Do foreigners in Slovenia feel more or less safe sitting out covid-19 here than in their home country, and what are their experiences? All the stories in this series are here. If you' like to contribute, see here or at the end of the story

Who are you, and how did you come to be here?

Hi, my name is Mark Evans and I'm an Australian immigrant to Slovenia, originally from our capital city of Canberra. My husband is a Slovene living and working in Ljubljana, and I moved here to live with him back in April, 2018 after completing my BA in European politics and public policy. I'm currently working part time while searching for full-time work in my field (difficult to find without citizenship, sadly!). I'm also mulling over applying for an MA.

Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.

Well, we're alive, healthy and mostly sane, which is luckier than many. We live in a multistory apartment building and this last month has left me extremely envious of anyone with a proper balcony or a garden. With the incredible weather I'd love to be out cycling far more than I am, and I'm envious of my family back home in Canberra, who have far more space and easy access to wilderness areas which they can enjoy safely. My husband and I share our apartment building with many retirees, so we're worried about the risk of bringing the virus back home with us and endangering the health of our older neighbours.

What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business?

My husband was right in the middle of changing jobs as this crisis struck, and we're incredibly fortunate that his work life hasn't been too severely disrupted by the pandemic because he can work remotely - many don't have this privilege. While the government's measures are rock solid in supporting formal employees, they fall short for the people who need support the most - already marginalised members of society working in low paying, informal jobs, like migrant workers.

When did you realise that coronavirus was going to be a big issue?

I didn't pay much attention to the crisis in China, and only started to follow it after the outbreak in South Korea. With a background in public policy I was paying more attention to the news than many, but even then I under-estimated the severity of the threat. I was well aware of the enormous amount of work which governments and non-governmental organisations had poured into pandemic preparedness since SARS in 2002-3. I hadn't realised how far these measures had eroded since 2016, or how little attention our governments would pay to experts until it was too late.

What is your impression of the way Slovenia is dealing with the crisis?

My feelings on the Slovene handling of the crisis are mixed. In the short-term, the current administration has been successful in controlling the epidemic, and taken the difficult decision to lock the country down in a timely manner. However, this is coming hand-in-hand with naked power-grabbing by Janez Janša and his allies, as they use the crisis as an excuse to replace qualified public servants with yes-men, to threaten dissenters and to stifle the media. While I do not feel endangered by Covid19 here in Slovenia, I am extremely worried about the path this administration will take in the aftermath of the pandemic. If it follows in the footsteps of Janša's allies in Hungary, I suspect these power-grabs will only intensify. And if Hungary's recent attacks on democracy and the rights of LGBT+ citizens are any evidence, I am deeply worried that SDS will soon be turning its sights on the rights of couples like me and my husband. I am, after all, the kind of gay immigrant "degenerate leftist" Demokracija magazine warns its readers about.

How does that compare to the situation in Australia?

Australia's approach to the pandemic has contrasted strongly to Slovenia's - where I am comfortable in the short term in Slovenia but worried about the long term, I feel the opposite for Australia. Our government was far slower than Slovenia to act - we had weeks of extra time before the outbreak really started, but were very slow to take it seriously. As a result, an epidemic arose and thousands of Australians have now been infected, while dozens are already dead. However, once the federal government finally did act, it brought together a coordinated cabinet of state and territory governments from both sides of politics to organise a unified and de-politicised response. Its handling has definitely not been perfect, but the government has shown remarkable cooperation with opposition parties, and has made hard decisions for the public good which I never would have expected it would step up to make.

What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?

Communications in Australia followed the same trajectory as its policy response - slow, confused and conflicted at first, and wasting many weeks. As the epidemic picked up speed our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, infamously declared he'd still be going to watch the rugby in a packed stadium. However, once the scale of the impending catastrophe became undeniable, the government got its act together and put together a responsible and effective communication campaign which has finally convinced the public of the danger.

Here in Slovenia I've observed very different communications from the civil service versus the government itself, and the disconnect worries me. Civil services and businesses largely seem to have responded quickly and capably, and the messaging I see coming from the public sector is encouraging. Much of what I see from the government itself is, however, appalling. It is extremely alarming to see the Prime Minister falsely blaming the WHO for the pandemic on Twitter while his administration abuses the crisis to slander and harass its opponents in the media. A government using its emergency powers to scapegoat "global elites" in the face of all evidence and defame its critics as "escaped mental patients" is something you'd expect from a tinpot dictatorship, not a democratic EU member state. If this behaviour continues - and I expect it will, given SDS' long history of promoting falsehoods and slandering critics - then I am extremely worried about the damage it will do to public trust in government institutions and communications.

What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation?

A working exercise machine! We have an elliptical here at home, but it's broken. I'm an avid cyclist and I'd kill for a good bike machine to have at home, since I can't really get out for rides right now. I'm getting by on at-home workouts but it would be wonderful to have the feeling of motion again.

One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis.

If I didn't know for sure that I was an extrovert before this crisis began, I certainly do now. I miss being able to get out and about in crowds, and I miss being able to see my friends face to face. I think many other people are learning this about themselves too - even if you don't consider yourself a very social person, there are all those little day to day human interactions we rely upon and take for granted. The world can feel like a very lonely place now that they're gone.

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 Aleksander Sandi, and you can see more of his work here.

Contents

Coronavirus death toll climbs to 43, confirmed cases reach 1,124

PM says substantial easing of lockdown only after key conditions are met

Passenger flight ban extended again

Non-urgent health services to resume

Coronavirus death toll climbs to 43, confirmed cases reach 1,124

STA, 9 April 2020 - The coronavirus death toll in Slovenia has reached 43 as three people died on Wednesday. The number of confirmed infections rose by 33 to 1,124, show the latest government data.

