FILE PHOTO: Airport Jozeta Pucnika is closed for passenger traffic due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) fears, in Brnik, Slovenia, March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Borut Zivulovic/File Photo

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - The Slovenian parliament on Tuesday passed legislation which will enable the chamber to convene over the internet if that became necessary because of the coronavirus outbreak, parliamentary speaker Igor Zorcic said.

The parliament also passed legislation which will enable faster enforcement of laws during the coronavirus crisis.

Slovenia has reported 1,055 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, 36 people have died.

“We are in the middle of epidemics and it is still not clear when it will end ... Therefore it is important to ensure that the parliament will be able to discuss all further necessary decrees designed to fight the consequences of the coronavirus in time,” Zorcic told parliamentarians before the vote.

Until now parliamentarians have been convening in parliament with most of them wearing face masks in recent weeks.

Since the middle of March, Slovenia has closed all schools, bars, restaurants, hotels, sports centres, cultural institutions and shops, apart from food and drug stores.

It has cancelled all public transport, including air traffic, and prohibited people leaving their municipality and socialising in public spaces.