Slovenia has at its disposal EUR 200 million of EU aid by means of which we wish to help with the payment of salaries so that expertise remains in companies, stated Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. EUR 1 billion will be earmarked in total for Slovenia in the form of favourable loans.

At today’s correspondence session, the Government declared that the state of epidemic with regard to COVID-19 would be extended for another 30 days for the entire country.

Deana Potza from the health inspectorate opened the morning press conference about the current Covid-19 situation by saying that on the first day that the ordinance banning gatherings was in force, Friday, 13 November, only warnings were issued. There were at least 1,814 reports of breaches between 1 September and 8 November of this year, the highest number relating to the hospitality industry, followed by public spaces. She said that observation of the measures has been continually improving, as we head in the right direction as a society. This will help us get through the current challenging phase of the epidemic as quickly as possible, while allowing the health sector to operate at capacity.

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša took questions from deputies in the National Assembly. Marjan Šarec from the List of Marjan Šarec (LMŠ) raised a question related to current developments in the country, Franc Trček from the Social Democrats (SD) a question associated with the fight against the epidemic, Luka Mesec from the Left with regard to the measures to control the epidemic and Janja Sluga from the Modern Centre Party (SMC) a question regarding the regulation of comprehensive use of cannabis.

State Secretary Tone Kajzer attended a virtual ministerial conference to promote the freedom of religion or belief, which was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland as a follow-up to the meetings of senior representatives of countries, international organisations, civil society, and religious leaders. The event was intended to discuss the state of religious freedom around the globe.

Government spokesman Jelko Kacin started the press conference with an overview of the current epidemiological situation. Yesterday, 1,792 tests were conducted and 501 infections (27.9%) were confirmed, with most new infections recorded in Kočevje (44), followed by Ljubljana (39). On Saturday, 920 cases (25. 82%) were confirmed with 3,563 tests performed. On Sunday, 34 people died.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Collection and treatment in the Drava River basin – Urban Municipality of Maribor”. The project worth EUR 11 million will be implemented by the Urban Municipality of Maribor and will receive nearly EUR 4.3 million of European Regional Development Fund support.

Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek participated today in an informal videoconference of EU Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries. On the Agenda, the Ministers had agricultural as well as forestry issues. In focus was the discussion on the state of play in agricultural markets due to Covid-19 pandemic, on food loss and waste, African Swine Fever (ASF), on the common position on the EU Forest Strategy, and on preparations for the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021, one of the greatest international events to take place during Slovenia’s 2021 EU Council Presidency.

Prime Minister Janez Janša visited the Jesenice General Hospital today, where he met the hospital’s director Marko Toplak and management staff, and viewed construction works in progress at the hospital.

Doroteja Novak Gosarič, Secretary from the Health Care Directorate at the Ministry of Health, spoke about the current situation regarding Covid-19 disease.

The Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs and State Secretary Anton Olaj attended an extraordinary meeting of the EU Council of home affairs ministers through a videoconference call. The morning session, attended by the State Secretary, was devoted to a discussion on the fight against terrorism. The reason for putting this topic on the agenda was the recent terrorist attacks across Europe, which Slovenia condemned in the strongest terms.

Today, State Secretary Tone Kajzer held a video call with Polish Undersecretary of State Paweł Jabłoński to discuss economic cooperation, the current activities in both countries in the framework of the Three Seas Initiative and some other topical issues.

In order to improve the epidemiological situation in the country, the Government extended the existing measures for 14 days and adopted some new ones.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Jože Podgoršek has outlined measures to soften the impact and eliminate the consequences of Covid-19 in the Sixth Coronavirus Package (PKP6).

Recognising the importance of scientific achievements reaching the public, four years ago the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport decided to hold a series of events in autumn under the umbrella title Science Month.

The Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Cigler Kralj, presented the measures to mitigate and remedy COVID-19 consequences, as part of the sixth anti-coronavirus package (ACP6). In addition, he spoke about the situation in care homes and the measures adopted by the ministry to contain the spread of the virus.

Slovenian Minister of Finance Andrej Šircelj, Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek, Medical Director of the Murska Sobota General Hospital Daniel Grabar and government spokesman Jelko Kacin spoke today at a press conference about the current situation regarding COVID-19.

For the second time, Slovenia has been given the opportunity to showcase its efforts, key achievements, and activities virtually, to the countries participating in the Expo Dubai world exhibition, this time in urban and rural development.

The wine harvest is over and the grapes in cellars are already turning into wine. Since wine is a big part of Slovenia's cultural heritage, St Martin's day is a holiday not to be missed by any Slovenian.

Two of the speakers at the afternoon press conference on the current COVID-19 situation were Maja Kalin, the president of the Slovenian High-school Student Organization (DOS), and Robert Masten from the Psychology department of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana.