Slovenian Government is planning wider testing to create a clearer picture on the number of persons infected with the new coronavirus, health minister Tomaž Gantar said. The findings will be crucial for planning the gradual release of measures. According to Miroslav Petrovec, the tests will be carried out on a representative sample of about 1,000 to 1,500 people across the country.
A member of the advisory group within the Ministry of Health and the head of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Miroslav Petrovec, explained at a press conference that representative sample would cover adults as well as children in all Slovenian regions. All included will be interviewed about their medical condition, and then swabbed and taken a blood sample if they agree.
There are people in the population who have recovered from the virus in self-isolation, but we do not have this confirmation, he noted. Namely, at the time of the epidemic, some 100 or even 1,000 people a day were sent to self-isolation, according to information from the entry points. However, they cannot be sure whether these persons got COVID-19 or not, Petrovec pointed out.
Gantar also said today that “we can be satisfied” with the results of the work during the last month. “We managed to divert the curve, which initially rose strongly in the number of infected, diseased and deceased, and stabilized the situation,” he said.
The Government is now addressing the question of where and how to start relaxing the measures taken. “However, we should be aware that no matter what our decisions may be, the basic requirements that have been the red thread all the time, that is, avoiding closer personal contacts, will still be needed. I’m afraid that we will still have to protect ourselves properly, keep a distance of about two meters from others citizens, friends, acquaintances, and regularly use protective masks in combination with disinfection of hands,” Gantar emphasized.
The relaxation of the measures will be gradual
He also stressed that the relaxation of the measures would definitely be gradual, since the effects of the relaxation on the spread of the epidemic are only visible after two to three weeks, i.e. after the end of the incubation period. “That’s why the gradual relaxation is in place,” he assured.
Source: STA, vestnik.si
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