The decision was taken by the government earlier last week at the recommendation of its medical task force for coronavirus, which acknowledged the risk may thus be slightly higher but the burden on the economy significantly reduced.

According to epidemiologist, the vast majority of those who fall ill do so within ten days after exposure.

Shortening quarantine is projected to lead to roughly ten more new cases of coronavirus per month, according to epidemiologist Bojana Beović, who heads the task force.

Slovenia recorded 100-plus new daily cases in the past two days.

The decision reflects debates across the EU, where some countries already have shorter, week-long quarantines and some want to shorten them.

At a recent meeting of EU health ministers, there was broad agreement that ten days should be the general rule for people coming from high-risk areas.

It was also suggested that quarantine may be reduced to five days if the coronavirus test is negative, but there is no agreement as yet at the EU level to that effect.