STA, 12 March 2020 - Slovenia declared a coronavirus epidemic on Thursday as the number of cases continued to surge with 96 persons confirmed to have fallen ill, almost double the number from the day before. A number of measures were taken to contain the spreading, from school closures to cancellations of virtually all public events, with additional measures announced.

The declaration of the epidemic, which took effect at 6pm, gives the government and public health authorities more leeway in organising the response effort and coordinating the actions of the civil protection and emergency services.

A national emergency response plan will be set in motion and the admission and treatment of patients will be changed.

To help the health system cope with the influx of new cases, all but the most urgent procedures at all health institutions have been cancelled as of Monday, including all prevention, Health Minister Aleš Šabeder said.

The authorities have decided to start admitting patients to regional hospitals since major health centres are becoming overwhelmed.

Related: How Many Hospital Beds Are There In Slovenia?

A special decree has been adopted that in effect suspends most labour rights of health staff, who will not be allowed to go on strike, take annual leave or travel abroad.

Another major decision is the closure of all educational establishment across the entire country. The shutdown becomes effective on Monday and schools have been told to skip regular instruction on Friday in favour of providing a basic care service for the children as they prepare to move classes online and reorganise the curriculum. Some schools will close tomorrow.

Companies and public institutions have been advised to organise telecommuting to the maximum extent possible to contain the spread.

Since many businesses will be strongly affected by the gradual winding down of public life, the outgoing government has adopted a bill under which it will co-finance the pay of workers who will be temporarily laid off or quarantined.

EUR 50 million has been set aside and more will be provided as necessary. Outgoing Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer said that the legislation would be fast-tracked in the National Assembly.

Major sporting events have been cancelled as well. The Alpine Ski World Cup event, scheduled to take place in Kranjska Gora at the weekend, was cancelled and the Ski Flying World Championships at Planica, scheduled for 19-22 March, postponed. The Football Association has suspended all games.

The measures put Slovenia ahead of the curve of most other European countries and given the proximity of European coronavirus hotspot Italy they are seen as essential to slow the epidemic, but many have criticised the response as inadequate.

Infectious disease specialists at Slovenia's largest hospital, UKC Ljubljana, issued an urgent appeal for public life to be brought to a standstill. They want bans on all gatherings in public including in cinemas, museums and bars, and urged people to stay indoors in order to prevent the epidemic from unfolding the way it has in Italy.

Additional measures are bound to be adopted soon as Janez Janša, the new prime minister, endorsed the appeal and announced new measures as soon as the new government takes office tomorrow evening.

One of the first things the government plans to do is set up a dedicated crisis headquarters to manage the coronavirus response. Due to the closure of kindergartens and schools, daycare would be provided as a matter of priority for employees working in critical industries such as healthcare, energy, public utilities and security services.

Military capabilities including two field hospitals will be activated as well since the health system is expected to be overstretched soon, providing additional beds for patients, according to Matej Tonin, the incoming defence minister.

All our stories on COVID-19 and Slovenia can be found here. If this subject is of continued interest just bookmark that link and we'll have confirmed news up as soon as we see it.

STA, 12 March 2020 - The incoming Janez Janša government announced sweeping lockdown measures it plans to take immediately after assuming office after infectious disease specialists issued an urgent appeal Thursday for public life to be brought to a standstill due to the coronavirus epidemic.

Doctors called on the outgoing and incoming government to shut down educational institutions immediately, not on Monday as planned, and extend the closure to all places where people gather, including cinemas, museums and bars. They urged people to stay indoors in order to prevent the epidemic from unfolding the way it has in Italy.

Janša told the press the new government supported the appeal and would form a crisis centre at its first session after it takes office on Friday evening.

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One of the first things the government plans to do is to reduce the number of entry points where people are tested for coronavirus.

Janša said people should work from home where possible, including in the public administration. Due to the closure of kindergartens and schools, daycare would be provided as a matter of priority for employees working in critical industries such as healthcare, energy, public utilities and security services.

