Gantar

Ljubljana – Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said he would cooperate fairly with the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, which has named him as one of eight persons under investigation over purchases of personal protective equipment in the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic.

Ljubljana – Slovenia has been promised to get some 5,000 doses of anti-coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year, Health Minister Tomaž Gantar told MPs in questions time in parliament on Monday. This is the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which is expected to be green-lighted by the European Medicines Agency on 29 December.

Brdo pri Kranju – The bulk of coronavirus restrictions remain in force following the government session on Wednesday but the government may change them on Saturday following consultations with hospital directors and business officials.

Ljubljana – With the epidemic plateauing forseveral weeks and health staff reporting being on the verge of exhaustion, Health Minister Tomaž Gantar has proposed a temporary full lockdown of all non-essential activity in the country. Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, on the other hand, proposes a gradual reopening of businesses with stricter measures.

Ljubljana – Mario Fafangel, Slovenia’s chief epidemiologist, has quit the Health Ministry task force advising the government on measures to fight Covid-19, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) said on Monday.

Ljubljana – The Chamber of Commerce (TZS) appealed for reopening of stores as they met top government officials on Friday, learning that reopening would depend on the improvement of the coronavirus situation in the coming weeks.

Ljubljana – Karl Erjavec, 60, is returning to politics having won the coalition Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) leadership contest as the party declared the results of its electoral congress on Saturday. He is starting his fifth term as DeSUS leader after defeating the only rival, Srečko Felix Krope, in a 146:71 vote.

Ljubljana – The government adopted on Thursday a five-tier strategy for the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions based on a proposal by the Health Ministry and the coronavirus task force, Prime Minister Janez Janša announced on Twitter.

Ljubljana – Health Minister Tomaž Gantar has announced Slovenia plans to launch mass testing before the end of the year. His ministry is purchasing half a million rapid antigen tests with another million to follow.

Ljubljana – Infectious diseases specialist Bojana Beović, the head of the government’s coronavirus task force, responded to calls for an easing of coronavirus restrictions by saying extra caution was needed in planning any potential relaxation. The epidemic has been plateauing in Slovenia for weeks and could deteriorate at any time, she warned.