Today’s press conference was attended by Janez Poklukar, the Minister of Health, Mateja Logar, the Head of the Advisory Group of the Ministry of Health, and Milan Krek, the Director of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ). Maja Bratuša first presented the epidemiological situation in the country.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša and Janez Poklukar, the Minister of Health, visited the Bia Separations company in Ajdovščina. BIA Separations - Sartorius is a leading developer of monolith technology and the exclusive producer of chromatographic columns for the production, purification, and analysis of large biomolecules.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Simona Kustec, Minister of Education, Science and Sport, and Borut Štrukelj from the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ljubljana.

The Slovenian Government adopted the Decree on Packaging and Packaging Waste Handling, which is an implementing regulation based on the amendment to the Environmental Protection Act. The objective of this Decree is to ensure a high level of environment protection, the prevention and reduction of any impact of packaging and packaging waste on the environment, and to ensure the operations of the internal market, prevent obstacles to trade and distortion and restriction of competition.

The new issue of the News from Nuclear Slovenia is published.

Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke today at the virtual conference entitled "Changing Paradigms in a Pandemic World: How to regain trust? Health, Happiness & Ethics".

Minister of Health Janez Poklukar held an address for healthcare workers and co-workers and the general public on the occasion of World Health Day, celebrated on 7 April. The current epidemiological data was presented by Government spokesperson Maja Bratuša.

On the occasion of this year’s World Health Day, the World Health Organization is putting health inequities at the forefront under the slogan "Let’s build a fairer, healthier world for everyone". The emphasis is on achieving the highest level of health, which is a fundamental right of every human being without regard to race, religion, political belief, or economic or social condition.

The national flag became established as a symbol of Slovenian identity back in the 19th century. The Slovenians determined the colours (white, blue and red) based on those featured in the coat of arms of the province of Carniola, and submitted them for the approval of the then ruling Austrian administration in Vienna, where the colours were accepted. The first national flag was hung by Slovenian students in Vienna in March 1848 during a period of revolutionary tumult.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar held talks via videoconference with the Bavarian State Minister for European and International Affairs Melanie Huml. Their discussion focused on the activities aimed at strengthening political, economic, and regional cooperation with Bavaria in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

The speakers at the press conference on the current COVID-19 situation were State Secretary Jelko Kacin, National Logistics Coordinator for the Mass Vaccination Campaign against COVID-19, and Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, Head of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Fever Conditions at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana.

Dear citizens of Slovenia, dear fellow Slovenians at home and abroad, the hope that Easter brings touches our open hearts time and again. Every time as if for the first time and always the way that we need it most at that precise moment. We draw strength from Easter hope. We rely on it in times of trial, while being conscious of the fact that there would be no Easter without suffering, trial and renunciation.

As part of the group of six like-minded countries, Slovenia has always worked towards eliminating the growing differences in the vaccination rate among EU Member States. The overall goal was to eliminate these differences to the greatest extent possible with the supply of 10 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to achieve a 70% vaccination rate of the adult population in all Member States by early summer. Member States had different interests and views regarding the distribution of these 10 million vaccine doses.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the Call for proposals for ESF-supported operations promoting social inclusion of vulnerable groups through cultural and creative industries in the period 2021-2023. The call for proposals will make a total of EUR 1.3 million available, of which over EUR 1 million will come from the European Social Fund.

The Institute for Health and the Environment has released the Slovenian version of the ecological footprint calculator, letting anyone calculate their ecological footprint. Only by assessing our lifestyles and raising awareness can we make a difference to ensure a cleaner environment and thereby improve people's health.

On March 29 and 30, a launch event of the International Research Center on Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO - IRCAI, which was founded by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and has its headquarters at the Jožef Stefan Institute was held. Over 1000 registered individuals from more than 50 countries attended and were addressed by esteemed speakers on the first day of the event.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved funding for the project The Forge – Kranj Business Incubator. The nearly EUR 2.5 million project will be implemented by Urban Municipality Kranj and supported by the EU, with the contribution from the European Regional Development Fund standing at EUR 1.5 million.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today held a telephone conversation with Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita. The ministers expressed a shared wish to strengthen bilateral relations and went on to exchange views on current regional issues.

Today's press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by Tjaša Žohar Čretnik, the Director of the National Laboratory for Health, the Environment and Food, and Leon Cizelj from the Jožef Stefan Institute.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the Call for proposals to support tourism and recreation infrastructure in mountain areas. The call for proposals makes a total of EUR 5 million available, of which EUR 4.5 million will come from the European Regional Development Fund.