In the past 24 hours Slovenia has conducted 3,557 tests for coronavirus, with 137 cases returned positive, which is 33 more than the day before and a new record of confirmed cases since the outbreak of the epidemic, the country's government reported on Friday.

The greatest number of new cases was previously registered on 15 September when 123 new cases were confirmed after 3,123 tests conducted.

Due to the spike in numbers Great Britain has placed Slovenia on the list of epidemiologically unsafe countries after Norway, Sweden, Lithuania and Estonia had already done so in the past few days, Slovenian media said.

There are currently 1,116 active cases in Slovenia, and 4,195 people have contracted the disease since its outbreak..

Sixty-seven infected people are being treated in hospitals, seven more than on Thursday, and 11 are in intensive care. Four more fatalities have been registered, bringing the death toll to 138.

Prime Minister Janez Jansa has announced that as of Saturday wearing masks will be mandatory in all public areas such as farmers’ markets but also in schools and universities. The government is also considering restricting the number of people in one place to six, and all bars and cafes will have to close at 10 pm as of next week. There is also some media speculation that working hours for stores may also be shortened.

In an effort to curb the disease from spreading the government on Thursday called on employers to measure workers’ temperature when they arrive at work.