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With the deterioration of the epidemiological picture, stricter control over the implementation of quarantine

"The situation in the Balkans is drastically deteriorating", said official spokesman Jelko Kacin at the start of the government press conference, adding that the situation had worsened, especially in countries which, like some Western countries in the past, decided to hold elections (Serbia, Croatia), which will also be held soon in Northern Macedonia.
The Government spokesman Jelko Kacin

The Government spokesman Jelko Kacin | Author Nebojša Tejić /STA

The situation in Slovenia is not good either, Kacin continued - after yesterday's 16 confirmed infections, we can expect another big jump today, as more tests will be performed. He highlighted the occurrence of infections in a home for the elderly in Vipava as particularly worrying. As an example of self-initiative organisation to prevent the introduction of infections into homes for the elderly, he pointed out the area of Kranj, where preparations are actively underway for a possible new wave of infections. He announced that the measures planned to be introduced in homes for the elderly will be one of the topics at the press conference in the coming days.

"Last weekend, Slovenia finally succeeded in introducing a system of serving quarantine decisions directly at border crossings. The number of quarantine decisions served (more than 700 in the past two days alone) proves that the Government acted correctly, "Kacin continued. More precisely: 1260 quarantine decisions were served at six border crossings.

The competent authorities have already started this weekend with stricter control over the implementation of quarantine. A number of controls of the implementation of quarantine decisions were carried out in the area of Maribor and Ljubljana on Sunday. n the Maribor area, it was established that two persons were not at the address assigned to them for quarantine, and that two persons had obviously given incorrect information. 

Kacin also drew attention to the suspicion of the spread of coronavirus infection through negligence. He said that the Slovenian police were dealing with the case of a couple who did not comply with the quarantine imposed on one of them on June 20 (the person went to work all the time), and, when the condition worsened on July 3, his partner did not inform the medical staff and the visiting doctor of the imposed quarantine. Both are being prosecuted on suspicion of spreading a new disease through negligence, said the official spokesman, and they are facing a fine or even up to 6 months in prison. In case of the worst case scenario (death), they can even be sentenced to up to 8 years or up to 5 years in prison for negligence, the Government spokesman said.

He went on to highlight that, regardless of the aforementioned case, most people do observe the quarantine and that sanctions are intended for those who fail to comply with quarantine rules. The government will insist on tightening the sanctions, he said, adding that the violations found will also be part of the discussion at the government's evening session in extended composition. The topic of tonight's session will be the National Protection and Rescue Plan in the event of a communicable disease epidemic and measures to curb the second wave of the epidemic.

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Due to the situation related to COVID-19, today's press conference was held in a new studio set up by the Communications Office in the government building. Press conferences in this studio can be attended live by journalists, but not by cameramen and other technical staff. However, it is still possible to ask questions via info.ukom@gov.si.