But regardless of how efficient these measures are, "the capacity of the Slovenian health system will be put to the test, which is why our effort will be targeted at securing additional capacities."

For infected persons who are not in critical condition, accommodation capacities would be provided in facilities such as military installations, hotels and student dormitories.

Matej Tonin, the incoming defence minister, added that Debeli Rtič, a large Red Cross resort on the coast, could potentially be used to accommodate persons who need to self-isolate but do not have the ability to do so at home.

The army has a field hospital with 25 beds, which is currently in Maribor but can be transferred to any location if needed within 48 hours. Another mobile unit with 120 beds is on store at the Institute for Commodity Reserves. "With these two mobile units we can provide an extra 145 beds," Tonin said.

Additionally, the army has been asked to designate one of its barracks to provide an additional 300 beds if necessary. It should be clear by Friday morning which barracks will be chosen.

The government ordered two million surgical face masks yesterday. Today China offered via diplomatic channels to help with protective equipment. Tonin said a list of things that Slovenia would ask China for was already being drawn up.

SBI Top index has record fall

STA, 12 March 2020 - The SBI TOP index on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange lost almost 9% to 753.70 points on Wednesday, the largest daily drop since it was launched in 2006, as major issues lost in excess of 10% on coronavirus concerns.

Drug maker Krka dropped 10.3% to EUR 57.20 and NLB bank was down 10.5% to EUR 47.60. Insurance stocks also took a pounding as Sava Re lost 10.6% to EUR 16 and Zavarovalnica Triglav was down 9.4% to EUR 27.

Energy group Petrol lost in excess of 7% to close at EUR 316 and Telekom Slovenije was down 9.2% to EUR 47.

Trading was brisk as total volumes exceeded EUR 6 million.

All our coronavirus and Slovenia stories are here – just bookmark that link and check for updates, which will slow down when things come to a standstill

STA, 12 March 2020 - Outgoing Prime Minister Marjan Šarec announced that an epidemic would be declared in Slovenia on Thursday based on fresh data on the spreading of coronavirus in Slovenia. Restrictions will also be imposed on cargo transport as of Monday, when all educational institutions will be closed as well.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Slovenia rose by 25 from yesterday to 82 by 9am today.

Related: How many hospital beds are there in Slovenia?

Šarec said other countries had not declared epidemics yet but Slovenia had decided for the move to better coordinate actions of the civil protection and other services.

According to Nina Pirnat of the National Public Health Institute (NIJZ), the epidemic has also been declared because all regions are affected and the number of cases is rising beyond the level considered normal.

Health Minister Aleš Šabeder noted that two new areas with infections were Nova Gorica and Kranj. In the two towns, one case each was imported from Italy.

Chart: JL Flanner, made using official data

Where is COVID-19 in Slovenia?

Two major clusters of infection remain Ljubljana with 17 cases stemming from the first case, and Metlika in the south-east, where the virus has spread to 11 people.

The rest 21 patients were infected abroad. In 32 cases, testing is still under way.

In the Celje region, the number of cases rose from one to three since yesterday, Koper has three cases today, in Ljubljana the number went up from 31 to 44, in Maribor from 5 to 7, Murska Sobota from two to three, in Novo Mesto from 15 to 20, and Nova Gorica and Kranj each have one case as of today.

In Šempeter, testing is still under way.

Šarec said the problem in Slovenia was that much bigger because of the number of infections among medical staff. As of 5pm today all medical staff would be banned from travelling to infected areas under a special government decree, Health Minister Aleš Šabeder said.

Šarec urged citizens to stay united, refrain from criticism of state measures or discrimination of those infected by the virus.

All our stories on COVID-19 and Slovenia are here

Updated at 13:50

STA, 12 March 2020 - Outgoing Prime Minister Marjan Šarec announced on Thursday he had tasked the health and education ministries with making all the necessary preparations for the closing down of all schools in Slovenia in the face of coronavirus as of Monday.

