Govt reaches no decision on schools, debate to continue today

Brdo pri Kranju – The government has reached no decision yesterday on how education in primary schools will be conducted next week as the epidemiological situation has deteriorated in two of the nine regions where schools reopened for the first three grades this week along with kindergartens, the STA learned. The debate will resume on Thursday.

In the Obalno-Kraška and Zasavska regions, which no longer meet the criteria for the red tier under the government’s exit strategy, some shops and cultural institutions that reopened a few days ago will have to close again, the STA learned after the government session in Brdo pri Kranju.

However, the government has not decided yet whether kindergartens and primary schools will also be closed again. This decision is expected to be made tomorrow.

The National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) advised the government to shut down other activities if necessary, but leave schools and kindergartens open.

The government also decided that stores selling food around the country will be able to sell socks and underwear again.

A new decree banning non-essential services took effect last Saturday, expanding the list of exceptions to the ban in the nine regions with the best epidemiological status: Central Slovenia, Pomurska, Savinjska, Podravska, Gorenjska, Obalno-Kraška, Koroška, Zasavska and Primorsko-Notranjska regions.

Movable stalls selling farmers’s produce, workshops providing repair and maintenance works for motor vehicles and bikes and specialised stores with a children’s segment reopened there.

On Tuesday, kindergartens reopened and children from the first three grades of primary school returned to school after a mass testing of teachers on Monday.

In the remaining three regions, which have not yet met the government criteria for lifting restrictions, the Goriška, Posavska and Southeast Slovenia, only essential stores remained open along with the exceptions, which include newsagents, hairdressers, cleaning services, medical pedicure, surveying services, individual counselling, chimney-sweep services and construction works with zero contact with clients.

Delivery services and in-person pick up are also exempted from the ban, however consuming food or beverages in public spaces is not allowed.

The government once again updated the red-list of high-risk countries, striking Greece from it. This means that entry into Slovenia from Greece will be possible without restrictions.

All other EU countries, except some administrative units, remain on the red list. Most of third countries are also on the red list, which now also includes Malaysia.

Those arriving from red-listed countries must go into quarantine or provide a negative coronavirus test, unless one of the several travelling exemptions applies.

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