Slovenia saw 1,675 new coronavirus cases for Saturday as a record 29% of all tests returned positive results.
Hospitalisations exceeded 500 and another five patients with Covid-19 died, fresh government data show.
The daily tally is just 286 below Friday’s absolute record of 1,961, but on fewer tests performed, at 5,776, compared to 7,025 on Friday as the positivity rate climbed further.
The country’s total case count has now neared 23,000, at 22,952, as the number of active cases increased to 14,288, data from tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org show.
The death toll has risen to 241, after the government reported on six deaths for Saturday, up from five initially reported by the Health Ministry.
The rolling 14-day average of cases per 100,000 residents has increased to 682.
With another 89 admissions, Covid-19 hospitalisations rose to 508, despite 23 patients discharged home. The number of those requiring intensive care rose by eight to 71.
As hospitals are becoming stretched with Covid-19 patients, most non-urgent medical services were suspended today under a decree issued by the Health Health Minister Tomaž Gantar the night before.
UKC Ljubljana, the country’s largest medical centre, already suspended most non-essential services on Friday, while it is expanding Covid-19 units and beds.
UKC Ljubljana director general Janez Poklukar has announced an expansion to the Peter Držaj Hospital in the Šiška borough as the fourth location for Covid-19 patients after the departments of the infectious diseases, orthopaedics and a former paediatric hospital.
As on Sunday, UKC Ljubljana is treating 121 patients with Covid-19, of them 25 in intensive care,
infectiologist Mateja Logar said.
Considering the growth in infections reflects the situation ten days ago, Logar could not say yet how effective the latest restrictions will be. “Let’s hope the situation will stabilise, bottom up next week,” she said.
“Our estimate is that one in 50 residents is positive, so the likelihood of us getting infected is greater,” Logar said, urging on everyone to abide by preventive measures and not to meet the extended family or socialise outside their family bubble, even while visiting graves for All Saint’s Day.