Slovenia announced on Thursday a partial lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions from next week, including the reopening of elementary schools, following a significant improvement in the health situation. The EU member state of two million inhabitants has been in partial lockdown since October, with schools and non-essential shops closed and travel out of people's home municipalities banned. However, the number of new coronavirus cases and patients admitted to hospital has decreased in recent weeks, meaning the country can move back to its so-called "orange phase", the third-highest of five virus alert levels. "There is no more travel ban in place, we can travel all over the country," Interior Minister Ales Hojs told journalists after a cabinet meeting, announcing that restrictions on travel between regions would be lifted from Monday. He added public gatherings will also once again be allowed for up to 10 people. Also from Monday, all elementary school pupils will return to classrooms along with final-year high school students, after having attended online classes for over four months. At the same time, all shops and services will be allowed to reopen from Monday provided they adhere to safety measures such as weekly tests for employees. The curfew between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am (2000-0500 GMT), in force for almost four months, will remain until the situation improves further. Restrictions had already been eased in January for school classes between the first and third grades, as well as shops smaller than 400 square metres (4,300 square feet). Ahead of the school winter holidays, the government also announced that people wishing to go skiing could present a negative test results up to seven days, instead of the current limit of 24 hours. The tiny Alpine state bordering Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia has registered almost 3,700 Covid-19-related deaths, among the highest mortality rates per capita in the EU. bk/jsk/spm