Janez Poklukar

Student self-testing to be launched next week

Ljubljana – Student self-testing will be launched next Monday, but only for some secondary school students for now, Health Minister Janez Poklukar said on Tuesday. Others, including older primary school pupils, could start taking swabs a week later or as soon as possible. Student self-testing remains voluntary and will be conducted at home.

Minister expects EU to have enough vaccine in coming months

Brussels – The health minister expects that the EU will have enough Covid-19 vaccine in the coming months to fight off the pandemic, and that a digital green certificate will also play an important role. Its first version could be available in Slovenia in June, allowing residents to travel abroad over the summer, he said on Wednesday.

Chief epidemiologist quits Covid-19 advisory team again

Ljubljana – Mario Fafangel, the head of the centre for communicable diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), has resigned from the team advising the government on measures to contain coronavirus, saying decisions taken are often in disagreement with the epidemiologists’ opinion and protocols.

PM Janša and health minister visit BIA Separations

Ajdovščinal – Prime Minister Janez Janša and Health Minister Janez Poklukar visited on Friday the biotechnology company BIA Separations, which is owned by the German company Sartorius in what was the largest foreign direct investment in Slovenia last year. Janša noted on the occasion the role of BIA Separations in the production of Covid-19 vaccine.

One in five students expresses interest in self-testing

Ljubljana – Preliminary inquiries by the Education Ministry into the sentiment towards the announced self-testing of students show that around 22% of pupils of the final three years of primary school and 18.5% of secondary school students would self-test. Meanwhile, several civil initiatives are opposed the planned measure.

Circuit breaker lockdown to be imposed from 1 April

Brdo pri Kranju – The government has endorsed the proposal of the Covid-19 advisory team to impose an 11-day circuit breaker lockdown from 1 April in a bid to help hospitals cope with an expected influx in Covid-19 patients following an increase in Slovenia’s coronavirus transmission rates driven by the UK variant.

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