WORLD
Slovenia lifts face mask mandate
Baku, April 15, AZERTAC
Slovenians are no longer required to wear face masks in indoor spaces starting from Thursday, the country’s government announced, according to Xinhua.
The government said that face masks are still needed in health institutions and nursing homes for the elderly.
"Lifting of the restrictions was supported by the expert advisory group to the health minister," it said. Still, the group recommends wearing face masks indoors where people are less than 1.5 meters apart.
The COVID-19 epidemic badly hit Slovenia, but the number of new daily infections over the past few weeks has fallen well below the all-time high of 24,258, which was reported on Feb. 1.
On Wednesday, the country reported 1,532 new COVID-19 cases.
Roughly 58 percent of Slovenia's population of 2.1 million has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The lifting of the mask mandate comes before parliamentary elections slated for April 24.