Hospital data indicates the situation is stabilising, with hospitalisations and intensive care cases flat. A total of 108 persons were in hospital yesterday, of whom 34 in intensive care.

So far 128 persons have been released from hospital, eight of them yesterday, government spokesmen Jelko Kacin said.

Two groups stand out: infections have been confirmed in 225 residents of nursing homes and in 208 health workers, of whom 72 work in nursing homes.

The Šmarje pri Jelšah nursing homes, site of one of the first major outbreaks, remains a hot spot as 137 residents and staff have been infected.

The Slovenian government has not been releasing the details of the death cases for a while quoting protection of personal data, but at least in the early stages of the epidemic the vast majority of fatal cases were in retirement homes.

Kacin said today that there were "a lot of elderly people" among the fatalities.

Hospital data shows that the age structure of the infections is strongly skewed towards the older population. At UKC Ljubljana, all fatalities have been in patients over the age of 60 who had underlying health conditions.

The average age of those hospitalised is 68, with the majority falling in the 50-60 age bracket, Mateja Logar of the infectious diseases clinic told the press today.

Testing in Slovenia continues at roughly the same pace as 1,144 tests were performed yesterday, for a total of 31,813 since testing began.

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PM says substantial easing of lockdown only after key conditions are met

STA, 9 April 2020 - Elaborating on the timeline of the announced easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, PM Janez Janša stressed on Thursday a number of conditions would need to be met before any substantial softening is possible. The government spokesperson Jelko Kacin said movement would remain limited to municipal borders for at least eight more days.

Janša wrote on twitter that a softening of measures would need to be preceded by the transmission rate falling below one. Moreover, the healthcare system must not be under excessive pressure, sufficient testing capacities need to be secured and working instruments need to be in place for the transitional period.

He also wants legal and technical possibilities in place and available at sufficient capacity to monitor those who test positive and to manage a potential spread.

Janša pointed to the ever chancing circumstances globally, for instance in Japan where a state of emergency was declared today even tough Japan was thought to have contained the epidemic during the first wave.

Kacin, the government's spokesperson for the crisis, commented on the situation at the regular daily briefing. He said that the movement of people would remain restricted to municipal borders at least until the weekend next week.

"If we lift the movement restrictions too fast, we will all get the false feeling that the epidemic is behind us and that we're safe. We first need to prepare for this mobility," he said.

He explained the announced easing of retail and service sector restrictions after Easter would be reassessed next Tuesday on the basis of the situation in hospitals. The easing would apply for tyre repair shops, car washes, mechanic shops, and technical goods repair services.

The government is also thinking about relaunching public transport, but Kacin could not yet speak of a timeline.

Meanwhile, opposition parties responded to the developments by mostly stressing the measures needed to be coordinated with experts and that results so far have been good, while they also suggested some restrictions could already be lifted.

The SocDems for instance repeated that people should be allowed to move across municipal borders, although possibly not flock to tourist sites, the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) sees no need to still restrict shopping time for vulnerable groups, while the Left feels the expanded police powers should be cancelled immediately.

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Passenger flight ban extended again

STA, 9 April 2020 - Slovenian air traffic remains restricted as the government yet again extended on Thursday a ban on passenger flights that was already prolonged in late March. Under today's decree, flights within the EU are suspended until 27 April, with the rest banned until further notice.

The ban was originally put in place on 17 March, suspending passenger flights from and to EU countries until 30 March and other flights until further notice. In line with the EU law, the government then extended the ban for two weeks.

The ban does not apply to aircraft transporting cargo or mail, aircraft conducting special transport without passengers or ferry flights, or to foreign planes or helicopters on humanitarian or health missions.

Passenger air traffic has ground to a halt across the world as countries try to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

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Non-urgent health services to resume

STA, 9 April 2020 - The government has decided to allow non-urgent health services to resume under certain conditions after these have been suspended in the efforts to contain the coronavirus epidemic in the country.

A release issued after Thursday's government session says services such as out-patient specialist and diagnostic services, rehabilitation and other non-emergency treatments will be resumed for patients "with negative epidemic anamnesis who do not have symptoms of a respiratory infection and whose health condition could worsen should the health service be omitted or delayed".

Detailed instructions on how the patients will be admitted and handled will be drawn up by a group of experts at the Health Ministry.

The instructions determine preventive and other measures to ensure safe handling of patients and efficient prevention of the spread of Covid-19, as well as how the patient's negative status will be checked.

Non-urgent health services can only be provided by those providers who have the staffing, organisational and technical conditions in place to provide suitable, quality and safe health services.

The decision was taken to disburden primary care providers, ensure a smooth flow of patients from primary to secondary level of care and to provide health care for other patients as soon as possible in as much omission of such services could lead to a deterioration in the patient's health condition.

The change in the relevant decree, which will come into affect the next day after being published in the Official Gazette, is also aimed at reducing the impact of measures taken on the prolonging of waiting times.

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STA, 9 April 2020 - A survey has found that slightly less than a third of Slovenians continue to go to work as they used to before the measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic were introduced, and a similar proportion work from home. More than half of the respondents think that the epidemic poses a great risk for their jobs and companies they are employed in.

In the survey carried out by Aragon, 29% of the respondents said they continued to go to work as usual, 28% said they worked from home, while 16% have been temporarily laid-off.

Some 9% of the people polled are on annual leave, 5% work short time, and the same percentage are on sick leave. Only a fraction of the respondents are on leave because they have to take care of small children as schools and kindergartens are closed.

Men are in the majority among those who continue to go to work as usual, and women are in the majority of those who have stayed at home to take care of small children. The share of women who are on temporary lay-off is slightly higher than that of men.

"All this implies that the coronavirus crisis, if it persists for a long time, could result in economic inequality between genders," the pollster said.

