The projection is made by the Slovenian Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development (IMAD), the government's macroeconomic forecaster, under an assumption that the situation will calm down in the second half of the year.
"Economic growth will be significantly lower than projected in Autumn. The forecast is very dependent on the speed with which the coronavirus will be contained and measures that governments take," the IMAD institute said in a report.
In light of the current assumption, the country's export and import growth will be halved, with domestic consumption and investment below last year's level as well.
The forecast for the next year was lowered to 2.2 percent from 2.7 percent.
If the coronavirus epidemic in Slovenia and other European Union countries continues for a longer time and the situation does not stabilize in the second half of this year, economic growth for this year and 2021 will be lower than forecast; additionally, growth may also decline if some of the other risks materialize, according to the IMAD.
The Slovenian government declared a coronavirus epidemic on Thursday as the number of cases rose to 96, almost a twofold increase from a day earlier in the country.
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