Good evening. On this afternoon or rather evening I would like to open
this press conference with the information
that WHO has declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease
a pandemic.
What this means and what the dimensions are,
will be explained by the director of the National Institute of Public Health.
We have 118,000 cases around the world
in 114 different countries
and 4291 people have died because of the coronavirus.
To continue with the current situation in Slovenia,
the number of confirmed cases changes every hour.
I have the information for 2 pm:
there are 57 confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection.
The number of confirmed cases is rising, which is not unexpected.
The increasing number of confirmed cases actually shows
that the epidemiological team and laboratories are working.
We are following the spread of the infection.
We are slowly approaching the phase when the infections will spread
and it will become difficult to follow every single case,
like we are doing right now.
In the next phases it is therefore important to carry out
all the necessary measures,
which are adjusted on daily and even hourly basis.
In addition to the information revealed in previous press conferences,
the most important information this moment
is the order establishing the conditions for entry
into the Republic of Slovenia from Italy
due to the prevention of spreading the contagious disease.
In order to be really clear, I will read out the entire order,
as it will come into force at 6 pm today.
Due to the prevention of spreading the contagious disease COVID-19,
this order determines conditions for entry into the Republic of Slovenia
from the Republic of Italy.
There will be six check points on the road connections
with the Republic of Italy, namely:
Rateče, Robič, Vrtojba, Škofije, Fernetiči and Krvavi Potok.
The road operators shall ensure the necessary signs
at the check points from the previous paragraph,
as well as close all other road connections with Italy.
The passenger trains between Slovenia and Italy
will no longer run.
Entry into Slovenia will be allowed to each person,
who is not a Slovenian citizen
or does not have a permanent or temporary residence in Slovenia,
if they have a doctor's certificate in Slovenian, English or Italian
that is not older than three days and proves that they have tested
for the COVID-19 virus
and that the results were negative.
If a person does not submit the certificate,
they will be allowed to enter Slovenia if their body temperature
is lower than 37,5 °C
and they are not showing any signs of the upper respiratory tract infection.
That means that they do not cough, sneeze or have trouble breathing. This order
does not apply to Slovenian citizens, persons with a permanent
or temporary residence in Slovenia and freight transport.
The order will be carried out by medical workers and the Civil Protection
with help from the police. The order comes into force
as of 6 p.m. today. And the information from the field.
The police is already at all six border crossings
and there are also medical teams at five of them.
A team is also on the way to the last border crossing, Robič.
As of 6 p.m., the control will be carried out
at all six check points.
The second order, which we mentioned earlier,
is the order about temporary measures to contain
the spreading of contagious diseases. I will read it to you
to be clear. With this order, the carrying out
of preventive healthcare at all healthcare providers
in the public healthcare system is stopped. Preventive healthcare is only carried out
if there could be negative consequences for the patient.
At the Novo mesto General Hospital, Novo mesto CHC and Črnomelj CHC,
non-urgent specialist check-ups and procedures
will not be carried out for the next 14 days.
At Metlika CHC, only administrative emergency medical assistance
will be carried out for the next 14 days.
The administration of healthcare providers
in the public healthcare system must, according to the order
of the health minister, reallocate staff to the tasks,
connected with limiting the spread of the contagious disease.
This order comes into force as of 6 p.m. today.
This is all about the orders that are in force as of today.
And now some other important information.
In the last hours or days, we have noticed
some harassment,
we could also call it violence, and expressions of hate
towards people with positive test results,
who have been found out in their local area.
An example from Bela krajina:
neighbours and villagers are exerting pressure on the family
hospitalized together with their child.
They feel threatened, they do not dare to go home.
I would like to issue an appeal to all of our citizens
to be tolerant and respectful of those who are
locally known as being sick or having a positive test result
for COVID-19. Each of us could get sick tomorrow,
so again, let us be tolerant and respectful
of our fellow citizens who have been infected.
In the last hours, we were informed
that the last spread of infection has been happening largely
or almost exclusively due to disrespecting instructions
and notifications that we continuously repeat every day.
This includes citizens, health care professionals,
education workers ...
Again, as every day, I would like to ask you
to obey the instructions, follow our information
and respect it, so the spread of the infection is as small as possible.
That's all for the beginning. Oh, and about the masks, I apologize.
I have the latest information. I have just signed the contract
to order masks, which is pending, they are currently
going over the details with the supplier.
The latest information is that we ordered
two million masks, of those a million of three-layer surgical masks
and a million of the FFP3 type masks.
We expect these to arrive to Slovenia as soon as possible.
Tomorrow, we will also order other protective equipment
that we need in our country. The masks and protective equipment
will cost just over 12 million euros,
so that there will be sufficient protective equipment in the country
as soon as possible, especially masks, if we of course need them.
That is all for now, thank you. -Thank you, Minister.
More about the current situation, as usually,
the director of the National Institute of Public Health, dr. Nina Pirnat.
Hello again.
As the Minister of Health already said,
we currently have 57 people infected with coronavirus.
This is 10 more than what was reported approximately 4 hours ago.
All new cases are connected with both major clusters
that were discussed a few days ago.
The newly discovered cases
are the results of thorough contact search and research
and monitoring of said people,
who had already tested positive.
The increasing number of cases in Slovenia is at the moment
connected primarily with the screening of all contacts,
monitoring their health status, and the status of those
that we already know had been infected.
As you know, the epidemiologists always get in touch with the contacts.
They provide them with instructions and then these contacts,
if the symptoms occur, call the check points
where we confirm the infection.
Such cases are then added to the total number of cases.
We are expecting a surge in cases in the following days.
As you can see, infections are occuring all around us,
all over the world.
We have received instructions, where it is emphasized,
how crucial it is to keep looking for the so-called patient zero
and their immediate contacts.
Only this way will the virus be successfully contained.
All the other measures we have already discussed:
strict adherence to instructions
of all close contacts regarding
hygiene measures,
following instructions on scrupulous hygiene amongst all citizens.
Please, follow instructions carefully.
Don't attend public events,
don't attend large gatherings.
Despite all the bans the National Institute of Public Health
keeps getting questions whether certain events could nevertheless go ahead.
Preventing close contact
between people from different areas
is what effectively prevents the spreading of the virus.