The survey also shows that Slovenians think that the number of persons who are actually infected with Covid-19 is four times higher than the number of officially confirmed cases.

It has been projected based on the survey that on 10 April, the number of officially confirmed cases is to stand at 1,470, which would put the number of perceived cases at around 6,600.

More than half of the respondents (56%) would take a vaccine against the coronavirus if it existed, with men being more inclined to vaccination than women (62% to 50%).

The survey was carried out between 28 March and 2 April on what Aragon said is a representative sample of 1,031 members of the online panel Plusplet.

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 Klara Jan, with a poster from a series organised by Tam Tam.

Contents

Four new deaths and 36 new cases of Covid-19 recorded

Minister announces gradual easing of retail and service sector restrictions after Easter

Chinese twin cities rush to provide PPE to Maribor

Questions raised why not cut out intermediaries in PPE supplies

Religious leaders urge believers to stay home

Four new deaths and 36 new cases of Covid-19 recorded

STA, 8 April 2020 - A total of 1,214 Covid-19 tests were performed in Slovenia on Tuesday, with 36 persons confirmed as positive. Four patients have meanwhile died, increasing the death toll to 40, the government has announced.

The total number of confirmed cases is up to 1,091, with 111 Covid-19 patients currently in hospital, after five were discharged yesterday. 35 patients are in intensive care.

So far 30,669 tests for the new coronavirus have been performed in Slovenia. A total of 120 persons diagnosed with Covid-19 have been discharged from hospital.

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Minister announces gradual easing of retail and service sector restrictions after Easter

STA, 8 April 2020 - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšk announced on Wednesday at a government coronavirus crisis briefing that his ministry had proposed a gradual easing of restrictions in place for retail and service businesses after the Easter holidays.

He said tyre repair shops, car washes, mechanic shops, and technical goods repair services would gradually reopen after Easter. Stores selling construction material will also reopen, which is important to ensure self-sufficiency and enable people to work from home, the minister said.

Later, a gradual reopening of stores selling technical goods is planned, meaning shops selling household appliances and furniture.

Počivalšek stressed that the epidemiologic situation would be monitored and that each individual would have to follow recommendations of the Public Health Institute.

Production has not been restricted so far and will also not be restricted in the future, the minister added, noting that employers must provide for the safety of staff.

No coronavirus hotspots have been recorded in production facilities, so in most companies work is running without disturbances, he said.

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Chinese twin cities rush to provide PPE to Maribor

STA, 8 April 2020 - Maribor, Slovenia's second city, has received 10,000 face masks from Hanghzou, its twin city in China, after turning to its partner cities in China for help with the supply of much needed personal protective equipment (PPE). Donations have also been announced by other cities.

The FFP-2 masks that arrived yesterday are essential for staff working with persons infected with coronavirus. They will be distributed to the UKC Maribor hospital, the community health centre, the city's two care homes, home nursing care service and taxi services.

Maribor's twin city Chongqing has pledged a donation of 15,000 FFP-2 masks, while partner cities Nanjing, Huaian and Nanchang have promised a total of 62,000 surgical masks and some thermometers. The donations are due to arrive in the coming days on a special flight organised by the government.

"We are very happy about the great response by our partner cities, which have selflessly rushed to help us even though strict measures to contain the virus remain in force in China," Maribor authorities said, adding that Mayor Saša Arsenovič will thank his Chinese counterparts in a letter.

The city also expressed its gratitude to the Slovenian Consulate in Shanghai and the Embassy in Beijing for assistance with the paperwork and logistics.

Maribor is also benefiting from experience of the Chinese cities in battling Covid-19. Among other things, it has received a handbook on Covid-19 prevention and treatment from Hangzhou, and been offered to get involved in MediXchange for Combating Covid-19, an international project set up by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba with the Zhejiang University hospital.

The project features a platform to facilitate communication and cross-border cooperation as well as provision of computer capacities and data to enhance key research efforts in the fight against the novel virus. The platform also allows medical staff to communicate in order to share practical experience and information.

Maribor has recorded 22 of the 1,055 confirmed coronavirus cases in Slovenia.

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Questions raised why not cut out intermediaries in PPE supplies

STA, 8 April 2020 - As countries worldwide grapple with how to secure sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic, Slovenia has also faced the problem of unreliable intermediaries, which the country's chief auditing authority says could be cut out altogether.

Supplies for the country are being ordered by the Agency for Commodity Reserves, which the Economy Ministry says cannot buy directly from Chinese manufacturers because the agency or the state cannot engage in direct financial transactions with subjects in China but can only deal with Slovenian subjects.

"This is not a government's decision, it is a matter of valid legislation," the ministry said in response to media queries about the matter.

However, the newspaper Dnevnik and news portal portal Necenzurirano.si have cited the Court of Audit in reporting that there is no such legal restriction that would prevent the agency from entering into business deals with Chinese suppliers directly.

"Slovenia being an EU member it is obliged to comply with the rules of the EU single market as well. However, public procurement regulations do not provide a basis for limiting public procurement solely to Slovenian bidders," the Court of Audit is quoted by the two media outlets.

Asked by Necenzurirano.si which regulation prevented the agency from buying abroad, the Economy Ministry said that "doing business with foreign subjects in a state of emergency in the global market of protective equipment and agents at the moment would entail excessive risk."

Foreign manufacturers often demand advance payments, and the Agency for Commodity Reserves does not have representatives abroad who could check the suitability and reliability of offers, the ministry explained.

The news portal reported on Monday that the agency had received as early as 23 March an offer from a Chinese PPE manufacturer sent by a group of Slovenian academics via their Chinese colleagues. The Slovenian academics contacted Slovenia also through the PM's office and coordinated technical specification of the equipment with Economy Ministry State Secretary Aleš Cantarutti. The portal's information indicates there are more such direct offers.

