STA, 8 August 2020 - Bojana Beović, the government's chief Covid-19 advisor, has told the STA that future developments are uncertain and that the government is preparing for various scenarios as regards the regime at schools in the autumn. She noted the winter-related epidemic trends presently seen in Australia were not inspiring optimism.
Beović said the epidemiological situation in Slovenia was presently fairly calm. A few new cases are recorded each day but in a scope that can be controlled. There is however concern that not all cases are detected and that the virus could be spreading around the country unnoticed.
The number of tests presently conducted is down by about 20%, but the infectologist said the criteria for ordering a test remained the same. Fact is that there a fewer respiratory issues in the summer and that people are on holiday and probably do not call their doctor if they are mildly ill, she argued.
Turning to plans for the education system, she said the situation was bound to see some changes in the coming weeks, which is why making predictions was hard.
The general idea is to enable the possibility for only partial school closures, one of the proposal also being to set up a green, yellow and red system similar to the one used for countries.
The Education Ministry has prepared four models for the autumn. The two extreme options are fully open and fully closed schools, while the middle options would see a combination of lessons in class and distance learning, with younger children being prioritised for the former.
Meanwhile, Beović noted that Australia, where there is currently winter, albeit mild, is experiencing serious problems with infections. "Reports from Australia do not inspire hope," she said.
The latest statistics on coronavirus and Slovenia, and the latest police news on red, green and yellow list countries