"It's a measure that will have many consequences but it is a must in this situation," Šarec said on Twitter.

Ministry of Education data show over 260,000 children and youngsters will have to stay home.

Outgoing Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer said those who would be forced to stay at home to look after their children would receive compensation in the amount of 50% of pay.

Tomorrow, only child care will be organised at schools, so children are advised to stay at home if possible, Education Minister Jernej Pikalo said.

He added that options were being discussed for long-distance learning with public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, internet provider for public institutions Arnes and other stakeholders.

Outgoing Health Minister Aleš Šabeder warned that the measure would also affect the healthcare system, as many medical workers who have children will have to stay at home. He said measures to reorganise work at health institutions were already in the making.

Since the virus has spread to all of Slovenia's regions and the number of infected persons is rising, the country will declare an epidemic today.

Two schools where infections have been confirmed are already closed.

The first to close was the Fran Albreht Primary School in Kamnik on Wednesday, where a teacher had tested positive for the virus.

Two cases were also confirmed at the Šmarje pri Jelšah primary school, which is closed as of today.

Several European countries have opted for school and kindergarten closures to prevent the spreading of the new virus, including Austria as on next week and partly Croatia.

In Italy, which is the European coronavirus hotspot, schools have been closed since 5 March.

University lectures at the University of Primorska were cancelled for the next two weeks on Sunday, while the University of Ljubljana cancelled them on Wednesday until further notice.

At the University of Maribor only lectures with less than 100 people are allowed, while some faculties have opted for distance learning.

The government introduced several protective measures in the last few days to contain the virus, which has so far infected at least 82 people in Slovenia. Indoor events with more than 100 visitors are banned and health checks have been put in place on the border with Italy. The checking of passengers at Ljubljana airport is to start in the coming days.

All our stories on coronavirus are here

STA, 11 March 2020 - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Slovenia rose by 23 since Tuesday afternoon to 57 by 2pm on Wednesday. The first school was closed after a teacher tested positive and strict measures were put in place at the Ljubljana maternity hospital where several cases were confirmed as well. So far, 2,270 persons have been tested.

The Fran Albreht Primary School in Kamnik has been closed for two weeks after a teacher tested positive, but Education Minister Jernej Pikalo announced that "given the large number of negative effects on the life of the community and on the economy, the closure of schools is a measure we will be using only after careful reflection and consultations with experts".

New confirmed cases, standing at six at the time of a press conference held at noon, were reported for UKC Ljubljana. According to the hospital's director Janez Poklukar, the infected are mostly part of UKC's leadership and have had little contact with patients.

However, with five case reported for the hospital's gynaecology department, restrictions were upgraded there - fathers will for instance not be able to be present during birth, and all non-urgent check-ups will be cancelled. The dental clinic also has one confirmed case and is operating in restricted mode.

Šabeder explained that all preventive programmes in the healthcare system would be put on hold and staff relocated to where it is needed most.

The government has also decided to put head of the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration Srečko Šestan in charge of efforts to contain the virus.

Meanwhile, National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) director Nina Pirnat explained the institute was following all primary infections, while it was also noticing secondary, tertiary and quandary transmissions.

She reported that one infection had also been confirmed among the residents of the Metlika (SE) elderly home.

The UKC Ljubljana hospital said on Twitter today, it was treating 20 coronavirus patients at the moment.

While Slovenia remains without a death case due to coronavirus, one of the first individuals to test positive was transferred to intensive care today. However, UKC director Janez Poklukar explained that the patient was in critical condition because of a different issue, although the virus was not helping.

The other 19 patients are stable and at least two of them are expected to be released to home care soon, the hospital said.

UKC Maribor medical director Matjaž Vogrin said that all the patients hospitalised over COVID-19 in Slovenia were experiencing milder symptoms of the disease and that nobody needed intensive care for now.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Croatian police have informed the Slovenian Traffic Information Center that the country is now rejecting all vehicles arriving from Italy at its border crossings.