The Agency for Commodity Reserves agreed more than EUR 130 million worth of deals with various Slovenian companies over the past three weeks. Most of them are companies that had not supplied such equipment in the past, the portal reports.

The country's anti-graft watchdog has already called on the Court of Audit to review operations of the Agency for Commodity Reserves once the coronavirus emergency has ended.

The opposition Left meanwhile expressed concern that Slovenia could find itself in a repeat of the Patria corruption scandal, in which the Finish defence contractor Patria was accused of handing out kickbacks in return for a multi-million euro order of armoured personnel carriers.

The Left says that the companies importing masks, above all from China, have no previous experience in the field, and that contracts worth upwards of EUR 100 million have been signed in a non-transparent way in recent weeks.

"These have been signed with intermediaries... who should have been cut out. Počivalšek's ministry is enabling provisions and profits from million euro deals by lying that there is no other way," the party said about alleged restrictions in doing business with Chinese companies.

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Religious leaders urge believers to stay home

STA, 8 April 2020 - The top leaders of major religious groups in Slovenia called on believers to stay home, pray and peruse religious texts as they addressed the daily government coronavirus press briefing on Wednesday.

Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore, bishop of the Slovenian Evangelical Lutheran Church Leon Novak, the head of the Slovenian Jewish Community Boris Čerin-Levi, the Islamic community's leader Mufti Nedžad Grabus and Peran Bošković, the leader of the Ljubljana Serb Orthodox community, stressed observance was important but people should stay home to help contain the spread of coronavirus.

The Slovenian Bishop's Conference has already adopted guidelines on how to celebrate Easter during the epidemic, urging social distancing and protecting public health, said Zore, adding that the organisation followed the example set by the Italian Catholic Church.

The Slovenian Catholic Church acknowledges the role mass ceremonies play in celebrating Easter, however it is also aware of the possible devastating consequences such gatherings could have during an outbreak.

Zore called on the believers to stay at home and help slow the spread of coronavirus. He appealed to them to find comfort in home-based prayers and watch the ceremonies via public broadcaster or social networks.

Novak highlighted the importance of Easter's message which gives people hope in the times of disease, while Bošković noted that the crisis had revealed how helpless people could be. He also stressed the importance of cooperation and solidarity.

While Christians are celebrating Holy Week, the Jewish communities are observing Passover or Pesach. Čerin-Levi described it as a holiday celebrating freedom, adding that living in a free, democratic country such as Slovenia was a privilege "that could be shared regardless of faith, ethnicity, culture or language".

Ramadan, a month of fasting and reflection, is drawing nearer for Islamic communities. "We were looking forward to Ramadan and prayers in the new, long-awaited mosque. Unfortunately, the building is among those closed," said Grabus, adding that the community would heed all the instructions and restrictions imposed to contain the epidemic.

Asked about a potential financial fallout that would affect the clergy due to cancelled ceremonies, Zore said that many priests had been struggling to make ends meet even before the crisis and were supported by a priests' solidarity fund.

He also thanked the government for lending a hand to priests in need of help, a reference to the recently adopted fiscal stimulus bill, which includes a waiver of social contributions for the employees of religious communities.

Novak highlighted that everyone, not just religious communities, had been affected by the crisis and its economic ramifications.

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Do foreigners in Slovenia feel more or less safe sitting out covid-19 here than in their home country, and what are their experiences? All the stories in this series are here. If you' like to contribute, see here or at the end of the story

Who are you, and what are you doing in Slovenia?

Hi, my name is Anya Piatkowska. I am Polish and moved to Slovenia two and a half years ago after living for two years in Ireland and 12 in London. I live in Medvode with my husband and two children.

I am an International Life Strategy and Transformational Coach and Founder of 'Art of Life' model. The title might sound a little bit abstract but is actually very simple. My work is all about guiding people to their potential, supporting them through life changes and reminding them how to shift energy and enjoy life even more, from inside out! This kind of work with people is the absolutely best thing, I believe, you can give to people to help them have an exceptional life. You can contact me or read about it on www.anyapiatkowska.com . Or you can find me on Facebook at my fan page, or the group Grow International Slovenia for people interested in self-development and networking with other open-minded international and local people. Mum of 2 and Explorer, Nature and Conscious Living passionate. 

Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.

I am doing well. Just a little bit insane about home-schooling (especially when still not so fluent in Slovene). Despite teaching skills for a living, home-schooling seems to be a real challenge for me. I want to say a huge thank you and show my respect for all teachers, who take care and teach our children every day. Especially in Medvode, we have really great one! Being a transformational coach - a person who guides people through life changes and growth – I am not only taking care of myself and my family’s sanity but also that of other people who turn to me for support, boith on social media and in 1-on-1 sessions

What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business?

Apart from being a transformational coach, I also work for a company. And I was just informed about the government help which will support people in full-time employment like me. Which is not the same as full salary, but very helpful in times like we have now. My main concern is people who are without any income at all. 

When did you realize that coronavirus was going to be a big issue?

This pandemic has been a big issue for me since last week. As a coach who works on holistic life wellbeing and transformation, I am getting more and more messages about people’s mental states. About real daily life situations and the difficulty of managing one’s feelings. People are waiting for things to going back to normal and not feeling good about such a huge change in their lifestyle. In my opinion, we should start to learn how to adapt instead of thinking about when will things be like before coronavirus. As they never will be. Plus what we resist, persists. 

