On Thursday, a record 3,557 tests were performed and a record 137 new cases were confirmed. Currently, there are 67 hospitalised cases, while 11 are in intensive care, nine of whom require a ventilator to help them breathe. Four persons died – two of them residents of the Črneče Retirement Home in the Koroška region.

On Thursday, cases were confirmed in more than 60 municipalities. Ljubljana saw the highest rise with 37 new confirmed cases and 232 active cases overall. Five new cases were reported in Kranj and Kamnik respectively, while four were confirmed in Maribor and Šmarje pri Jelšah.

The situation in Pivka remains serious. The National Institute of Public Health dispatched a mobile lab to Pivka to test workers at the Pivka Perutninarstvo company in order to reorganise its production on the basis of these additional test results. More than 100 workers have been tested over the recent days, of which 46 tested positive and 71 are quarantined. An additional 300 employees will be tested today with results expected on Saturday.

Two ordinances will be adopted by the Government at its correspondence session today. The Ordinance on temporary measures to reduce the risk of an infection with and the spread of SARS-CoV-2, drafted by the Ministry of Health, will enter into force on Saturday. Under this ordinance, masks are mandatory in enclosed public spaces even if a safe distance of 2 metres from other people can be maintained. Outdoors, wearing a mask is mandatory in places where a safe distance of at least 2 metres cannot be maintained.

The second act is the Ordinance amending the Ordinance on restrictions on the offering and sale of goods and services to consumers. As of Monday, 21 September, catering establishments (restaurants, pubs, cafés, pastry shops, snack bars and bars) can only be open from 6.00 to 22.00. Discos and night clubs remain closed.

The Ordinance providing for the mandatory use of masks will also apply to educational institutions. Mr Kacin emphasised that the competent ministry had sent circulars to all schools and pre-school institutions with detailed instructions on how to implement this measure in practice, while the Minister visited schools where she talked to the head teachers about their experience gained since the start of this school year.