Yesterday, with 2,730 tests performed, infection with the coronavirus was confirmed in 1,389 people, which is less than on Sunday a week ago, when 1,818 infections were confirmed. The number of active cases remains high; according to the National Institute of Public Health, there are currently more than 44,700 active cases in the country. The current 14-day incidence still exceeds 2,000 – to be precise it stands at 2,123; in the last seven days, an average of 3,143 new infections per day has been recorded. Currently, 887 patients require ordinary hospital beds, 275 require intensive care beds. In total, 1,162 patients with Covid-19 infection are being treated in hospitals. 16 people died.

The Medical Director of the UKC Maribor, izr. prof. dr. Matjaž Vogrin said that 191 patients with coronavirus disease are being treated in the hospital, of which 53 are in intensive care. The major difference between the second, third and the current wave is that previously the state was closed and departments – e.g. Internal Medicine Clinic, Department of Paediatric Traumatology– were relatively empty. Thus, a higher number of beds and more stuff remained at disposal.

He said that before the Covid-19 crisis, there were 27 intensive care beds available; currently, 53 patients need intensive care beds, which constitutes a breaking point, as huge efforts are being invested. He also noted that the epidemic has been going on for a year and a half, and that the medical staff is exhausted. Currently, UKC Maribor has 450 employees, which is an enormous number that further complicates the work.

Inspector Simon Slokan presented the results of the supervision, which is carried out for the purpose of statistics and action, and to establish a safe school and sports environment for all involved. In November, the Inspectorate carried out a total of 121 supervisions in education, whereby irregularities regarding the provisions to prevent the spread of the virus were observed in 11 cases. In the same period, 382 inspections in sports were carried out whereby 2 irregularities were observed. He highlighted that compliance with measures and verification of PCT conditions have significantly improved in the last period – he commended the efforts made by all organisers of sports events, as well as providers of various sports activities, as they strictly respect the measures and act in a socially responsible way.

In continuation, he focused on the introduction of self-testing in schools, as this is a highly specific matter, which has not been encountered before. Since the entry into force of the new ordinance last week, 43 supervisions have been carried out in education, whereby major deviations from the provisions of the ordinance were observed in five cases, namely: schools have failed to arrange self-testing for children, or to obtain consent from parents or to properly regulate distance education for children without the consent. In all the above-indicated cases, oral decisions to immediately rectify the situation were issued. In this regard, re-supervisions were carried out, where it was observed that most schools had approached the rectification of the situation. According to him, one school has failed to comply with the decision, and consequently, pursuant to the Decision on the distance learning, the inspectorate ordered the entire school to perform distance learning until 3 December 2021 or until the situation is rectified. Within the remaining 38 educational establishments, it was observed that schools were well prepared for the implementation of measures– there were no irregularities and the principals, together with employees, parents and children, did an excellent job in ensuring a safe school environment.

He highlighted the fact that individual parents do not agree with the measures and self-testing, despite all the information and explanations provided by experts. He emphasised that the measures have not been imposed by schools, principals and staff and that they are only obliged to respect and implement the measures with respect to the responsibility. Personal threats, pressures, protests and unnecessary bad mood bring unrest to the school environment with major consequences for children, namely:

• pedagogical staff has perceived the difficulty for child,
• children do not go to school,
• because in individual cases they are abused by their parents who are trying to obtain certain rights.

Parents were once again urged to take responsibility so that we can enable children to learn at school. He is convinced that this is our common goal.

According to him, we should remember that a safe school environment is conditional upon compliance with measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus by every individual who enters the school premises on a daily basis.

“The inspectorate will continue to ensure that all who enter kindergarten or school comply with all measures, as this is the only way to provide a safe and stimulating environment and to ensure that lessons are given in schools”, said Inspector Slokan.