I am writing a book called Art of Life-Human Mini-Guide, which hopefully will help people after the pandemic calms down. Help to build a new reality in the new circumstances we are all in. In my opinion, this guide will be the essence of what I wish my children and everyone should know for an exceptional life. Which might be hard to imagine right now. And what I think is worth mentioning is that my target group are other expats, as a group who often uses guidebooks to know, plan and enjoy their next move and journey. I want to do the same thing in Art of Life-Human Mini-Guide,but guiding how to strive as a full human, instead of just surviving as a lone sailor. And also to give people some practical tools for daily life, and beautiful art to help them to connect with their heart and soul. I hope they at least wish to consider things from a different perspective. And open themselves to take the responsibility to adapt to new circumstances in a more conscious way.

What is your impression of the way Slovenia is dealing with the crisis?

I am quite impressed with the people I know. They really care and listen to what's advised in the current situation. I am also very impressed with the precautions and disinfecting customers hands and trolleys before entering the supermarket. And the small number of people who can enter it at the same time. 

How it compared to Poland?

My home country Poland has similar but even more strict rules. Poland is a big country, which means more people. This means the population is not so easy to organize (I do not like the word to control) in such serious circumstances. As my mother said, "young people who do not have studies now, they decide to socialize and party even more because they have time", so the rules got even stricter recently. I believe that here in Slovenia we reach and inform each other more effectively because there are not so many people. 

What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?

My husband is working with well-informed people, while I am not watching any news, just for some mental hygiene. But of course I know and support all restrictions and precautions we are advised now. I read Total Slovenia News updates though, and often share them in my Facebook group Grow. International. Slovenia. So people can understand how important it is to focus on positive things and mental hygiene – which might be challenging for people who were not interested in self-development before – along with the greater hygiene we need with our behaviours and daily routines. 

What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation?

I’m always eager to learn and grow more every day, so I’d probably take more books. I still prefer to feel a paper book over a Kindle or other reading app, though I appreciate them a lot, too.

What’s one thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis?

I actually talk about this on my website, but definitely I’ve learned to trust the process and that everything is happening for the reason. Even if it sounds brutal thinking of all the people who are dying now. But with a much bigger perspective this is a huge lesson for humanity. Which we might or might not learn from. We are all equal and connected, and we can see it right now perfectly as we all face the same situation, no matter who and where we are.

We can also focus only on the problem or, like I always say, we can start to focus more on the solution and on what we need to do now to protect ourselves as a species. So we can not only survive but also thrive from this life challenge. Hopefully we will focus more on a healthier, less stressed and more cooperative society. More connected to each other, nature and our hearts. Instead of chasing things which are not so important anymore. 

STA, 8 April 202 - The coronavirus pandemic has profoundly changed life in Slovenia and the rest of the world, a change perhaps best reflected in language, which has reacted fast to put the new reality into words. Slovenian has thus made room for social distancing, coronahumour and coronaidiots.

More than three weeks into the lockdown, Slovenian has a plethora of new words to deal with the epidemic and its fallout, some borrowed from foreign languages, some given a new meaning, some brought back from oblivion and some brand new.

The novel words are so many that the www.fran.si platform of web dictionaries, run by the Fran Ramovš Institute of Slovenian Language affiliated with the Slovenian Academy of Science and Arts, released a special version called Fran, Covid-19.

The words admitted range from alpha coronavirus (alfakoronavirus) to helicopter money (helikopterski denar), corona package, corona law and corona bond (koronapaket, koronazakon, koronaobveznica) to corona crisis (koronakriza) and corona time (koronačas).

Slovenians have embraced the corona greeting (koronapozdrav) and even various types of isolation (samoizolacija, samokarantena, samoosamitev), while they look down on corona idiots (koronaidiot) and corona panic (koronapanika).

Interestingly enough, the Slovenian word for infectious (kužen) derives from plague (kuga), which is perhaps why most have been so good at keeping their distance from each other.

STA, 8 April 2020 - Businesses which had to close their doors due to the coronavirus lockdown have been left without revenue. To add to their woes, many need to pay rent and running costs. Some landlords have decided to help them by deferring rent, others are still deciding what to do.

Small businesses selling non-essential goods and providing various services, as well as bars and restaurants were forced to close shop in mid-March, and many of them warn that they might not be able to re-open at all.

Many of them find it difficult to pay wages for March, let alone rent and utility costs.

Owners of shopping centres and malls have come up with different solutions for the problems of their tenants, and all of them stress that this is the first time they have encountered such a situation.

The retailer Tuš said it had not decided yet whether to lower rent, while Spar said that the "situation requires a great deal of adjustment and understanding, but we believe that we will find optimal solutions in the spirit of good cooperation."

Supernova, the Austrian-owned shopping mall operator, said it was in constant contact with tenants, making individual arrangements. "We want to balance out the consequences, as one side must not bear all the consequences, be it the tenant or the landlord."

SES Slovenija, which operates the shopping malls Citypark, Citycenter, Europark and Aleja, with the last one yet to be opened, has admitted that the crisis has taken them by surprise, and that many issues remain open.

The company has allowed its tenants to defer rent and operating cost for April. "By doing so we want to help entrepreneurs maintain their liquidity, even before the state adopts measures to support commerce and before this aid takes effect."

It added that additional support measures for salvaging Slovenian retail, services and hospitality companies were not excluded, but this would depend on the financial support from the state and the duration of the restrictive measures.

As for Aleja, which was supposed to open on 19 March, SES Slovenija said that individual solutions were being sought with tenants. "All partners will be able to defer payment of rent from the date of the planned opening to the date of actual opening."

The company would like to see the state come up with a plan for re-opening shops and individual branches of industry, as this would help all stakeholders organise and optimise costs.

The Slovenian Chamber of Commerce (TZS) will, according to its president Mariča Lah, publish this week an assessment of the situation in commerce, which will serve as basis for a proposal to re-open shops selling technical goods.

Rent could be tackled by the additional anti-corona legislative package, which is being drafted by the government.