As such, an increased number of heavy vehicle traffic jams are reported at the border crossings to Croatia, with the line at Obrežje border crossing now being 13-km long. Truck drivers are having to wait in the righthand lane for more than eight hours to exit the country and seven hours to enter.

At Dragonja and Metlika border crossings the waiting line for heavy vehicles to exit the country is a little shorter, at around two hours.

You can follow the conditions at the Traffic Information Centre’s English Website.

The danger of complacency over COVID-19 is that the infection spreads too quickly and hospital beds, along with healthcare workers’ schedules, get full to capacity, leaving little or nothing for patients with other conditions. This raises the possibility – as seen in Italy – of the system thus focusing attention on those most likely to recover, and letting the illness take its course among others (the older, the sicker).

All our coronavirus stories are here

In short, if you’re young and in general good health, your personal safety should not be a concern. More important is the safety of those around you – the old and sick who are more likely to die from COVID-19, as well as those, yourself included, who might need an emergency trip to the hospital in the next few months. The idea, as expressed in this widely shared image, is to spread out the epidemic and not overwhelm the healthcare system, both formal and informal.

But how many hospital beds are there in Slovenia, and how do the numbers compare with other countries?

Using Eurostat data for 2017, there are a total of 2.6 million hospital beds in the EU28 (including the UK), counting those for curative care, long-term care and rehabilitative care, of which just 9,294 are in Slovenia, compared to 661,448 in Germany. Of course, Slovenia has a much smaller population, two million vs 82.8 million, so let’s look at the number of hospital beds per 100,000 people. Here Germany has 800 beds for every 100,000 people, or eight for every 1,000. In contrast, Slovenia has 449 beds for every 100,000 residents, or 4.49 for every 1,000, just between Malta and Switzerland.

The full list of countries, and beds per 100,000 people, is shown below, and note that no data was given for Albania. The Eurostat data can be explored further here.

STA, 10 March 2020 - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec has announced he has ordered the closure of the border with Italy. The measure, which Šarec said was modelled on Austria's, does not apply for cargo transport. In a statement, he said that the number of coronavirus cases had risen by another three to reach 34 this afternoon.

Šarec tweeted he had ordered the closure to the health and interior affairs ministries and that the measure was in line with the agreement on joint and proportionate measures.

The government tweeted that the border would be closed as soon as technical and administrative conditions are met. "This is a necessary measure if we want to have the situation under control," Šarec later told the press.

"Italy has declared quarantine in the entire country but people are disregarding this and continue to leave Italy. It's high time we take action.

"In Primorska, a lot of people cross the border daily, we know that children [from Italy] are in kindergartens on this side of the border, for example."

Slovenia will strive to remain in the first phase of the spreading of the virus as long as possible, the government's official Twitter account also said, adding that cargo transport would not be limited so as not to cause damage to the economy.

The closure follows the ban on arrivals from Italy introduced a few hours earlier by Austria. The ban does not apply to Austrian citizens returning home and persons carrying a doctor's note certifying they are healthy. Also allowed is transit travel through Austria without stopovers.

Šarec said the measure - stepped up from what was being mentioned on Monday - had already been discussed at Monday's session of the National Security Council. The measures are adapting to the situation, which "is changing by the hour", he said.

While explaining individuals will be able to turn to the Slovenian Foreign Ministry for help, he said he had already stressed days ago people should avoid going abroad, especially to Italy.

The Slovenian Foreign Ministry expanded today its travel warning to the whole of Italy and advised Slovenians in Italy to return home.

Asked what will happen to those commuting to Italy for work, Šarec said the detailed explanations on this would follow shortly.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon, when the total reported number of confirmed case was still 31, the Health Ministry said almost 1,500 people had been tested.

It added the new cases were related to previously confirmed cases, explaining a total of 17 people had been infected abroad and 14 were the result of community transmission.

