Prime Minister Janez Janša commented on the state of the coronavirus epidemic on Saturday by saying many of the restrictions in place in Slovenia and the EU “will remain in place in the foreseeable future”. The government indicated movement would stay limited to municipal borders also during the May holidays.
As part of a series of tweets, Janša said the government’s measures were also based on a very serious situation in the neighbourhood and the “very negative experience of countries that are battling repeated outbreaks”.
The government also issued a tweet today in the wake of an assessment meeting held on Friday, summarising the recommendation by it’s chief medical adviser for the epidemic, Bojana Beović, to preserve the ban on movement between municipalities, since it has proven effective.
“Because a lot of movement can be expected during the May holidays and given that available data shows the epidemic is still simmering and that the data from comprehensive random population testing is not in yet, we have decided to recommend the extension of the existing measures,” the government summed up Beović’s explanation.
Janša meanwhile announced a number of activities would able to resume soon, but that it would be crucial to follow three key preventative measures: “Disinfecting of hands and meeting points, keeping a safe distance and using protective masks where this (distance) is not possible.”
While noting available data put Slovenia among the most successful European countries in the fight against the Covid-19, Janša said experts in Slovenia and in the EU were busy adopting standards to launch different systems, including education, tourism and public transport, so they could function again at least in a limited scope despite the virus.
The government’s taskforce that examined the situation on Friday in cooperation with experts from the Health Ministry, will meet again on 29 April to look at fresh data and adopt decisions based on the latests findings.
The Constitutional Court ordered the government on 17 April to immediately verify the justification for restrictions on the movement of persons put in place to contain the spread of coronavirus, and to keep examining each week if the decree imposing these restrictions is still justifiable.