The TZS has proposed a model for distributing the burden, under which the state would cover around 70% of rent, and the payment of the remaining amount would be agreed between the owner and tenant.

Under this model, landlords would not be able to terminate contracts due to the non-payment of rent, which would be applied retroactively as of the day when the epidemic was declared, 12 March.

SES Slovenija added that retail, as one of the largest employers in the country, had been severely affected and that comprehensive measures would be needed. It proposes that the state subsidises write-offs of goods which could not be sold.

The company also proposes that the state provide grants to businesses for the costs incurred during the closure and for a certain period after the closure (rent, insurance premiums, leasing instalments and utility bills).

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 and designers. Today it’s Janja Rozman and Damjana Sušnik, from Ljubljana Castle. You can see more of this series of posters here.

Contents

Number of detected coronavirus cases up by 35 to 1,055, death toll at 36

All critical groups have enough protective gear to get by, more shipments expected

PM says easing of lockdown could start in a week

Number of detected coronavirus cases up by 35 to 1,055, death toll at 36

STA, 7 April 2020 - The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Slovenia rose by 35 to 1,055 on Monday and six more people died, bringing the death toll to 36, show the latest statistics released by the government. The number of people in hospital care was 111, 31 of which were in intensive care.

The total number of new positive cases was 23 on Sunday, but only 489 tests were conducted on Sunday compared to 1,202 on Monday.

Health authorities have so far performed 29,455 tests, usually conducting around 1,000 per day.

The number of confirmed cases among health staff is 189, while the number of infected elderly in nursing homes has risen to 219.

The number of people discharged from hospital after being treated for Covid-19 increased by 13 to 115 on Monday.

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All critical groups have enough protective gear to get by, more shipments expected

STA, 7 April 2020 - All critical groups in Slovenia currently have enough protective gear to get by, chief of the civil protection service Srečko Šestan told the STA on Tuesday. However, no accumulation of the equipment is possible yet, he added. More shipments of protective gear are expected in the coming days.

Šestan did not go into detail about the expected new shipments, but he said that the civil protection was making room for the gear in its warehouse.

"We expect quite a few big shipments shortly. When the first arrives in Slovenia, we will present the contract and all the details about it," coronavirus crisis spokesperson Jelko Kacin told the press today.

He added the government was planning to report on new purchases of protective gear on a weekly basis. "But as we all know the situation on the market - especially the Chinese - is very difficult. We can hear in the news every day how countries come, pay more for equipment that has already been paid for, and manage to redirect it.

"In such a situation it is very difficult to talk about transparency. But we will inform you on a daily basis on what has been ordered, and how much we will pay for it when it arrives."

Šestan said there was currently no vulnerable group in the country without protective gear. But he admitted that the stock was still not big enough for every citizen to get a mask as many might expect. "We might even come to that, but not in the next few days."

Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek announced on Twitter on Friday that three millions of three-pleat masks were in, and on Saturday he reported of a shipment of 336,000 three-pleat masks and 10,800 protective suits.

The Slovenian aviation portal Sierra5 meanwhile reported that a Boeing 777-300 of the Russian airline Nordwind Airlines had touched down today at the Ljubljana airport, bringing medical equipment from China.

The portal said that the passenger aircraft had brought 40 tonnes of equipment, mostly three-pleat face masks, to Slovenia.

The 24ur news portal reported that it was a private donation. This was later confirmed for the STA by the Economy Ministry, which added that the donor wished to remain anonymous.

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PM says easing of lockdown could start in a week

STA, 7 April 2020 - PM Janez Janša has announced that some of the restrictive measures related to the coronavirus epidemic could perhaps be eased as early as next Tuesday, provided that certain conditions, including the stability of the healthcare system, are met. Janša was critical of developments in the EU, including of the lack of support for corona bonds.

In a special announcement on Tuesday evening, Janša said that the government was examining the possibility of relaunching manufacturing, part of the services sector, commerce and transport if protective measures are implemented.

Provided that the epidemic eases further, that testing is expanded at critical points such as nursing homes and that infections are better controlled, some restrictions of movement could also be gradually eased, the prime minister added.

"But we must be aware of the undeniable fact that an alternative to loosing supervision of the source of the contagion can only be drastic restriction of contacts."

Janša suggested that the healthcare system was still exposed, as almost a fifth of all infested persons in Slovenia are healthcare workers. "The curve of the spreading of the virus is no longer climbing steeply, it is more horizontal, but it is still not dropping."

He added that without control of infected persons and additional testing of their contacts, it would not be possible to scale down the current movement restrictions only to a few areas.

Janša noted that people sticking to the restriction of movement to the municipal boundaries had significantly reduced the possibility of new infections and creation of new hot spots last week.

He also called for understanding of the "fact that we cannot ease certain measures as quickly as the countries which reacted to the epidemic days or even weeks ahead of us, while they were also institutionally ready, unlike us."

Meanwhile, Janša also voiced criticism of the EU, saying "European solidarity, which depends solely on the institutions of the EU, does not exist in practice when it comes to protective equipment".

"Since the start of the epidemic we've not received a single mask, a single piece of protective equipment, not a single ventilator from the EU. Not a single so called joint European procurement procedure has been completed with even one supply case," he said.

Janša commended the ECB and European commission on easing aid rules, but added: "However, the key instrument, so called corona bonds...still do not have sufficient support from the wealthiest EU members. This is the point where the future of our joint currency is weighed today, as well as the future of the EU."

Meanwhile, the opposition Left and Social Democrats (SD) again called on the government to lift the ban on non-essential travel between municipalities, arguing that a vast majority of people are sticking to the lockdown measures.

The SD said that citizens were disciplined and protected their own health and health of their families, adding that the ban on travel outside the municipality of the permanent or temporary residence was "nonsensical and excessive."