Measures for containing the spreading of the virus were stepped up in line with Monday's announcement. A ban is in place on indoor gatherings that include more than 100 people, which has affected most cultural events. There are a few exemptions to the ban, including shopping malls, weddings and funerals.

University lectures in large lecture halls have been cancelled for the next two weeks, while kindergartens and schools remain open for now.

Temperature screenings are expected to be introduced in the coming days at Ljubljana airport, which is seeing an increasing number of flight cancellations.

Meanwhile, fears of supply problems were assuaged today by Agriculture, Food and Forestry Minister Aleksandra Pivec, who stressed the supply of food products in Slovenia was not disrupted or in peril.

Keep up with all our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia here

STA, 10 March 2020 - The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Slovenia rose to 31 by midday Tuesday, the Health Ministry said. The first patients confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 will be released from hospital shortly to free up capacity for potentially more serious cases.

The latest figure marks an increase from 25 confirmed cases recorded on Monday. Almost 1,500 people have been tested, according to Health Minister Aleš Šabeder.

A total of 18 patients are currently at the infectious disease ward of the UKC Ljubljana hospital. Five will be sent home today with instructions to remain in isolation. They will be subject to strict medical checks while at home, said Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the head of UKC Ljubljana's infectious disease clinic.

The new cases are related to previously confirmed cases. A total of 17 people have been infected abroad and 14 are the result of community transmission.

The hardest hit regions for now are Ljubljana with 15 cases and Dolenjska with ten. The authorities are not disclosing the details but media reports suggest the Dolenjska cases are related to a single doctor from Metlika who came to work after he was infected.

One doctor working at UKC Ljubljana has been infected as well but he was removed from his post immediately and did not come into contact with patients, according to Eva Grilc of the National Institute of Public Health.

New measures to contain spread of coronavirus in Slovenia

As the number of cases rises, the authorities are planning new measures to contain the spread of the virus. Spot checks on the border with Italy were announced on Monday and should be deployed within a few days, once the details are hashed out, said Šabeder.

Similarly, plans for temperature screening at Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport are to be finalised soon.

The government has already issued a ban on indoor gatherings that include more than 100 people. There are a few exemptions, including shopping malls, weddings and funerals.

As a result of the ban, university lectures in large lecture halls have been cancelled for the next two weeks. Instruction will be provided online.

Meanwhile, Agriculture, Food and Forestry Minister Aleksandra Pivec stressed today that the supply of food products in Slovenia was not disrupted or in peril.

Pivec explained the quarantine regime in Italy was causing problems primarily for Slovenia milk exporters, while she called on Slovenian consumers to pick Slovenian products so as to provide additional support to Slovenian producers.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here

STA, 10 March 2020 - Fraport Slovenija, the operator of the Ljubljana airport, is already facing cancellation of flights to and from the airport due to the spreading of the new coronavirus, and more cancellations are expected in the future.

The company said on Tuesday that Wednesday's flights to Belgrade, to and from Frankfurt, to and from Brussels, and to and from the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica had been cancelled.

Several flights scheduled for next week have also been cancelled - including the connections with Berlin, Brussels and London.

"It is hard to speak about additional cancellations at the moment, but it is expected that new [cancellations] will follow," Fraport said.

Slovenia imposed a ban on arrivals of aircraft from the high-risk areas until the end of month today. Fraport noted that there were no direct links between Ljubljana and these areas any way.

State aircraft, mail or cargo aircraft and aircraft without passengers returning to a base or maintenance are exempt from the ban, which relates to the Italian regions of Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Marche, as well as China, South Korea and Iran.

As regards temperature screenings at the airport, a measure announced by the government to curb the spreading of the virus, Fraport said that it could be implemented in the coming days.

The national railway operator Slovenske Železnice meanwhile said that traffic was running on schedule, including by the train connecting Ljubljana and Italy's Trieste twice a day.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia are here