SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Students and teachers who have not been inoculated against COVID-19 or recovered from the disease will have to take weekly tests, the Slovenian government said on Thursday as infections in the country rose to their highest since May.
The government, which earlier this week stopped providing free rapid tests to encourage more people to get vaccinated, said it would cover the costs of testing students.
It also said the same conditions – having recovered from the illness or been vaccinated or tested negative, would apply to anyone over 15 taking part in indoor sports and recreational activities, just as it had earlier ruled for public performers.
Some local media reported that education authorities have issued instructions that teachers who do not comply with the required conditions should be fired but Reuters could not confirm the reports.
Slovenia on Thursday reported 509 new cases of COVID-19, with a positive test rate of 17.3%. The National Institute of Public Health said that the seven-day average of confirmed cases was 363 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population was 199.
The Alpine country of just over 2 million people has fully vaccinated nearly a half of its population.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
