STA, 14 August - The government decided on Friday that passengers transiting through Slovenia will not be required to produce a Covid certificate only until 22 August. "As of 23 August, transit will no longer be possible without meeting the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule (PCT) rule," the government said.

If they want to avoid being ordered to quarantine for ten days in Slovenia, transit passengers will have to produce a certificate proving that they have either recovered from Covid-19, tested or vaccinated.

So far, there were certain exceptions for quarantine, including for transit passengers who leave Slovenia within 12 hours after entering it.

However, the decree adopted by the government yesterday evening says that this exception will be in force only until 22 August.

If a person who has residence in Slovenia enters the country, this is not considered as transit, but entry with the intention to go home, the government said.

For now, the exceptions apply to children younger than 15 accompanied by persons who meet the PCT rule, owners or renters of property on both sides of the borders, cross-border workers and persons performing international transport services.

STA, 13 August 2021 - As many as 130 brown bears were culled in Slovenia this year until 11 August, of which 121 were hunted on the basis of the Environment Agency's permits and nine were found dead, the Environment Ministry told the STA on Friday, four days after a brown bear attacked a local while he was jogging near the town of Pivka, SW.

Monday's attack was examined by Slovenia Forest Service experts, who established that the 30-year-old must have surprised the she-bear, which had no other way to escape than in his direction.

The bear attacked him, he fought back, which made the bear retreat but she returned and attacked again. The man sustained injuries on his head, neck and arms, and broke his wrist while fighting the bear. He was then taken to hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening, the victim's father told the press this week.

After inspecting the site of the attack, the Forest Service did not issue an opinion on culling, so the Environment Agency has not issued a culling permit.

The Environment Ministry said that the country's brown bear population "is favourable with an improving trend".

The 2020-2023 brown bear management guidelines say that the country's 2020 bear population in spring, which is the highest within a year, is 990, while its actual number is probably between 860 and 1,120.

Brown bear can present a physical threat to people, but attacks are relatively rare. Forest Service data shows there are an average two attacks annually.

However, there are several "make believe" attacks when a bear chases a person only to scare them, but then stops, it does not attack, Peter Krma from Forest Service has told the newspaper Primorske Novice.

This week's was the first reported bear attack on a human in Slovenia after May 2020, when a 56-year-old man stumbled upon a bear in the woods near Škofljica, just south of Ljubljana.

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA: 

Nearly 200 coronavirus infections confirmed on Thursday

LJUBLJANA - A total of 199 coronavirus infections were confirmed in Slovenia on Thursday in 1,841 PCR tests for a positivity rate of 10.8%. The cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents continued to steadily increase to stand at 92, up four on the day before, and the 7-day average of new cases rose by eight to 161, show fresh data by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ). The NIJZ estimates there are currently 1,983 active cases in the country, up by 83. To increase the vaccination rate as the epidemiological situation is deteriorating, the NIJZ will call on people aged 50 or more to get vaccinated with an invitation letter.

Court rejects proposal to stay govt's decision not to appoint EDPs

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Administrative Court has rejected a request from prosecutors Tanja Frank Eler and Matej Oštir to stay the government's May decision not to get formally acquainted with their appointment as Slovenia's European delegated prosecutors (EDPs). It argues the request has not been sufficiently reasoned. In the decision, made on Thursday, the court says that the appellants have not demonstrated the need to issue a temporary injunction in this case, shows Friday's press release from the court. Frank Eler and Oštir filed a suit against the government's decision last week, the second after their first was rejected on procedural grounds. The court intends to treat it as an absolute priority.

Centre-left opposition urge action in wake of IPCC findings

LJUBLJANA - The four centre-left opposition factions said they had filed for an emergency session of parliament's Environment Committee to debate the alarming findings of the IPPC report for Slovenia and measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Social Democrats (SD), Left, non-affiliated MPs and the Alenka Bratušek Party are concerned about the latest report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), from which it follows that Slovenia is warming twice as fast as global average.

Business want state to pay for staff testing

LJUBLJANA - A chamber representing small businesses called on the government to scrap the requirement of frequent testing of staff who have not been vaccinated or have not recovered from Covid-19, saying in any event the cost of testing should be covered by the state. The OZS noted harsh protective measures already in place for the services sector, "while there is also no evidence the services have ever been the source of infections". Meanwhile, Mitja Gorenšček, GZS executive director, told the newspaper Delo the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule should be made into a law, so that those who met the rule could move more freely and the economy would not have to be shut down.

