Ljubljana [Slovenia], December 23 (ANI/Xinhua): From Thursday, shoppers across Slovenia will be restricted to one customer per 10 square meters, the government decided on Wednesday in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Under the new rules, all those who were in contact with a person infected with COVID-19 will have to self-isolate for 10 days, with the exception of those who had already received a booster vaccine.

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"We need to tighten the restrictions as the Omicron variant of coronavirus is expected to become the prevailing one in the country in light of the low vaccination rate," the government said in a statement, while also warning of the overloading of hospitalsOnly 56.1 percent of Slovenia's citizens have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The country of 2.1 million people confirmed its first cases of the Omicron variant on Dec. 14.

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On Tuesday, 1,255 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed in the country, down from 1,555 a day before.

In the past few months, only people who have been vaccinated, have recently overcome COVID-19 or have tested negative were allowed to enter most public spaces in the country. (ANI/Xinhua)

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