I didn't plan to write about the coronavirus but these are weird times and it is not getting any better for now so I decided to write about it. The streets in Slovenia are empty, the stores are lacking products, especially yeast, flour, and toilet paper.
I had my flights canceled for the second time already, I was planning to move to Israel for a year at the end of March. Until the number of infected people starts to drop I am not going anywhere, only then I will search for a new flight ticket. I just hope my papers that I was arranging for more than a month will still be valid then.
I have to admit, in the beginning, I didn't take this thing seriously, I think that a lot of people didn't. I didn't have any idea how fast is this spreading and also I don't trust the news very much. But then Corona came to Italy, which is our neighbor country and even then people were not paying attention to it. Only when a lot of Italians started to lose their lives coronavirus got our attention.
Now it is what it is, and we have to start acting a bit more responsible, if not for us at least for others that are more vulnerable in this situation
Some statistics about coronavirus in Slovenia
The first case of infection with coronavirus Slovenia got on the 5th of March, 11 days later we have 253 coronavirus cases, we also had the first death tool, 2 days ago. Because the virus is spreading so fast the government declared coronavirus epidemic and one of the first measures they took was closing the borders with our neighbor country Italy, one of the most affected countries in the world. The best source of information about coronavirus in Slovenia is NIJZ (National Institute of Public Health).
Public life in Slovenia is shutting down
All the educational institutions are closed, at first, it was for 14 days but now they say that it depends on the situation how long they will be closed.
Today all the public transportation was canceled, no more buses trains or shared rides. Also, trains abroad are canceled. Taxi rides are still allowed, but only if the taxi driver disinfects the vehicle after each passenger.
At midnight on the 17th of March our international airport closes its gates, all the air-traffic is stopped. Air companies are offering full refunds or free changes of dates, so if your flight was canceled, check on the website of your air company, you should have all the information there.
Most of the clubs and restaurants closed their doors a couple of days now, but since today also all the bars had to do the same, hotels are also closing. The main reason for that is that people didn't follow the regulations. After advising that we should stay at home, there were numerous photos of bars full of people, drinking their coffee and enjoying the sun.
All the hairdressers, recreation centers, cosmetic parlors, and all the cultural, sport and music events are closed or canceled until further notice.
What is open?
Not completely everything is closed. Pharmacies, gas stations, grocery stores, banks, post offices, and small kiosks stay open. But the authorities advise that we go there only if it's urgent.
It is time to stay at home
Stay at home is probably the most common sentence I saw in the last couple of days on Facebook. The government, doctors, famous people or just the neighbor down the street are all warning to stay at home and be responsible and thoughtful to others. I also stay at home for further notice, I only go out if we need food or my grandparents need food or medicine (I leave them everything outside their house).
Is it safe to visit Slovenia at the moment?
No, it's not. It will also not be possible to enter Slovenia, at least that's what the news says. After closing down Joze Pucnik airport tomorrow also borders with Croatia and Austria will be closed. Borders with Italy have closed already.
Our country is not in full quarantine for now, if we all hold on, be patient, healthy and listen to guidelines of experts this will be over much faster. If people still won't listen, I'm afraid that we will go to full quarantine, as Italy did.
I don't want to cause panic, please don't get me wrong, I just want to spread awareness cause the sooner we stop this virus from spreading the sooner things will get back to normal.
Don't give up, everything will be fine and the world is not going anywhere. Now it's not the time for traveling but it soon will be.
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