By: J.S., Source: gov.si
The press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by the Head of the intensive care unit at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases at UKC Ljubljana, Matjaž Jereb, and the government spokesman, Jelko Kacin.
1875 tests were carried out yesterday, 425 or 22.7 percent came back positive. 3644 tests were carried out on Saturday, 1106 persons tested positive. The share was 30.4 percent. A total of 5519 tests were carried out over the weekend, and 1531 positive cases were confirmed, the total share was therefore 27.4 percent, said Mr Kacin.
The epidemiological situation is improving in certain regions, e.g. in Upper Carniola and Central Slovenia, while the situation in the eastern regions remains serious, and a decline can be seen in the Coastal-Karst region and the Littoral-Inner Carniola region. The two week incidence per 100,000 people equals 963 at state level.
98 residents and 63 employees were cured in retirement homes, 38 residents were newly infected, and there are 2,733 active cases in total. 20 new cases have been reported among the staff, bringing the total number to 1,172.
1298 people required hospital treatment yesterday, and 205 were in intensive care, which is 10 more than on Saturday. 36 patients were released from hospital yesterday, a total of 95 people over the weekend, and many more will be released today. 51 persons died yesterday, 38 in hospitals and 13 in retirement homes. 338 COVID-19 patients currently require hospital treatment at UKC Ljubljana, of whom 66 are in the intensive care unit.
Hospitals have had approx. 1300 patients for at least the past seven days, and the number of newly infected people is declining too slowly, which is why pressure on hospitals is not lessening, said Mr Jereb. The pressure on medical staff is significant, and the uncertainty regarding the development of the epidemic is increasing mental pressure.
The upper limit of intensive care beds is 250, and 13 Slovenian hospitals cannot offer more than that. This is the maximum limit the health system can handle, so we have been on the edge for more than a week. It is feared that the peak occupancy in hospitals has not been reached yet.
235 critical patients have been treated at UKC Ljubljana to this day, and 814 critical patients have been treated in all Slovenian hospitals, of whom 165 patients died. The death rate of those admitted to intensive care units is therefore 20 percent.
They do not differentiate between people who died because of or with Covid-19. All deaths are attributed to covid, specifically its impact on lung failure.
He is against lifting the measures and has faith in most of the measures. Perhaps some less important measures could be lifted, such as the restriction of crossing municipality borders. The virus is too widespread among the population, which is why the curve is stagnating or dropping too slowly.
Mr Kacin announced that there will be no talks on changing the adopted measures prior to Wednesday, which is when the government will meet with the members of the group of Covid-19 experts. They will also discuss the issue surrounding the opening of ski resorts; there are also various opinions surrounding the issue at European level.