Left MP Matej T. Vatovec said that "we see that the things are moving slightly forward, and we hope that the government will also realise that certain measures were premature and that it will start taking steps back."

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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

Healthcare system preparing Covid-19 exit strategy

Covid-19 hotline becomes barometer of public atmosphere

Fiscal Council finds government coronavirus measures justified

Do Foreigners Feel Safer in Slovenia?

Healthcare system preparing Covid-19 exit strategy

STA, 7 April 2020 - After focussing all resources on Covid-19 patients and emergency cases since mid-March, the Slovenian healthcare system is preparing to gradually reopen to other patients while taking stringent precautionary measures. Hospitals have already received instructions from the Ministry of Health to start accepting other patients.

Because of the coronavirus epidemic, hospitals and other health institutions around the country have limited their services to treating emergency cases, cancer patients, child deliveries and paediatric cases.

But medical experts have been issuing increasingly dire warnings that such a regime must not last too long. Tit Albreht from the Public Health Institute has said a plan should be made before the summer on how to reactivate the healthcare system so as to prevent long-term detrimental effects on the population.

If patients with chronic diseases do not receive proper treatment this will become a big problem, he told the STA.

"You cannot freeze healthcare for 18 months or a year, because you run the risk of losing more patients to various other problems and chronic disease than to the epidemic," said Albreht, who is in charge of the Health Security Centre at the institute.

"A person who needs an operation, which may not be urgently needed right now, will have to be operated in a few months because by then it may become urgent."

In the first phase of the exit strategy, the country's biggest hospital, UKC Ljubljana, plans to start accepting patients with the level of urgency (which is indicated on referrals) 'fast', next to the 'urgent' and 'very fast' that it is accepting now.

UKC Ljubljana kept its hospital activity at 80% throughout the epidemic, according to Zlatko Fras, medical director of the internal clinic at UKC.

Doctors are dealing with some urgent cases alongside emergency cases via telephone or e-mail and the two channels will be used in the future as well.

"The backlog of a month or a month and a half will not be easy to make up but we'll do our best," Fras said. Specialist appointments and diagnostics will be increased gradually, he said.

According to the head of the gastroenterological unit at UKC, Borut Štabuc, endoscopic procedures will be launched again soon, and all patients with the level of urgency 'fast' and 'very fast' should be able to get treatment by the end of the month.

In order for all these patients to receive treatment, afternoon appointments will be introduced just like for cancer patients and patients with inflammatory bowel disease who are receiving biological drugs. The clinic also plans to work on Saturdays.

The head of the nephrology unit at UKC Ljubljana, Miha Arnol, said the epidemic had not changed much for dialyse patients, so 260-270 of them had been receiving regular treatment despite the epidemic. All patients are being tested for coronavirus and three cases of infections have been confirmed so far.

Patients with transplants are a very sensitive group as well. The condition of those in early stages after transplantation is being monitored using telemedicine, while transplant activity for non-urgent cases has been suspended. "We are conducting about 1,500 check-ups a day, which is about a third of all check-ups conducted before the epidemic," Arnol said.

UKC Ljubljana is now taking in the most demanding cases from all over the country, especially in cases requiring specialists in ophthalmology, neurology, dental medicine and otorhinolaryngology. The paediatric clinic is working with the most vulnerable children.

Annually about a million people are examined at UKC Ljubljana and some 100,000 people are hospitalised. UKC Ljubljana has about a third of all hospital capabilities in the country and during the epidemic, about 1,000 patients are at the hospital on a daily basis, about 50 of whom are Covid-19 patients.

Meanwhile, at UKC Maribor, 512 patients with conditions other than Covid-19 are hospitalised at the moment, and the hospital is treating all patients with the level of urgency 'urgent' and 'very fast'.

Several hundred such patients are treated daily, which is three times less than in the same period last year, Matjaž Vogrin, the hospital's medical director, told public broadcaster RTV Slovenija late last night. The number of hospitalised patients is 40% lower than in the same period last year.

Vogrin stressed in the Odmevi late news show that no member of the medical staff had gotten infected with coronavirus at the hospital so far, which showed that protective measures were working.

Currently, special medical councils are going through medical files to determine the order in which the hospital will start admitting other patients that need treatment.

Dušan Deisinger, medical director of the Izola hospital, told Odmevi they had no Covid-19 patients at the moment and were accepting only urgent cases and patients who need treatment very fast. The number of hospitalised patients is about a third of what the hospital had before the epidemic.

The hospital will now start accepting more patients in line with the ministry's recommendation.

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Covid-19 hotline becomes barometer of public atmosphere

STA, 7 April 2020 - The UKC Ljubljana hospital launched a coronavirus crisis hotline four weeks ago, as Covid-19 contagion started taking hold in Slovenia. The call centre, manned by a crew of senior medical students guided by mentors, has since become much more than a hotline, growing into what is seen as a barometer of public atmosphere.

The centre is doing a very important job, government speaker Jelko Kacin said on Monday. It takes hundreds of calls a day and is in direct contact with the people, allowing an insight into which measures need to be clarified and what the people are worried about, as well as what they are happy with.

He said that the government looked into all the proposals forwarded to the call centre with care, one of them being the recent reopening of florists' shops and nurseries.

The hotline is available every day of the week at 080 1404 between 8am and 8pm, with callers having to wait for a response no longer than 30 seconds on average, said Mojca Matičič of the Ljubljana Infectious Diseases Clinic, which launched the hotline.

In total, the hotline was called more than 21,000 times, with the highest numbers, about 1,200 a day, reached after the government announced the closure of schools and presented the crisis stimulus package.

Matičič praised the team working in the centre, saying they were not only very knowledgeable but also showed a lot of empathy, commitment and dedication, and were very good in appeasing some callers, while warning others.