Passenger numbers at Ljubljana airport in H1 plummet y/y

BRNIK - Fraport Slovenija, the operator of Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, told the STA that 70,011 passengers and almost 6,800 aircraft movements were recorded in the first half of 2021, with the first figure being almost three times fewer than in the same period last year. An increased number of passengers was recorded in the last two months though. Drop in cargo traffic was much smaller. The operator is also happy with new links with Ljubljana being established.

Traffic extremely dense on eve of weekend

LJUBLJANA - Vehicles were waiting more than six hours to enter Slovenia from Croatia at Gruškovje border crossing as traffic was extremely heavy at border crossings this afternoon ahead of another very busy holiday weekend. More than two hours were needed to enter Slovenia from Croatia at Obrežje, while an 8km tailback meanwhile formed on the Slovenian side of the Karawanks tunnel towards Austria. Traffic was also slow on the Primorska section of the A1 motorway towards Ljubljana.

130 bears culled this year in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - 130 brown bears were culled in Slovenia this year until 11 August, of which 121 were hunted on the basis of the Environment Agency's (ARSO) permits and nine were found dead, the Environment Ministry told the STA after a brown bear attacked a local while he was jogging near the town of Pivka, SW, on Monday. The attack was examined by Forest Service experts, who established the 30-year-old must have surprised the she-bear, which had no other way to escape than in his direction. After inspecting the site of the attack, the Forest Service did not issue an opinion on culling, so ARSO has not issued a culling permit.

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus confirmed in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - The first case of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), a highly infectious plant virus that is jeopardising tomato and pepper crops, has been confirmed in Slovenia after a close encounter with the virus in spring. The virus was confirmed by the National Institute of Biology as part of national monitoring programme, and measures are under way to prevent the spread of the disease, the Agriculture Ministry said. The virus is not dangerous to people or animals.

STA, 13 August 2021 - Vehicles are waiting more than six hours to enter Slovenia from Croatia at Gruškovje border crossing as traffic is extremely heavy at border crossings on Friday afternoon ahead of another very busy holiday weekend. An 8km tailback has meanwhile formed on the Slovenian side of the Karawanks tunnel towards Austria.

At the Karawanks tunnel on the Gorenjska motorway, the Jesenice east entry to the motorway towards Austria is closed due to the congestion, Slovenia's traffic information centre said.

More than two hours are needed to enter Slovenia from Croatia at Obrežje, and up to one hour at Petišovci and Rogatec, all in the east of Slovenia. To leave Slovenia for the southern neighbour, vehicles are waiting up to one hour.

Traffic is also rather slow on the Primorska section of the A1 motorway towards Ljubljana.

The Ljubelj tunnel with Austria is being closed at intervals on the Austrian side due to passenger controls and congestion.

You can always find the latest traffic news at the official site, promet.si, while the current waiting times at Slovenia’s borders can be found here

STA, 13 August 2021 - Europe's biggest charcoal pile will be lit at Dole pri Litiji some 40km east of Ljubljana this afternoon in what is another record set by Slovenia in charcoal burning. The event, held by the Slovenian Charcoal Burners Association, will be addressed by Speaker Igor Zorčič and Karl Josef Tielke, the head of the European Charcoal Burners Association.

Apart from the largest charcoal pile, Slovenia is also home to the largest number of such piles Europe-wide. The visit by the head of the European Charcoal Burners Association shows that Slovenian charcoal burners are respected in the European community, Jože Prah, the head of the Slovenian association told the STA.

The organisation numbers more than 100 members and has been a part of its European counterpart since 2018 alongside eight other European countries. Slovenian charcoal burners will meet on Saturday morning as well to mark the occasion.

Charcoal burning used to be a method applied across all continents. Today, charcoal burners use standard, vertical piles, Prah explained, adding that it was best if wood was thicker.

Inside the pile a fire is then lit to produce charcoal and spruce needles and a layer of soil is put around the chimney to make sure the air is circulating and the pile does not burn down. The fire should never burn fiercely, rather just a little to get the process of making charcoal going.

