Ljubljana, 21 March - The number of confirmed covid-19 cases in Slovenia increased by 42 to 383 on Saturday, the National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) said. A total of 12,162 tests have so far been performed.

The highest number of covid-19 cases has been recorded in Ljubljana, 85. 186 women have been infected and 193 men. There has been one fatality, an elderly man with several underlying illnesses.

By age group, the highest number of confirmed cases, 126, has been detected among those between 30 and 46. There are 85 confirmed cases in people over the age of 60.

The Health Ministry issued 180 quarantine orders by Friday. These are issued to people who have been in close contact with infected individuals.

Prime Minister Janez Janša visited the town of Šmarje pri Jelšah, one of the hotspots of the epidemic, on Saturday. 41 cases of covid-19 have been confirmed in this municipality of just over 10,000. The number of patients is second only to the 85 cases confirmed in Ljubljana.

Janša congratulated mayor Matija Čakš for closing the local primary school before the nation-wide school closure was ordered and asked his team to share their experience with other Slovenian municipalities.

Meanwhile, the Civil Protection said that it distributed 1.2 million pieces of protective equipment to medical and care institutions around the country. This included surgical masks, gloves, overalls, glasses and sanitisers.

Some 570,000 items were delivered to hospitals, 186,000 to retirement homes, 356,000 to state bodies, 69,000 to safety and rescue forces, and 18,000 to others.