The measures taken by relevant institutions in the wake of the confirmed case of bird flu in Slovenia were timely, adequate and harmonised with the EU. However, the system of informing the public did not function well enough, PM Janez Jansa said on Monday.
The council meanwhile assessed that Slovenia's institutions were well prepared for an outbreak of bird flu, as shown by various checks performed last year.
Furthermore, Jansa explained that the European Commission also monitored the readiness of the EU member states in this field.
The council moreover examined Slovenia's preparations for responding to a pandemic that would be caused in the unlikely scenario that the bird flu virus mutates to allow for person-to-person transmission, the prime minister added.
According to Jansa, all the institutions are operating as if the lethal H5N1 strain of the virus has been confirmed in Slovenia, even though the results of the EU's reference laboratory are not in yet.
A deal was concluded with the European Commission under which the body would inform all EU members about the existence of bird flu in Slovenia by 1 PM on Sunday, while Slovenia would not make any notifications prior to that, Jansa revealed.
"A certain delay occurred [in releasing the information by Slovenian institutions], which of course did not cause any problems, however, it was a bit unorthodox that European institutions released the information before the Slovenian bodies," he explained, adding that such an event would not happen again.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to take over notifying the public on bird flu measures concerning the government, while VURS and the Agriculture Ministry will inform the public on expert measures, government spokesman Valentin Hajdinak told STA.
|
Subscribe
To receive our weekly newsletter by e-mail subscribe here.
HOME
Government | Calendar of Events | Media Room | About Slovenia
Sitemap | Contact us | About us | Graphic version | Slovensko
© Government Communication Office