Prah finds charcoal burning a tradition that highlights the uniqueness of Slovenia's countryside, helps preserve the cultural landscape, adds value to less valued wood products and increases care for young forests. It also provides an opportunity to boost "the social capital of the countryside".

In the past, it was a popular tradition and even now charcoal burners are still lighting piles in more than 20 towns and villages in Slovenia every year, mainly for tourism purposes. Some owners of forest land also use charcoal burning as an additional source of income. Prah thus concluded there was no fear the activity would die out.

STA, 12 August 2021 - The country is introducing the rule of being tested for or vaccinated against Covid or having recovered from it for a number of activities, while abolishing free rapid tests. While these will be paid for by employers for the workers who need them to do their job, university and secondary school students will have to pay for them themselves.

Student representatives strongly oppose having to pay for rapid testing themselves, which will be no longer free of charge from 23 August, except for some groups.

They will cost EUR 12, and are expected to have to be taken every two days, since a rapid antigen test result is valid for 48 hours.

At present, workers in healthcare, care homes and schools who have not been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid have to be tested once a week.

The government is expected to make it into a rule that all education workers must meet the recovered-vaccinated-tested (PCT) rule as of 16 August, when exam resits begin.

Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar said everything was ready to launched voluntary self-testing at home as the new school year starts on 1 September.

Compulsory vaccination for education workers is not being considered, while self-testing for kids in the last three years of primary school is to be introduced.

If the epidemiological situation remains as it is now, self-testing will also be introduced for secondary schools students, the state secretary said.

However, he said the option of a PCT rule for secondary schools was also being considered.

He also announced compliance for university students would be checked with digital technologies. He favours a QR code scanner to be installed at entries to faculties.

The state secretary said a meeting between representatives of students, faculties, health and education ministries would be held this month to discuss details.

He also welcomed the fact that students have accepted the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule as a way of keeping universities open.

However, while university and secondary schools student representatives understand the need for the rule, they oppose payable testing and urge self-testing for secondary school students and teachers, while complaining about the lack of information.

Organisations representing secondary schools students fear that poorer students will not be able to afford rapid tests.

Frančiška Al-Mansour, head of the Association of Secondary Schools, would prefer keeping once-a-week self-testing from the end of the last school year for students.

The Student of Organisation of Slovenia (ŠOS) is meanwhile surprised at the Health Ministry's statement that student organisations support the new conditions.

ŠOS head Andrej Pirjevec said "free testing is the only way for public education to be truly accessible in the coming school year, so we will do everything for tests to remain free of charge".

Pirjevec urged teachers and students at all levels of education to get vaccinated, with Vindišar calling on teachers to do so to serve as a role model to others.

Among those proposing for the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule to be introduced at higher education institutions was the Chancellors' Conference.

"If we want to return to in-person study process, PCT is an urgently needed basis to ensure everyone's safety and health," said Zdravko Kačič, the head of the Chancellors' Conference.

He also said that universities were not in a position to cover the costs of self-tests.

The Youth Council also welcomed the PCT system as a solution to allow all schoolchildren and students to return to schools and colleges in the autumn, but they believe secondary and university students should be eligible for free tests.

The state secretary said the idea behind new rules was to keep schools open even in the worst-case epidemic scenario.

He also told the press as he visited Cerknica that epidemiologists are still able to follow contacts of the infected persons.

But with the reproduction number increasing at the current rate, they could easily no longer be able to do so in 15 days.

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA: 

Parts of Slovenia turn orange as 248 infections reported for Wednesday

LJUBLJANA - Another 248 people tested positive for coronavirus in Slovenia on Wednesday as test positivity rate hit 13.6%. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents rose to 88 and the 7-day average of new cases to 153, show figures from the National Institute of Public Health. An estimate of active cases rose to 1,900. Hospitalisations increased by four to 40. Western and central parts of Slovenia turned orange in the updated ECDC map, while the rest of the country remains green.

PLF filling not to be mandatory to enter Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - As Slovenia introduces the European Digital Passenger Locator Form on Monday for air and cruise ship passengers entering the country, the Health Ministry told the STA filling out the form will not be compulsory for the time being as no one will check whether passengers have filled out one or not. The National Institute of Public Health said its epidemiological service will use the data provided by passengers to contact them or their contacts in case of an infection.

