money to develop a vaccine against the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

V laboratoriju na univerzi Columbia v New Yorku s sodelavci ne razmišlja le o cepivu za novi koronavirus, ampak o penicilinu za viruse: enem zdravilu (ali vsaj peščici njih) za vse bolezni.

In a lab at Columbia University in New York, he and colleagues are thinking not just about a vaccine for the new coronavirus, but about a penicillin for viruses: one drug (or at least a handful of them) for all diseases.

Strokovnjaki namreč ugotavljajo, da naše zdravje najbolj ogrožajo virusi. Za bakterije, glivice, parazite in prione smo namreč že razvili bolj ali manj učinkovita zdravila, ali pa nas manj ogrožajo.

Experts say that our health is most endangered by viruses. We have already developed more or less effective drugs for bacteria, fungi, parasites and prions, or they are less threatening to us.

Določeni virusi, predvsem virusi gripe in koronavirusi, pa lahko znova ogrozijo človeštvo. Brez trajne rešitve se bodo epidemije, kot je zdajšnja, ponovile, opozarja David Ho.

However, certain viruses, especially influenza viruses and coronaviruses, can once again endanger humanity. Without a lasting solution, epidemics like the current one will recur, David Ho warns.

Read more stories and improve your Slovene at Časoris, while all our dual texts can be found here.