At its regular session of 16 April, the Government took a new step towards the gradual easing of measures to contain the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Minister of Finance M.Sc. Andrej Šircelj on the basis of the third paragraph of Article 40 of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding Act, issued a Decision on the appointment and tasks of the Expert Commission for the preparation of the candidate proposal for the members of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) Supervisory Board, which will carry out the process of obtaining and evaluating candidates and prepare for the Minister for Finance the proposal of the relevant candidates. The candidate selection process is underway due to the expiration of the term of office of two members of the SSH Supervisory Board on July 16, 2020.

On Wednesday, 15 April 2020, Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik held a videoconference with Zoran Stančič, Head of the European Commission Representation in Slovenia. They discussed cooperation between the Ministry of Public Administration and the Representation in the field of digitalization of public administration and measures to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic. They agreed that the cooperation is constructive and will continue in the future. The head of the representative office, Zoran Stančič, also praised the operation of e-Government during the epidemic.

In recent days, there was substantial reporting on Slovenia in the foreign press, inviting readers to daydream about the country in these unusual times and plan a visit sometime in the future or to rekindle pleasant memories of Slovenia.

Forbes magazine has recognised Slovenia as a true artificial intelligence powerhouse.

Slovenia declared an epidemic on 12 March 2020 due to the growing number of coronavirus infections. In order to contain the spread of infection, many countries, including Slovenia, introduced changes in their border crossing regime.

Ljubljanske Mlekarne, Slovenia's largest dairy, has dispatched the first shipment of its iconic Planica ice cream to China, part of a total of 43 tonnes planned to be exported there this year.

Major Slovenian textile companies and smaller textile workshops have joined forces to focus on the production of protective masks in response to market needs.

The book entitled "With Valvasor at the Table – Nutrition Culture in Carniola in the Second Half of the 17th Century" written by dr. Janez Bogataj was selected as one of the top three books in its respective category and received the prestigious Best in the World 2020 award.

Dear citizens, dear fellow Slovenians abroad, dear Friends,

Today, the Ordinance on imposing and implementing measures for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 at border crossings at the external border and at control points at the internal borders of the Republic of Slovenia was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. The Ordinance determines the locations of control points at the internal borders with Italy, Austria and Hungary, when they are open and who can cross the border at a particular control point. In addition, it determines who is and who is not ordered to undergo a quarantine, and who is and who is not allowed entry into the country. The Ordinance repeals the legal acts previously regulating this area. It enters into force on the day following its publication, which is tomorrow, on 12 April 2020.

Today, after the 10th session of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, Prime Minister Janez Janša said that the government took note of the reports from all five working groups that prepared proposals for the second anti-corona legislative package.

Today, retired Archbishop of Ljubljana Alojz Uran passed away at the age of 76.

Today, Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar received the Apostolic Nuncio and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in the Republic of Slovenia, Archbishop Jean-Marie Antoine Joseph Speich.

For Christians around the world, Thursday night marks the end of the 40-day fast and the beginning of the Easter Triduum culminating on Easter Sunday. Believers are about to celebrate Easter, the most important holiday of the Catholic Church. Although it is usually celebrated within the family and includes visits to church, the epidemic has changed this tradition.

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša visited the University Medical Centre Maribor, which provides secondary and tertiary healthcare in the Maribor, Pesnica, Ruše, Ormož, Lenart, Ptuj and Slovenska Bistrica areas, including some subspecialty services for the needs of north-eastern Slovenia and the Koroška region.

At today’s Eurogroup video conference, EU Ministers of Finance agreed on short-term measures to mitigate the effect of the coronavirus pandemic. During the crisis, all euro area Member States will be able to access the resources within the newly established Pandemic Crisis Support, which will be based on the existing precautionary credit line of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). A temporary European instrument to support national safety nets – called SURE, and EIB guarantee schemes will also be created. Fiscal and state-aid rules are relaxed, and the work on mid-term measures continues as well.

In a video conference today the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša and the President of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG) autonomous region, Massimilano Fedriga, exchanged information on the current situation regarding COVID-19 and the measures adopted by Slovenia and the FVG region to combat the epidemic.

Prime Minister Janez Janša pointed out today on Twitter, in connection to the easing of measures adopted by the Government to contain and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, that Japan, which appeared to have contained the epidemic in the first wave, declared a state of emergency again today. “Let me state once again that easing lockdown measures is possible only if we cumulatively meet certain conditions that I mentioned on Tuesday and that are respected in all the countries which have been successful in the fight against the coronavirus.