Govt endorses joint border patrol accords with several countries

LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed technical agreements with Poland, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on joint patrols and other forms of joint action to manage illegal migration on Slovenia's border with Croatia. The agreements, closed by the Slovenian Interior Ministry and police with the corresponding authorities in the countries concerned. The agreements are seen as a way to prevent major challenges in anticipation of an increase in illegal migration.

Calls for tests for students to be made free

LJUBLJANA - Student associations called on the authorities to make rapid coronavirus testing free for students following the announcement that to attend lectures in-person students will either have to be vaccinated, recovered from Covid-19 or have a negative test. As free rapid antigen tests are to be scrapped on 16 August, tests will be paid for by employers for the staff who need them to do their job, but university and secondary school students will have to pay for them themselves.

Ruling released on unconstitutionality of parliamentary inquiry law

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court published a ruling which finds the law and parliament's rules on parliamentary inquiry in contravention of the constitution because they interfere with independence and autonomy of state prosecutors. The court also annulled the parliament's July 2019 decision to launch a parliamentary inquiry into the many court proceedings of ex-Maribor Mayor Franc Kangler in the segment pertaining to prosecutors. The court ordered parliament to amend the law within a year.

Release of impairments boosts banking sector's H1 profit

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian banks generated a cumulative after-tax profit of EUR 226.4 million in the first half of the year, an increase of 84% compared with the same period last year due to a release of impairments and provisions. According to the monthly report released by Banka Slovenije, the combined pre-tax profit of banks in Slovenia rose by over 90% year-on-year to over EUR 251 million. Banks released EUR 26 million net in impairments after forming EUR 98.5 million a year ago.

NLB group ups half-year net profit by 90%

LJUBLJANA - The banking group NLB reported EUR 139.8 million in net profit for the first half of the year, a rise of 90% year-on-year, which came with a "visible contribution" from the NLB's latest acquisition, the Serbian bank Komercijalna Banka. Net interest income increased by 32% to EUR 198.6 million and net non-interest income was up 23% to EUR 135.3 million as EUR 19 million net impairments and provisions were released. Total assets were up 8% from January to EUR 21.187 billion.

Demand for new workers growing

LJUBLJANA - Job vacancies in Slovenia increased by almost 25% from the first quarter to over 20,500 in the second quarter of the year. The strongest demand for workers was in the hospitality sector and in culture and entertainment. The country's vacancy rate thus rose to a quarterly record of 2.6%, the Statistics Office reported. Despite lockdown restrictions in place until mid-May employers started looking for workers more intensively after an almost six-month lull.

Interior minister and police trade union exchange some harsh words

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs and a police trade union got entangled in a harsh exchange of words as Hojs rejected the union's allegations that he and Police Commissioner Anton Olaj should be blamed for what was seen as lack of police protection in front of the National Assembly. "Dear trade unionists, start working in the police, and stop politicising and looking for excuses," the minister said, later calling the union "lazy bones".

Reserved response as Šarec calls for post-election alliance

LJUBLJANA - Marjan Šarec, the former Prime Minister and leader of the LMŠ party, called on the remaining three centre-left opposition parties to sign an agreement on post-election cooperation in a bid to form a government without the Democrats (SDS) of PM Janez Janša or the parties supporting them. While the SocDems and the Left welcomed the call in principle, SocDem leader Tanja Fajon said winning over Janša should not be the sole ambition. The Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) criticised Šarec for staging a solo act.

Youth grappling with mental distress, precarious work

LJUBLJANA - On International Youth Day, the Youth Council of Slovenia warned about mental distress of the young and precarious forms of work. With the Covid-19 pandemic aggravating the situation, it is getting increasingly difficult for the young to gain independence, they cannot access housing, they are exposed to precarious forms of work and their mental distress is getting worse, the organisation said. There were some 310,600 people aged between 15 and 29 in Slovenia at the beginning of the year.

STA, 12 August 2021 - There were more than 20,500 job vacancies in Slovenia in the second quarter of the year, up almost 25% from the first quarter, with demand for workers strongest in hospitality and in culture and entertainment. The country's vacancy rate thus rose to a quarterly record of 2.6%, the Statistics Office (SURS) said on Thursday.

As part of the second wave of the epidemic, lockdown restricting some businesses was in place from 19 October 2020 to 16 May 2021, or more than half of quarter two.

But it was in this period that employers started looking for workers more intensively after an almost six-month lull, which made quarter two very dynamic, SURS said on Thursday.

