Businesses in Kosovo have been ordered to close across the weekend, after recommendations from the Committee for the Management of the COVID-19 situation and the National Institute of Public Health were approved by the Kosovo Government at an electronic meeting on Friday.

According to the decision, businesses including supermarkets, shopping malls, and gastronomic entities, such as bars, cafes and restaurants, will be prohibited from operating from 20:00 on Friday until 05:00 on Monday. 

Bakeries, pharmacies, small markets and petrol stations will all be permitted to continue operating.

The decision states that violations will incur punitive measures in accordance with the Law on Combating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kosovo. On Thursday, more than 1,000 fines were issued to Kosovo citizens under this law.

Coronavirus cases have soared in Kosovo in recent weeks. On Friday, the National Institute of Public Health, NIPH, announced that 728 new coronavirus cases were recorded from 1,827 tests performed in the previous 24 hours, marking a new record of cases in a single day.

The NIPH reported that 12 patients testing positive for coronavirus have died in the previous 24 hours, while 41 are reported to have died since Monday.