STA, 19 October 2021 - Mateja Logar, the head of the Health Ministry's Covid advisory group, has proposed a voluntary short-term lockdown over the autumn school break. "This would affect the development of the epidemic in November," she said. The proposal includes restricting socialising to family members and limiting large gatherings.
Presenting the proposal on Monday, Logar also warned that it would be wise to limit traditional 1 November cemetery visits to family members as well. School is out in the last week of October and many people will be on holiday, she said, noting that such a short-term lockdown could ensure the epidemiological situation does not deteriorate in November.
"It is not possible to achieve any significant tightening with the current measures, but we still believe that the recovered-vaccinated-tested (PCT) requirement is effective as long as people comply with it and as long as inspections are carried out," Logar said.
She pointed out that following the introduction of the PCT requirement, the number of coronavirus infections started to decline, but then the efficiency of the PCT control was reduced and the number started to increase again, also due to other factors.
Logar also highlighted that the recent Constitutional Court ruling warning about lack of a legal basis for fines due to non-compliance with mandatory mask-wearing should not be interpreted as proof that masks are not necessary.
Asked if recent protests against the PCT requirement could have also led to an increase in infections, Logar replied that one of the factors contributing to the spread of infections could be larger gatherings, not only on Wednesdays, when protesters against the Covid pass mandate usually gather.
According to Logar, about 87% of infected people treated in hospitals are under the age of 50. "This is a group that is less likely to need hospital treatment," she said.
In the over-50 age group, the vaccination rate is high - this means the vaccine is effective, as it is mainly individuals from age groups with low vaccination coverage who are getting sick, she said.
Yesterday marked a year since the government declared the epidemic for the second time.
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