Slovenia to shut down its air traffic from Tuesday over coronavirus

Slovenia will shut down its air traffic from Tuesday in an attempt to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, a government spokesman told reporters on Sunday.

From Monday, all bars, restaurants, sports halls, hair salons, cinemas, and most shops will be closed. Food shops will remain open but will be able to admit only a limited number of customers at a time, the government said in a statement on Sunday. Slovenia's main airport, Ljubljana, connects the country to a number of mostly European destinations.

"We are announcing that (closure of air traffic) in advance to tell people who are considering using their airplane tickets that they should not do that because they will not be able to return to Slovenia," government spokesman Jelko Kacin said. The country has so far confirmed 219 cases of coronavirus. One man died, while three people are in critical condition.

From Monday, all public transport in the country will stop. Slovenia canceled train and bus connections in past days with neighboring Italy and limited cargo traffic from there. It also introduced health checks at the border with Italy. On Sunday, various musicians across the country performed on their balconies, following examples from Italy. The Foreign Ministry advised citizens earlier on Sunday not to travel anywhere.