Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Sunday that due to the possibility that the English coronavirus strain was present in Slovenia in larger numbers, the government would reconsider next week its decisions to relax anti-coronavirus restrictions.

Speaking at an extraordinary press conference in Ljubljana, Jansa said a new case of infection with the English strain was confirmed in a Kosovo citizen with residence in Slovenia who returned from Belgium.

Slovenian authorities notified their Belgian colleagues. The man used a negative test to enter the country, although he had a positive one as well. He is now in isolation and his possible contacts are being checked.

Jansa said hundreds of samples of Slovenians across the country who tested positive for coronavirus were being examined again to see if the English strain was in question.

Some results have been positive, he said, but denied media reports that a dozen cases had been confirmed.

Jansa said that if the English variant was confirmed to be more widespread in Slovenia, it would mean the situation was “extremely serious” and that the government would reconsider the relaxation of restrictions.

If the presence of the strain is relatively low across the country, the government will stand by its assessment that the epidemic “can be controlled,” he said.

The epidemic in Slovenia is still at a very high level in comparison with other European countries, so it is necessary to be extremely cautious, Jansa added.