Wear a face mask and sanitise

Masks or other forms of protection covering mouth and nose are mandatory:

• in all closed public spaces,
• on public transport,
• in open public spaces or outside and in personal vehicles.

 Masks or other forms of protection covering mouth and nose are not compulsory for:

• children younger than six years of age;
• pupils in primary schools and students in secondary schools but only when they are in their classrooms;
• preschool teachers and their assistants when they interact with children, primary school teachers up to and including the fifth grade when they interact with children or pupils;
• teachers at higher vocational colleges and universities if they lecture behind a protective barrier made of glass or a similar material;
• persons practicing individual sports if a distance of at least three metres is maintained;
• persons or members of the same household when taking a walk on green spaces or practicing sports or recreational activities if a distance of at least three metres is maintained at all times; 
• in personal vehicles when more than one person or member of the same household is in the vehicle.

Apartment buildings must be equipped with hand sanitiser dispensers.

Are you worried that you have been infected?

If you are ill (coughing, have a fever or difficulty breathing)

• Stay at home and avoid contact with other people.
• Call your doctor or, if he or she is not available, the emergency medical service. After talking to you, the doctor will assess whether suspicion of infection with the novel coronavirus is justified or not. If he or she decides that the suspicion is justified, you will receive instructions what to do by phone.

Do not visit your doctor, the emergency medical service or a hospital in person. When in need of emergency medical care, please call first.

The most frequent symptoms

The Covid-19 disease, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is most commonly manifested by an infected person feeling unwell, fatigued, having cold symptoms and/or fever, coughing, and in more severe cases shortness of breath. A typical feature of more severe cases of infection is pneumonia.

Novel coronavirus infections cannot be distinguished from other acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia, based solely on the progress of the disease and the patient’s difficulties. Microbiological testing is required to confirm or exclude an infection.

The novel coronavirus is transmitted between humans via droplets of saliva that people sneeze or cough. This means that close contact with an infected person at a distance of less than 1.5 metres is required for transmission.

Infected persons must isolate

Those who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus are ordered to isolate by their doctor. They are not allowed to leave their homes, must limit their contacts and strictly follow the recommendations for preventing the spread of the Covid-19 disease. During isolation they are entitled to sick leave.

Social distancing

Social distancing is recommended for those who have been in contact with a Covid-19 positive and infectious person. Contacts between family members pose the highest risk of the transmission of the novel coronavirus.

Social distancing is only recommended and not ordered because such persons are not on sick leave. Furthermore, it is recommended that in agreement with their employer, they work from home.  If they cannot perform their work at home, they should self-monitor and stop coming to work when they detect the first symptom. It is recommended that they do not have any contacts outside their household, and consistently maintain a safe distance of two metres from other people in public spaces.

Quarantine at home

A person who has been in close contact with another person who tested positive in a coronavirus test, or came from abroad (from a red listed country), must limit their contact with other people. This means that the healthy person must quarantine themselves at home, i.e. self-isolate at their permanent, temporary, or other address of residence. The quarantine lasts 10 days from the last high risk contact, or from entering Slovenia. The purpose of the quarantine at home is to prevent the spread of infection.

Persons with a confirmed infection must inform other close contacts

An epidemiologist will instruct the person who tested positive in the coronavirus test to inform all those with whom the person has been in close contact. If the person has installed the mobile application #OstaniZdrav, then the person shall enter the TAN code received from the epidemiologist, after which all the other contacts who have the application installed will be informed about the contact risk.

All those who have been informed that they have been in close contact with an infected person (both directly from the infected person, as well as via the mobile application #OstaniZdrav), must stay home and act in line with the NIJZ instructions on quarantine at home.

The National Protection and Rescue Plan in the event of a communicable disease pandemic in humans

Slovenia has a National Protection and Rescue Plan in the event of a communicable disease epidemic or pandemic in humans (hereinafter the National Plan), which includes detailed action protocols and is aimed at ensuring the smooth operation of all key stakeholders at the national level.

The National Plan is activated when an epidemic or a pandemic of a communicable disease in humans is declared in the whole or part of Slovenia. In such an event, the protection, rescue and relief forces are deployed in addition to healthcare services.

Simultaneously with the National Plan, regional protection and rescue plans and specific parts of municipal protection and rescue plans are activated in a threatened area.

The Minister of Health proposes the activation of the National Plan, and the decision to activate it is taken by the Civil Protection Commander.

Be mindful of cough hygiene and regular hand washing

• Stay home if you are taken ill.
• Avoid staying in enclosed spaces, provide for regular ventilation.
• Avoid close contact with people who show signs of infectious disease.
• Observe the rules of cough hygiene and regularly wash your hands with soap and warm water.
• If soap and water are not available, use hand disinfectant intended for that purpose. Use hand disinfectant that contains at least 60% alcohol. Hand disinfectant is intended for external use only. Surface cleaners or disinfectants are not intended for cleaning or disinfecting your skin.
• It is important to first rinse your hands under warm running water.
• Scrub both hands with soap, which should be applied to the entire surface of your hands (the palms and the backs of your hands, between the fingers and around the thumbs, under fingernails), for one minute.
• Thoroughly rinse the soap off your hands with warm water.
• Pat your hands dry with a single-use paper towel. Use the paper towel to turn off the tap; do not touch the tap with your freshly washed hands.
• Hand disinfection is mandatory in enclosed public spaces.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• When you feel like coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with a paper tissue. If you do not have one, cough or sneeze into the upper part of your sleeve.
• Dispose of the tissue in a waste bin after every use.
• After coughing or sneezing, wash your hands with soap and water every time.