“Despite the fact that the test costs one hundred euros, it is still better to test, so that there are no dilemmas,” Marjan Šarec said in a statement for the media in September, without wearing a protective mask. “I am expecting to get the results tomorrow, according to what they told me, and then we will see,” he added. This event, of course, was quickly forgotten, as the media did not pay much attention to it. He was probably also praised for deciding to get tested after some of the MPs and professional associates of the LMŠ party were quarantined because they were in contact with an infected person. Unlike preventive testing, testing after coming into contact with a potentially infected person provides for mandatory isolation. While waiting for the results, Šarec moved around freely and did not self-isolate.
By now, most of the people have probably already forgotten about the fact that in early September, four members of the opposition party LMŠ and eight of their professional associates were quarantined because they were in contact with an infected colleague. Then, the infection was also confirmed in another colleague of theirs, so the president of the party, Marjan Šarec, also got tested. However, while waiting for the results of the test, he did not diligently wait in self-isolation, as one would expect, especially after the latest condemning of similar situations with members of the opposite, coalition side.
In recent days, we have been hearing a lot of accusations in the media about the two representatives of the current government and one representative of the healthcare profession. Two of them appeared in public while waiting for the results of their test for COVID-19, and the third was “caught” at a petrol station without a protective mask. And as per usual, the opposition, which draws attention to every mistake at every possible opportunity, took advantage of the opportunity to do just that.
“I am expecting to get the results tomorrow, according to what they told me, and then we will see.”
in the video, we can see that Šarec himself said that he decided to get tested as a precaution and that he is waiting for the results. “Despite the fact that the test costs one hundred euros, it is still better to test, so that there are no dilemmas,” Šarec said in a statement for the media, and then continued: “We all have our families, we all come into contact elsewhere, and so it is important to get tested to either find out we need to quarantine, or to find out that everything is fine. I think this is the least we can do. I am expecting to get the results tomorrow, according to what they told me, and then we will see.” So Šarec was not sure what the result of his test would be, but even so, instead of waiting for it in self-isolation, he recorded a statement for the media and did not even put a mask on.
Do we need any more proof of biased media reporting?
Our media has also reported on all three cases that have been filling the news for the past couple of days. The director of the National Institute of Public Health, Milan Krek, was spotted late at night at a completely empty petrol station, where he was filling up his tank, without a protective mask on. An avalanche of accusations poured on him, and although he immediately apologized, the criticism has not subsided to this day. The media intensify the mistakes of the coalition representatives and their associates at all costs, and thus, negatively impact the public, instead of helping to raise awareness and urging them to respect the measures. The second person “on trial” in the media was the Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik, who waited to get the results of his COVID-19 test (which was negative) in a cosmetic salon. And Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anže Logar, passed a routine test upon returning from abroad, and therefore, he did not even consider the possibility of the results of the second test being positive. Before he found out the results of his test, he went to the National Gallery, where he shot a short promotional video. Unfortunately, his test turned out to be positive. Self-isolation while waiting for the results of the test is not mandatory, but it is recommended. Whether the aforementioned men did the right thing or not is not the subject of this debate, but it is worth noting that the same criteria should apply to everyone, and the media should not only point their finger at certain individuals but not others.
Sara Bertoncelj