Slovenia: Situation not improving with 1,849 new coronavirus cases and 49 deaths

NEWS 10.12.202014:21
Jure Makovec / AFP

Slovenia has confirmed 1,849 new cases of coronavirus and 49 fatalities in the past 24 hours, and the situation continues to be very difficult with the government saying that it will decide on Saturday what to do next in fighting this second wave of the epidemic.

In the past 24 hours a total of 6,410 tests were conducted, with 1,849 or 28.8% returning positive, the government reported on Thursday.

There are currently 1,258 Covid-19 patients being treated in hospitals, which is 24 fewer than the day before and 189 patients are in intensive care, which is nine fewer than the day before.

In the past seven days the average number of people infected over a 24 hour period was 1,506 and the death toll has climbed to 1,949, the health ministry said.

Since the start of the epidemic in the country, a total of 91,922 cases of Covid-19 have been registered and 20,803 cases are currently active.

The daily increase in new cases is worse than a week ago, which means the epidemic is not subsiding despite the restrictions in place and hospitals are still under extreme pressure.

The government will meet with representatives of health institutions and businesses to decide whether to retain the current measures, extend them or relax them in light of the demands by the enterprise sector.

Disagreements over the present strategy within the government and among epidemiologists are increasing. Health Minister Tomaz Gantar has suggested that all ‘non-essential’ activities go into lockdown for two weeks while Economy Minster Zdravko Pocivalsek is strongly opposed, agreeing that the current measures should be retained, but with better communication with the public and tighter control of hotspots, while some services should be allowed to reopen.

President Borut Pahor on Wednesday called on the government and opposition to put aside their differences and concentrate on the coronavirus crisis.