She said the basic purpose of the call centre to provide reliable information to the public has long since been surpassed, adding that the subject of the calls varied from one week to another, depending on the developments in the country.

In the first two weeks, people were calling in to ask about Covid-19 testing and the closure of borders and schools. Then they were calling about the use of protective gear, social distancing and movement restrictions, whereas most recently they are more worried about care provided by retirement homes and the functioning of the healthcare system.

Some callers also phone in to report people breaking quarantine and self-isolation and are steered to the relevant inspection services.

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Fiscal Council finds government coronavirus measures justified

STA, 7 April 2020 - The body overseeing Slovenia's adherence to the fiscal rule has endorsed the measures taken by the government to contain the coronavirus epidemic and mitigate its consequences, finding that extensive and multi-layered effective action by the government has been warranted.

The Fiscal Council, in a release issued on Tuesday, ascertained that the Slovenian government's measures were for the most part in agreement with recommendations by international organisations and by scope comparable to measures taken by other countries.

"Despite the temporary departure from fiscal sustainability over the mid-term being justified and taking into account the discussions upon the passage of the [EUR 3 billion stimulus] law, we are calling on all stakeholders that in taking further measures they follow even more than in the process so far the principles of the targeted nature of the measures addressing the consequences of the epidemic, their simplicity and time limitations," reads the release.

Considering the increased social and economic uncertainty and the substantial cost to public finances, the Fiscal Council recommends a more careful consideration as to when or in which phase of the battle against the epidemic certain measures would be the most effective and when potential stimulus measures would be needed to restart the economy.

The council says that it will crucially depend on the combination of the measures taken and their implementation whether the Slovenian economy will await the end of the epidemic in a shape that will allow it to exit the crisis as fast as possible.

A fast exit from the crisis and restoration of trust is one of the urgent conditions required to ensure social security and economic prosperity as well as to maintain fiscal sustainability in the long term.

International organisations recommend taking measures in a sequence that best addresses individual fields affected. "On those recommendations it is first necessary to ensure suitable means meet the health system's needs. In the next phase it is necessary to see to preserving jobs and allowing the economy to function as normally as possible."

Back in March, the Fiscal Council said that declaring an epidemic allowed temporary deviation from the mid-term structural budget balance. Given the projections of a substantial economic contraction, the measures taken will result in a high general government deficit and will push up government debt.

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STA, 7 April 2020 - The real estate market has slowed down as measures to restrict the spread of the coronavirus epidemic have been introduced, with deals concluded only retroactively and property inspected only on-line. Real estate agencies have seen a significant drop in turnover, which they hope will be compensated after the epidemic ends.

Agencies say that clients have not abandoned their intentions to buy or lease real estate, and that the true impact of the crisis would depend on the duration of the epidemic and the purchasing power after it.

Boštjan Udovič, the head of the Real Estate Association at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), has told the STA that real estate agencies are currently only providing services which could be provided without physical contact with clients.

Some real estate agencies have completely suspended their work, and "turnover has dropped significantly", he said. It will be possible to compensate for this after the epidemic ends, but this will depend on the general economic situation and purchasing power.

The real estate agency Stoja Trade is concluding contracts retroactively for deals agreed on before the measures were introduced. "Instead of inspections in person, we send interactive video clips of real estate to our clients," director Zoran Đukić has told the STA.

Zoran Veleski of Mreža Nepremičnin added that the number of calls from potential clients and demand in general had dropped in comparison with recent months, "which is understandable, as people are dealing with other priorities".

While the number of transactions is dropping, prices remain stable. "Everybody is waiting for quarantine to end, and prices will depend on the duration of quarantine," he assessed.

The short-term lease market is practically dead, as tourist visits have ground to a halt. "Many real estate units, which had been intended for temporary lease to tourists, are now empty. Some of them have already been placed on the market," Udovič said.

He believes that this, if the state fails to take quick measures, will not result in growth of the long-term lease market, as owners still almost exclusively decide to rent their real estate for less than 12 months for one reason or another.

Đukić expects a slight market correction when it comes to rental real estate because of the apartments which used to be leased via Airbnb. "There will be no major changes in the prices of rents, but the crunch will ease."

According to Udovič, the key will be the developments in the first months after the end of the epidemic, as turnover on the real estate market largely depends on the economic and financial state of the country and consumer confidence.

"If they reduce their consumption out of caution, the real estate market will suffer a huge blow," he said, adding that the state had taken measures aimed at preventing such consequences relatively quickly.

Stoja Trade has established that clients have only postponed the planned transactions, as a majority of clients are waiting for quarantine to end, and "if this does not take too long, major changes are not expected due to the specifics and small size of the market".

Đukić also expects that, considering the situation on stock markets and financial markets, people will continue to opt for safer investments, including real estate, which keeps its value in the long run.

Veleski agreed that real estate is one of the safest investments, but he also assessed that the situation on the market will depend on the duration of the lockdown measures and the drop in GDP.

"We can only hope that the government will support the economy with measures similar to those in other EU member states and that it would not leave the construction sector high and dry again," he added.

The experts have assessed that the measures from the EUR 3 billion legislative package to aid the economy and individuals will be useful, adding that it is understandable that it was not able to tackle all issues.

Udovič expects additional measures in the coming weeks, which would be focused on keeping the economic activity running. "From the aspect of real estate, care for an investment momentum after the end of the epidemic will be of particular importance."

He also expects that if the situation permits, the government will start easing up on the restrictions related to certain services, including real estate agencies.

Veleski noted that in addition to wages and social security contributions, companies have many other costs which they are not able to cover for months if their turnover is zero.

"The passed legislation is certainly beneficial also for our activity. I have concluded based on talks with agents and many others who are not part of our team, that they will be able to survive these few months," he added.