By Demokracija
Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša said today that the government has completed the plan for the relaxation of the measures taken against the covid-19 pandemic, which will also depend on the epidemiological conditions in the different statistical regions. The government will be deciding about a possible relaxation of measures on a weekly basis, starting next Wednesday. The plan for vaccination for January and February will be presented on Tuesday.
Janša said that the epidemiological situation in Slovenia is serious and that, as there is expected that the number of infections will rise after the holidays, we need time to stabilize the situation.
Before there will be any relaxations in individual regions, daily criteria of infections on a national level must be less than 1350 new cases and less than 1200 hospitalized cases a day for at least seven days, Janša stressed out.
Vice President of the government and President of a coalition party NSI Matej Tonin said that the aim of this plan for the government is to increase both predictability and immunity. In the past there was some criticism that the measures are being changed from day to day and that this doesn’t leave enough time to prepare for it, so the plan can greatly help in terms of predictability of the following developments, he said.
He also added that the plan will also eliminate any doubts that something is changing just because someone is making too much noise about it. He believes that it’s important for the government to stick with the plan without deviations.
The priority of the government remains the opening of schools. But it can happen that the kindergartens and schools will only open in some regions, Tonin explained.
In the second, red phase it is predicted that the kindergartens and schools will be open for the first three classes, and the necessary practice laboratories for students should open as well. The rest of the schoolchildren will return to schools in the orange phase, when the daily number of new cases, and those hospitalized, will fall under 1000.
The government will be deciding about possible relaxations in the individual regions after the 18th of January for the first time on Wednesday. Apart from that, the government will have meet twice a week on regular sessions. One of the two sessions will be completely dedicated to the epidemiological conditions and measurements.
Janša also stressed out that the different situations in different regions call for a selective approach regarding both the vaccination and the relaxation of measures. Next week a plan about the vaccinations in the coming weeks for different regions will be presented, as well as a part of the plan regarding the regional advantages.
Around now around 33.000 doses of the vaccine have been administered, and Slovenia is currently arranging the order for another million doses of Pfizer’s vaccination, Janša said. 16.500 doses should arrive next week when the vaccination of the elderly in the hospitals will begin.
Tonin also said that, as the health specialists predict, we will have to work hard until summer, if we want to successfully fight the epidemic, and it is important that we help each other. He believes we can succeed, especially because the state managed to keep the economy in an adequate condition. “The public from abroad has positive assessments about our country, the interest rates are historically low, and that gives us some maneuvering space when facing with the epidemic”, he added.
We must replace our insecurity with positivity
Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek said that the dimensions of the epidemic were huge, both in the economy and in the health sector. “We passed multiple interventional laws, worth several millions of euros, with which we helped the economy and the population”, he explained. The battle is not over, but we must win it, he stressed out. On the groundwork of the expert commission, a new plan for the gradual opening of activities was passed. “With it, we want to achieve a higher level of predictability that we are lacking at the moment”, Počivalšek explained.
“We must replace our insecurity with optimism, he emphasized, and said that they are trying to help everyone who reaches out to them. He believes that only with the help of measures they can take care of the liquidity of companies and ensure a bright future for the country. Ministry wishes that they could reopen all the business and activities as soon as possible, and says that we can only achieve it together.
Eight corona package is being prepared, Slovenia is incurring debts at record low rates
Minister of Defense Matej Tonin said, that the government wants higher predictability and immunity. “We are aware of criticisms because we passed certain measures from today to tomorrow”, he explained and added that precisely because of that the government decided to create the mentioned plan, which will bring more predictability for the population. “The key is that we strictly stick to the plan from now 18th of January on”, he said. He explained that, according to the new plan, kindergartens and schools in some regions will open, while in others they will remain closed. “In the coming months we will have to help each other to beat this virus, he emphasized and said that we will have to work hand in hand until summer.
“We are preparing the eight corona package in which we will include all those who still need help”, explained Tonin and said that the government will deal with this in the next days. He also explained that that in the eyes of international public Slovenia is considered in good regards and that it is incurring debts at record low rates. Janša hopes that they will successfully resolve epidemics and keep the government in place until the end of the mandate. Počivalšek and Tonin are unified that they are staying in the current government and both see the fight against the epidemic crisis as a priority. Tonin said that the no-confidence vote is a waste of time, and believes that the opposition has learned nothing from their first try. He emphasizes that without NSI there won’t be a new government in this mandate.