SLOVENIA, June 3 - Introduction of the single digital COVID-19 certificate

Health Minister Janez Poklukar said that both the EU and the Slovenian Government are working to curb the epidemic as smoothly and transparently as possible. To that end, an elementary rule has been introduced at the EU level under which those who have recovered from COVID-19, have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have tested negative will be issued with a uniform, universal and free-of-charge COVID certificate or digital COVID certificate and will be thus able to live relatively freely, even though the virus will still be with us. The COVID certificate will allow all residents to attend events, cross borders and travel more easily.

On the zVEM web portal (link: https://zvem.ezdrav.si/), citizens can access all their health data in one place, i.e. medical reports, tests and prescriptions, and reports that will be the basis for the issuing of the single COVID certificate. Citizens can access all this information using a digital certificate or an "smsPASS mobile digital identity". Data on the zVEM web portal can be accessed using digital certificates such as SIGEN-CA, HALCOM-CA, Postar-CA and SIGOV-CA, which many people already have. These certificates allow access to all digitised content of the state administration.

The smsPASS digital identity can be obtained at vaccination centres (those who are to be vaccinated do not need to make an appointment in advance), administrative units, offices of the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (FURS), social work centres or the mailroom of the Ministry of Justice. Upon submitting the application, you need to identify yourself with a valid photo ID. You can to turn to public employees from the aforementioned institutions and local communities or municipalities for assistance with the process. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Administration have prepared an information leaflet that will explain the whole procedure.

Once an individual has a digital identity, they will be able to access all digitised content of the state administration, stressed Minister Poklukar, adding that the digital identity is the first step towards the digitalisation of not only healthcare, but also other sectors in Slovenia.

He advised all citizens to contact the Ministry of Public Administration, vaccination centres, administrative units, the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (FURS) or social work centres if they have any problems in obtaining a digital COVID certificate. Everyone will do their best to make the procedures quick and easy and to enable all citizens to obtain a digital COVID certificate.

In closing, Minister Poklukar called on all citizens of Slovenia to show solidarity and help their fellow citizens in obtaining a digital COVID certificate.

List of points to obtain the smsPASS mobile digital identity expanded

Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik stressed that the Government would like to make the zVEM web portal, where the EU Digital Green Certificate or the EU Digital COVID Certificate would soon be available, as easily accessible as possible for everyone.

Recently, the Ministry of Public Administration has detected a significant increase in applications for both SIGEN-CA digital certificates and smsPASS mobile digital identities. Around 1,000 SIGEN-CA certificates per day had been issued in previous months, while the number has now almost doubled, according to the minister.

For those citizens who do not yet have their digital certificates or mobile digital identities, the ministry has taken a number of steps to facilitate the procedure. The SIGEN-CA digital certificate and the smsPASS mobile digital identity issued by the Ministry of Public Administration are free of charge for citizens of Slovenia.

The administrative units are responsible for verifying the applicant's identity before issuing them with a SIGEN-CA certificate. Due to epidemic safety measures and the increased workload of administrative units, applicants must make an appointment.

Given that, as a result of that workload, it now takes quite a long time for citizens to obtain their digital certificates or identities at administrative units, the Government has decided to expand the list of application points to obtain a digital certificate or identity. Application services to obtain the smsPASS mobile digital identity have therefore been established at vaccination centres, the offices of the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia, social work centres and the Ministry of Justice.

About 300 clerks from approximately 70 institutions who are undergoing the appropriate training have been appointed to perform this task, and the distribution of equipment needed to carry out their new duties is underway.

Minister Koritnik also said that the Government was considering establishing additional access points to obtain the smsPASS mobile digital identity, realising how important it is in these times to facilitate citizens' access to the zVEM healthcare portal and hence the certificates that everyone needs to live a more normal life. Applications should therefore shortly be processed by all employees at the offices of the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia.

The aim of 60-percent vaccination coverage of the entire population to be achieved by the end of June

Director of the National Institute of Public Health Milan Krek indicated that Slovenia was sixth in Europe when it came to the development of healthcare information systems.

Regarding the epidemic of the novel coronavirus, he said that the number of new infections around the world was dropping but that we were seeing a high increase in Asia, particularly in India. The epidemiological situation in Europe has been stabilising for an eighth week in a row. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Slovenia remains deeply affected by the epidemic, still recording a high number of infections; all self-protective preventive measures must be followed consistently if we wish our lives to be as normal as possible, i.e. free of restrictions.

The number of confirmed cases of infection with the novel coronavirus in Slovenia has been dropping, meaning that the numbers of hospital beds, patients in intensive care, hospitalisations, deaths and active cases have all gone down. He added that the data suggested an increasing infection rate in the City of Ljubljana, which will be closely monitored by the National Institute of Public Health. A trend of rising infections has also been detected in central Slovenia, which is currently in the yellow phase.

In almost 100 percent of infection cases in Slovenia, the strain found is now the English variant of the novel coronavirus, which has overtaken milder variants. It is expected to abate slowly, but another strain could take its place. Krek added that the new variants could be worse as we do not know much about them and they could spread quicker, exacerbating the situation.

By the end of May, Slovenia had received 1,309,275 vaccine doses. Most people have been vaccinated with the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine, followed by AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen, which started arriving in April.

Increased vaccine supply has accelerated the vaccination of the population. By 2 June 2021, 20.5 percent of the population had been vaccinated, compared to 10.2 percent by 1 May 2021, which means that the number of people vaccinated in a month is the same as the total number of vaccinations prior to 1 May 2021. According to the latest data, almost 170,000 people have been vaccinated in a single week. A large share of the population has also received their second dose. Another 30 to 40 percent of people are expected to be vaccinated in June. By the end of June, Slovenia should therefore reach the target of 60-percent vaccination coverage of the entire population.