Demand for workers was recorded across all sectors, but doubled in hospitality and in culture and entertainment, both of which were practically fully closed during the epidemic.

A rise in demand for new workers in quarter two increased by 90% or by some 9,700 over the second quarter in 2020, when the country was deep in its first lockdown.

The annual growth was the most robust in manufacturing, which had almost four times more vacancies (nearly 5,800), and in hospitality, which had 1,500, up 25%.

Only electricity supply and education saw lower demand for new workers in quarter two year on year.

The bulk of vacancies available in April-to-June were advertised by employers with ten or more employees - around 12,700 or almost 62% of all vacancies in the country.

Vacancy rate in quarter two rose by 0.5 of a percentage point to a record 2.6% compared with quarter one and by 1.2 percentage point annually.

The quarter two growth was impacted by a considerable rise in vacancies for a second quarter in the year.

Since SURS started carrying out this survey in 2008, the 2.6% vacancy rate was achieved twice before, in the third quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019.

As for occupied posts, deseasoned figures show they increased 6,300 to around 777,200 from quarter one.

In annual comparison, occupied posts rose by almost 14,100 or 1.8%, which was most notable in the construction industry and in health and social care.

In hospitality, the number of occupied posts increased by 2.8% compared with the first quarter, which is less than in the same period last year.

STA, 12 August 2021 - The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak tonight with meteors being most visible in areas without artificial lighting between 9pm and midnight or until the Moon overshadows them, the Cosmolab organisation has told the STA.

Andrej Guštin of Cosmolab, an organisation promoting astrophysics, explained that meteors or shooting stars become visible roughly somewhere about 90 kilometres above Earth. They shoot through the atmosphere at a speed of approximately 60km/s, creating a streak of light.

The Perseids are a result of the Swift-Tuttle comet, which left a stream of debris in its wake and is currently still circling the Sun. The meteor shower, named after the constellation Perseus, which appears to be their starting point, can be spotted in the night sky from 17 July to 24 August every year when the Earth travels through Swift-Tuttle's orbit.

Meteor spotters or those who would like to make a wish on a shooting star are advised to lie down on the ground tonight to get in the best position to observe the upcoming meteor spectacle, said Guštin, noting that skywatchers are in for an additional treat since Jupiter and Saturn will also be visible as the night sky is expected to be clear.

STA, 11 August 2021 - Compliance with the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule will be a prerequisite for attending university lectures in the next academic year, Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar has said. The ministry proposes voluntary self-testing for secondary school students, but if Slovenia enters tier red, they will need the Covid certificate.

"Our wish is for schools to stay open. We know that was a major issue in the past and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport will do its best to ensure they remain open," Vindišar told the press on Wednesday.

He said that student organisations had agreed to the condition of Covid certificate compliance in the case of university lectures.

The ministry's Covid-19 advisory group proposed the same rule for secondary schools, but "everyone wishes to move forward with the gradual model", which envisages Covid certificate compliance as a prerequisite for in-person education after the country moves to the red phase of epidemiological status under criteria by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the state secretary said.

In primary schools, pupils in the last three years could get self-tested if they wish so. If there should be any outbreaks or clusters of coronavirus cases in individual areas, local schools might be closed, however, generally speaking, the ministry will aim to keep schools open, he said.

Vindišar also noted that the vaccination rate among school workers was not sufficient with the ministry urging them to get a jab. According to some sources, the rate stands at approximately 50%.

National Institute of Public Health head Milan Krek called on youths to get vaccinated as well, pointing out that the latest cases most frequently stem from the 15-24 age group. The average age of the infected is 33, he added.

Vindišar said vaccination trends were not favourable as the figures were much too low to contain the epidemic, warning that the situation was deteriorating.

Currently, almost 40% of the population has been fully immunised and 45% has received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Some 31% of the 18-24 age group have been fully protected against Covid-19 and 37% has been jabbed once.

The ministry intends to launch additional mobile vaccination services next week as such units have proved successful, particularly in the countryside.

The Jožef Stefan Institute said today the country has already moved to the orange phase under ECDC criteria and will, given the current trend, move to red in early September.

Such epidemiological developments mean that the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule will have to become mandatory in all areas, including healthcare, education, the hospitality sector, culture, sports and public life, Vindišar said.