Over the past 24 hours, 2,673 coronavirus tests have been performed in Slovenia, confirming 537 new cases of coronavirus infection, and there has been one fatality, the Slovenian government said on Monday, declaring a nationwide state of the epidemic for the next 30 days.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Slovenia since the outbreak in early March has risen to 13,678, and the number of active cases stands at 7,103.

The exponential spread of coronavirus remains a cause for concern, and the percentage of positive tests is still very high, at 20.4%.

According to the health ministry's latest data, 289 Covid-19 patients are being treated in hospitals, including 55 who are in intensive care units. The death toll is 189.

Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in a video message on Sunday that all the measures introduced by the government would be proportional to the situation and that in addition to protecting lives and health it was also necessary to protect the most important sectors of the economy.

Slovenia declared the epidemic on March 12, after the first case was reported eight days before.

On May 15, it became the first European country to declare the epidemic over, but some measures such as mandatory face masks, physical distance and ban on big gatherings remained in place.